Those employed with the Hays County mental health specialty court are working together to ensure that the program participants are receiving all of the help they need. According to a packet provided on the courts website, it is a “specialized treatment court designed to address the unique needs of individuals with mental health, substance use and intellectual/developmental disability disorders who are also facing pending legal charges.
The court is in its infancy, having started approximately nine months ago, but there are currently nine people in the program, with two more scheduled to join in the next few weeks. There will be a graduation ceremony this summer for those that successfully complete it. “We want to see them succeed, so we are going to do, as a team, everything that we can to make that happen,” said Kaimi Matilla, a licensed social worker and the mental health court administrator.
Matilla said she ensures court participants receive the necessary care and resources that they might not otherwise have access to. According to Matilla, Lisa Welsh, the mental health court caseworker, works individually with each participant to develop a treatment plan with input from Hill Country, the mental health and developmental disabilities center. Then the two of them collaborate to join the individual's psychiatric treatment goals, life skills, and any other goals they are working toward such as employment, higher education, volunteer work, and sobriety support into one central document. This court is a team effort which is “a different dynamic then what you usually see in the courtroom. The courtroom is usually adversarial. This is more collaborative,” County Court at Law Judge Elaine Brown said.
Mattila said their vision for the future of the court, which is in the works, is to include a pretrial diversion track. Currently, those in the program must make a plea to enter, even if that plea is a no contest plea, then they make an additional agreement with the mental health court to follow the necessary steps for completion. The addition of pretrial services will mean that those with low level crimes or first time offenders, that otherwise qualify for their program, could have the ability to have their charges dropped if they successfully complete the program. In some cases, the program may still happen on the backend, but this will be “at the discretion of the prosecution and the defense lawyers,” Brown said.
According to Brown, the court is beneficial because it provides “an opportunity to increase public safety by having individuals go through the mental health court treatment program.” Safety is a chief concern, but not the only benefit provided. The court is valuable to the community because “instead of housing these people in jail, like we’ve been doing in large part, these individuals are now getting supervision” from the court which has been “shown statistically to improve their success in getting the treatment that they need, to support themselves and find jobs,” Brown said.
Mattila said the court recently obtained additional funding which will help provide uninsured participants with counseling and help cover copays for insured participants when needed. They also received funding to help cover the costs of a transitional, sober living home for men. Brown said so they are continuing to seek options for women as well, but “housing options are limited in Hays County.”
For more information, go to hayscountytx.com/ courts/hays-county-mental- health-court/.
