Special program is for defendants with mental health issues
By Mike Gangloff
The Roanoke Times undefined
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — Montgomery County’s Behavioral Health Docket, a special program for a small group of defendants with mental health issues, marked its first graduation recently with cupcakes, congratulatory banners and the dismissal of criminal charges.
“You can go out there and be successful,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt said to the two graduates who attended the ceremony, held in a General District courtroom. Another two people graduated but did not come to the ceremony, Pettitt said.
Launched last year, the Behavioral Health Docket targets a carefully selected set of people who have been charged with misdemeanor crimes and who have mental health issues that are serious enough to disrupt their lives but not so serious that they are legally considered not responsible for their actions. In a process similar to that used by drug courts in Montgomery County and elsewhere, the Behavioral Health Docket defendants meet twice monthly with a judge and a group that includes treatment providers. Together, they review what issues defendants face and how they are dealing with them, be it healthcare, housing, employment or other matters.
The goal of the intensive scrutiny is “getting them out of the situation that got them on the docket in the first place,” said Judge Gino Williams, who oversees the special court.
In a written summary of the program so far, Pettitt listed anticipated benefits that include fewer criminal charges, emergency room visits and detention orders; reduced financial costs to the community; and improvement in defendants’ lives.
It should take about a year or so to bring defendants to the point of graduation, when they are deemed ready to take on more independence. Some defendants still face convictions but have their jail time suspended if they participate in the program, others have their charges dismissed if they successfully complete the program, Pettitt wrote.
Williams told graduates that he had dismissed their charges earlier in the day.
Both graduates thanked program organizers and said that participating in the Behavioral Health Docket was life-changing.
“It’s been a growing experience. I don’t think I would have gone to school without it,” said Austin Jaret Duncan of Christiansburg, who had dismissals of counts of assault and battery, and attempted assault and battery.
Duncan said that he is a year into an online program to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He said that he hopes to transfer to an in-person university and to eventually work in psychology or neuroscience.
Williams told Duncan, “We’re proud of you,” and asked how his grades were.
“Still A’s,” Duncan said.
Williams laughed. “I can’t say I ever had that happen to me,” he said.
Among those applauding the graduates was Circuit Court Judge Robert Turk, who supervises the county’s Drug Court, Montgomery County Supervisor Sherri Blevins, and County Administrator Craig Meadows.
The Montgomery County Behavioral Health Docket is the first of its kind in the New River Valley. Williams said that he hopes it eventually will expand to other courts in the 27th Judicial District.
Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem have long had a similar program called a therapeutic docket.
In her written summary, Pettitt said that the Montgomery County program has so far had about 25 people referred by defense attorneys, the court or probation officers. Pettitt said that she reviews charges and prior criminal history, seeks input from victims and law enforcement, and sends applicants to New River Valley Community Services for a determination if the Behavioral Health Docket might help.
Community Services “has been great about getting the person into needed services even before they formally enter the program,” Pettitt wrote.
The second graduate asked not to be identified in the newspaper but credited the program with connecting her to help that she had sought for years.
Of the 25 applicants, 14 were approved for the program, Pettitt wrote. Four people left the program before completing it – two incurred new criminal charges, one asked to leave, and one “went MIA,” Pettitt wrote.
Speaking to the graduates, Pettitt said the new program was a welcome contrast to much of her job.
“I work the criminal side of things. I would be glad to not have any customers,” Pettitt said. “… If I can get people out of the criminal justice system and back to being productive members of society, that makes me really happy.”
