DAVENPORT, Iowa - Scott County will soon become home to the first mental health court in Iowa. The new mental health court procedure is part of an effort to cut back on the number of people with mental health conditions being put in jail.
"Across the country, not just in Scott County, too many people with mental health conditions are being convicted of crimes and dumped behind bars when their primary need might not be incarceration, but mental health treatment." said Leslie Kilgannon, director of Quad Cities Interfaith.
The project is a collaborative partnership between Interfaith Quad Cities and Genesis Philanthropy. The pilot program is funded for the first year. After that funding may need to come from state or federal budgets or even from private donations.
Nationally, one in three inmates have mental health conditions.
The goal is to help provide access to resources and treatment.
"What this program can do is it can take an individuals life that might be extremely unsteady and make it steady." said Courtney Stenzel, director of Residential Services at Transitions Mental Health Rehabilitation.
"When we talk about stability - what we see is these individuals coming to the program maybe not having medication, not having housing, not having support, maybe not receiving current treatment and this program can do all of those things."
Offenders served by mental health courts are typically non-violent. If these offenders are able to follow certain requirements then they have opportunities to have sentences waved or reduced and criminal records can be cleared.
The new court comes at a time when the state of Iowa has been under fire for lagging behind other states in providing access to mental health treatment.
The court is being formed in conjunction with the 7th Judicial District of Iowa but will only be available in Scott County Initially.
Judge Mark Smith will be the assigned judge to Scott County's mental health court project.