The evidence was there.
In report after report from her probation officers and staff working with community members in crisis and jail detainees, Angela Brewer could see the increasing number of residents dealing with serious mental health issues.
Many, said Brewer, the county’s Community Corrections manager, were justice-involved and often struggled to navigate the justice system and complete traditional probation. And, she added, there was frequently a relationship between their mental health issues and criminal activity.
Both Rice County Attorney Brian Mortenson and Faribault Police Sgt. Brandon Gliem underscored Brewer’s findings during a Jan. 20 Rice County Board of Commissioners meeting.
“We have mentally ill offenders who continue to reoffend and their offenses are largely because of their mental illness,” said Mortenson.
“The need for mental health resources is real,” said Gliem, who’s seen the need for services rise exponentially in his 24 years in law enforcement. “The cost, and application and the resource allocation of our law enforcement officers are going way more toward more mental health than it ever has.”
In 2023, Brewer applied for a federal grant to provide funding for Rice County to implement a Mental Health Court that would help assist impacted individuals and reduce recidivism, but wasn’t it selected for funding. Last summer, she learned Minnesota’s 2023 adult-use cannabis law includes funding for new treatment courts. An 18-member multi-disciplinary team then spent several months assessing local needs, developing mission and vision statements, goals, policies and procedures for the proposed court which received preliminary approval in 2023.
This week, the Board of Commissioners endorsed the creation of a Mental Health Court in Rice County. Final approval from the Treatment Court Initiative Advisory Committee and the Minnesota Judicial Council is expected this spring. That will allow the Rice County court to launch in July.
Ending the cycle
These courts, considered treatment courts by the Minnesota Judicial Branch, are more of a program than traditional court though they’re led by a district court judge. In Rice County that will be Judge Christine Long.
The court is similar to the county’s Drug Treatment Court in that it employs evidence-based practices, includes intensive supervision, curfews, regular group sessions and is overseen by a team of professionals, including several service providers from the community. Mental Health Court participants must spend at least 13 months in the program.
The focus is on progress, recovery and stability, says Brewer.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Rice County Mental Health Treatment Court is to reduce recidivism among individuals whose criminal behaviors are impacted by unmet mental health needs through a combination of evidence-based treatment and support through intensive supervision.
VISION STATEMENT
The vision of the Rice County Mental Health Treatment Court is compassionate service delivery through collaboration among the justice system and community partners to support recovery, promote long-term stability and enhance public safety.
The program is strengths-based and individualized. Each participant has a program that is tailored to their individual needs. Progress made toward goals and program compliance is incentivized. If rule violations occur, they are handled through sanctions or service adjustments.
The Mental Health Court also differs from drug treatment courts in that its team includes a number of mental health professionals such as mental health providers and therapists, a mental health social worker and a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
The team, which meets prior to each session to discuss participants’ progress, also includes a county prosecutor, defense attorney, law enforcement, probation officer and those who specialize in substance use disorder.
Brewer expects they’ll start with a handful of participants to ensure everyone is getting the support they need but says the hope is to have about 15 participants by its first anniversary. The number of participants is capped at 25.
Participants must be over 18, Rice County residents, have a felony-level offense and a diagnosis defined in state statute as a Serious and Persistent Mental Illness. While participants will be court-ordered to the Mental Health court, they must agree to the conditions for admittance. Anyone convicted of a felony sex crime or required to register as a predatory offender isn’t eligible. There are also restrictions around admitting individuals with some offenses that include the use of firearms.
Once final approval is granted, Rice County will become the fifth in Minnesota to operate a Mental Health Court. Hennepin, Ramsey and Itasca have one each; St. Louis County has two due to its size and different challenges faced by its urban and rural residents.
According to the Minnesota Judicial Branch website, “Treatment courts stop the vicious cycle of relapse and recidivism by treating substance use and mental health disorders for individuals involved in the criminal justice system. …The goal of treatment courts is to engage individuals in treatment long enough to experience the benefits of treatment in order to end the cycle of recidivism and successfully treat their substance use and mental health disorders that brought them into the criminal justice system.”
Brewer, during the Jan. 20 presentation to the Board of Commissioners noted that not only does she expect a Mental Health Court to reduce crime in Rice County and improve outcomes for participants, the cost to operate a treatment court is far less than incarceration.
Treatment courts are a cost-effective way to provide wraparound services and supervision. On average, probation supervision costs about $3.42 per day. A stay in the Rice County jail is approximately $190 per day, while the average cost for a psychiatric hospital nationally can run up to $14,000 per day.
While cost is a factor, Mortenson, the county attorney, believes it’s really about the safety of the community.
“If we can end that cycle (of relapse and recidivism) or at least minimize its impact,” he said, “we’re doing more for public safety without sending a person to prison.”
