A Guide to Mental Health Court Design and Implementation

This report from the Council of State Governments Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project provides a roadmap for those interested in establishing a mental health court in their jurisdiction. Based largely on the experiences of existing mental health courts, the guide is organized according to three basic steps that should be followed by any community considering the establishment of a mental health court, which are: understanding the mental health court concept; determining whether a mental health court is appropriate; and considering elements of mental health court design and implementation.