BJA FY22 Montgomery County Juvenile Court Mental Health Collaboration Enhancement

This project is collaboration between the Montgomery County Juvenile Court (MCJC) and South Community, Inc. that would expand services within the MCJC’s mental health court program, LIFE Court (Learning Independence and Family Empowerment).

This proposal’s plan is to reduce family separation for youth with disparities and moderate- severe mental health conditions, while also reducing recidivism and achieve health equity through expansion of services in the program, while utilizing validated assessment tools to identify and prioritize youth with a moderate-high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment services. Ongoing assessments will be conducted to ensure adequate level of care treatment and case management needs. 

The LIFE Court program is designed to facilitate the treatment and rehabilitation of justice-involved youth with persistent mental health concerns. This state-certified docket is a collaborative effort between court agencies, county agencies, treatment providers, law enforcement agencies, and community stake-holders.

 LIFE Court is projected to serve 25 youth and families of Montgomery County annually.  These youth have a DSM-V eligible diagnosis that is consistent with a severe and persistent mental illness, determined to be competent or restored to competency, score moderate-high risk on the Ohio Youth Assessment System, and have a delinquency charge in the MCJC system.

Montgomery County consists of 37 municipalities with an estimated population of 537,309 and ranks as the fifth highest populated county in the State of Ohio. According to the 2020 census, 48.1% of Montgomery County citizens identify as male with 51.9% identifying as female. Just under a quarter, or 22.0%, of the population is 17 or younger; 6.1% of these youth fall under the age of six. In 2020 the racial breakdown of Montgomery County consisted of the following: 73.0% Caucasian, 21.5% African American, 3.3% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian and 3% as Other race. Over 75,000 people (14.7%) currently live in poverty.                                                                                                                        

In response to our community’s need to remove barriers of accessing adequate health care, MCJC and South Community (subcontractor) will enhance and expand the menu of options to include mental health-specific case management to support mental well-being and improve crisis response for youth with mental illness and higher risk of court involvement, as well as, improve access to treatment and evidence-based In-Home Based Treatment (IHBT) by utilizing Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy.

MCJC is a previous recipient of JMHCP grant funds, award # 2017-MO-BX-0003 and is requesting $550,000 in federal funding for FY22.