Brooklyn Mental Health Court combines treatment and judicial supervision to address the overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in the criminal legal system. During their time in the program, participants are required to attend treatment—with case management support from clinical staff— and appear regularly before the dedicated judge, who monitors compliance and addresses problems that arise.
In 2018, Brooklyn Mental Health Court received a grant from the Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which brought three key programmatic changes: an overall expansion of capacity; additional dedicated staff working with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders as their primary diagnosis; and the introduction of a structured risk assessment tool. The grant is also intended to support the court’s continuing work with defendants with violent felony charges. This current study seeks to better understand which in-program events are associated with any unsuccessful completion and sentencing, as well as its impact as seen by stakeholders since the expansion.
This project was supported by Grant No. 2018-MO-BX-0006 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART OFFICE. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
