Collin County has launched
a new specialty court to divert mentally ill offenders into a court-supervised outpatient treatment program
instead of the traditional criminal justice process.
Judge Jennifer Edgeworth of the 219th District
Court will preside over the program with Judge Lance Baxter of County Court at Law 3.
The specialty court also includes program coordinator Donald Bell, case manager
Michelle Garcia, specialist Molly Craft, and defense attorney Kim
Laseter. The program combines mental health treatment with frequent court appearances, home
visits, case management, counseling and community based support services.
The specialty court team will work together with community partners such as LifePath
Systems to provide mental health treatment for offenders, safeguard the community, and decrease
the need for hospitalization and incarceration.
"Collin County continues to make great strides serving those with mental health concerns. We are proud the
new diversion court for offenses involving persons with mental illness has been created and appreciate another
opportunity to assist those suffering from mental health issues in the criminal Justice system and provide them
with services needed to remain stable." Danielle Sneed, Deputy Clinical Officer of LifePath
Systems.
The specialty court was funded by a generous grant from Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office last
fall, and is open to people 17 and older with a mental health diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, major
depression, bipolar and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Its start-up target is to bring 40 eligible cases
into the alternative program. The court will begin accepting eligible felony and misdemeanor cases on Feb. 23.
Officials estimate that the diversion program, described as an "intensive community supervision model,"
will run from 9-12 months for each participant, and those who complete it successfully can get their cases
dismissed and expunged from court records. The program will compliment Collin County's Mental Health Managed Counsel
Program led by Alyse Ferguson, which is one of only a handful of county advocacy
programs in Texas for the mentally ill.