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Ramsey
county mental health court 15
W. Kellogg Boulevard¨
Saint Paul, MN 55102 ¨
(651) 266-9256 NEWS RELEASE |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Brandi Stavlo
July
29, 2013 (651)
266-9256
Ramsey County Mental Health
Court Reduces Recidivism
Re-offense rates dropped significantly for
mental health court graduates in a District Court program designed to help
those with mental illness and co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse
disorders.
Saint
Paul, MN – Today, the Ramsey County
Mental Health Court (“RCMHC”) announced the release of its 2010 - 2012 Report
describing the current research outcomes of the Court, including an analysis of
recidivism rates.
RCMHC
began in 2005, and has served over 300 mentally-ill participants facing
criminal charges in Ramsey County.
RCMHC, working with Ramsey County Human Services, promotes a mentally
stable, crime-free, and self-sufficient lifestyle by facilitating access to
existing mental health and social services. Participation is voluntary, and
offers participants an alternative to purely criminal sanctions. This approach has demonstrated results by
changing lives, lowering incarceration rates, reducing recidivism, and, as a
result, saving public funds.
Recidivism
outcome data reveals that RCMHC graduates were significantly less likely to be
charged or convicted with a new offense and spent less time in jail than those of
a comparison group in a one year and a three year follow up study.
In
the one year follow-up, only 15% of graduates had new charges compared to 60%
of the comparison group. Ten percent of graduates spent time in jail compared
to 65% of the comparison group. Results
remained consistent in the three year follow-up, with 35% of graduates
having new charges compared to 70% of the comparison group. Only 28% of
graduates spent time in jail compared to 68% of the comparison group.
The
2010 - 2012 Report also found that RCMHC participants have significantly more
mental and chemical health services and supports in place at program completion
when compared to program entry. Thirty percent of those accepted into RCMHC had
mental health services at program entry compared to 99% at program completion. In addition, 5% of individuals accepted into
RCMHC had chemical health supports at program entry compared to 83% at program
completion.
These
studies show that, through collaboration with community partners and the coercive
authority and monitoring of the court, the ability of participants to cope with
their mental illness and avoid criminal behaviors is significantly
improved. RCMHC is funded by the
Minnesota Department of Human Services, Adult Mental Health Division, through
December 31, 2013. To maintain adequate resources, the Court relies
heavily on pro bono legal and social work services.
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