Mental Health Court Coordinator Collaboration

New Hampshire Judicial Branch

Abstract

The New Hampshire Judicial Branch by and through the Administrative Office of the Courts (NHJB) is the lead applicant for this BJA, Mental Health Collaboration Grant and is requesting $515,471 in funding for this project. The Mental Health project partner is NAMI New Hampshire (National Alliance on Mental Illness) (NAMI NH).

In 2022, NH had a population of nearly 1.4 million with 221,000 adults that have a mental health condition. In 2021, NH had 515,550 rural residents.

This application seeks to fund a Statewide Mental Health Court Coordinator (MHC Coordinator) in an effort to provide statewide strategic expansion and support of NH’s Mental Health Courts (MHC). MHCs combine community-based treatment programs with strict court supervision and progressive incentives and sanctions. By linking criminal justice-involved individuals to treatment services, the program aims to address the substance use and mental health diagnoses that led to criminal behavior, thereby reducing recidivism, and protecting public safety. The service area for this project is statewide.

The addition of a MHC Coordinator will assist in the creation of a centralized effort to provide consistent and quality practices across the state and an avenue for existing MHCs to receive training and support to best serve the participants in NH’s MHCs.

Through stakeholder engagement the NHJB is seeking to identify the statewide need for MHC court expansion and support. NAMI NH will provide the MHCs with training support, and stakeholder engagement, particularly individuals with lived experience. The expected outcomes are expanded access to MHCs starting with a completed Planning and Implementation Guide that will provide the roadmap for MHC expansion in NH. Another outcome is mental health focused training opportunities to MHC staff and judges statewide. 

The program-specific priority areas this program intends to address are to promote effective strategies to expand the mental health courts in our state, when appropriate use validated assessment tools to identify and prioritize individuals with a moderate or high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment services, promote effective strategies for identification and treatment of females with a mental health diagnosis, demonstrate and ensure that funds are used for public health and public safety by providing interventions that have been shown to reduce recidivism.

The NHJB is not a previous recipient of the Mental Health Collaboration Grant.   

The New Hampshire Judicial Branch by and through the Administrative Office of the Courts (NHJB) is the lead applicant for this BJA, Mental Health Collaboration Grant and is requesting $550,000 in funding for this project. The Mental Health project partner is NAMI New Hampshire (National Alliance on Mental Illness) (NAMI NH).

In 2022, NH had a population of nearly 1.4 million with 221,000 adults that have a mental health condition. In 2021, NH had 515,550 rural residents.

This application seeks to fund a Statewide Mental Health Court Coordinator (MHC Coordinator) in an effort to provide statewide strategic expansion and support of NH’s Mental Health Courts (MHC). MHCs combine community-based treatment programs with strict court supervision and progressive incentives and sanctions. By linking criminal justice-involved individuals to treatment services, the program aims to address the substance use and mental health diagnoses that led to criminal behavior, thereby reducing recidivism, and protecting public safety. The service area for this project is statewide.

The addition of a MHC Coordinator will assist in the creation of a centralized effort to provide consistent and quality practices across the state and an avenue for existing MHCs to receive training and support to best serve the participants in NH’s MHCs.

Through stakeholder engagement the NHJB is seeking to identify the statewide need for MHC court expansion and support. NAMI NH will provide the MHCs with training support, and stakeholder engagement, particularly individuals with lived experience. The expected outcomes are expanded access to MHCs starting with a completed Planning and Implementation Guide that will provide the roadmap for MHC expansion in NH. Another outcome is mental health focused training opportunities to MHC staff and judges statewide. 

The program-specific priority areas this program intends to address are to promote effective strategies to expand the mental health courts in our state, when appropriate use validated assessment tools to identify and prioritize individuals with a moderate or high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment services, promote effective strategies for identification and treatment of females with a mental health diagnosis, demonstrate and ensure that funds are used for public health and public safety by providing interventions that have been shown to reduce recidivism.
The NHJB is not a previous recipient of the Mental Health Collaboration Grant.