Building a Better Mental Health Court: New Hampshire Judicial Branch Establishes State Guidelines
Unlike drug courts, which have been informed by national standards for 10 years, mental health courts (MHCs) have developed without national guidance. This January, after receiving support from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, New Hampshire became one of a growing number of states to establish statewide governing documents for MHCs, such as guidelines, principles, and best practice standards. Released by the New Hampshire Judicial Branch, the Guidelines for New Hampshire Mental Health Court Teams provides a framework of best practices to guide program development and operation. These guidelines are now being used to help state officials begin to implement a range of programmatic strategies that support MHCs to improve outcomes for MHC participants.
While the guidelines were released in 2023, the work to develop them began years before. With 14 MHCs in its 10 counties, the New Hampshire legislature initially sought to understand how these programs operate to be able to support their success in reducing recidivism and increasing connections to care. Following a statewide commission recommendation in 2019, the New Hampshire Judicial Branch created a committee and requested technical assistance from the Center for Justice and Mental Health Partnerships—a training and support center administered by the CSG Justice Center with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance as part of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program.
Their request was for a thoughtful analysis of current MHC operations in the state and assistance in developing statewide guidelines grounded in national best practices. To support this request, CSG Justice Center staff:
- Collaborated with the National Center for State Courts, which is coordinating conversations among various states on MHC standards;
- Developed an inventory of key elements for statewide MHC standards based on existing research and analysis of recently developed standards from Georgia, Michigan, and Nebraska; and
- Completed a line-by-line comparison with New Hampshire’s draft standards to suggest additional items for consideration, such as a new section bringing together various standards protecting defendant rights and another on due process and confidentiality.
“The technical assistance provided by the CSG Justice Center, including the survey of practices and procedures in our existing MHCs, provided important data to New Hampshire’s committee studying MHC standards,” said Hon. Susan Ashley, deputy administrative judge of the New Hampshire Circuit Court.
To assess current practices of existing MHCs in New Hampshire, CSG Justice Center staff analyzed the results of a 100-plus-question state MHC policy survey that New Hampshire mental health coordinators received in October 2021. By comparing the newly developed state guidelines with the survey results, CSG Justice Center staff were able to identify strengths as well as gaps and potential areas for assistance across the state. Some identified areas for assistance included:
- Educating MHCs on the role of a stakeholder/interagency workgroup
- Educating MHCs on the role of staffing meetings and the importance of collaboration from the judge in those meetings
- Discussing requirements that would be necessary for people to graduate from MHCs
- Developing a statewide reporting system to hold certain MHC-related data
“The survey results reflected several consistencies among our MHCs while also highlighting divergent practices,” added Judge Ashley. “This information was key to formulating statewide guidelines for existing and future mental health courts in New Hampshire.”
Shelly Golden, one of the state’s mental health court coordinators, agreed. “CSG Justice Center staff provided us with professional, effective, and supportive guidance,” she said. “We now have what we need to understand and support our existing MHCs to be the best based on a review of national data and best practices, taking into account the varied strengths and resources available to us in different regions of New Hampshire.”
States or other jurisdictions looking for support to help improve their mental health court practices can request assistance through the Center for Justice and Mental Health Partnerships.
Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA via Pexels
Authors
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice…
Read More
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation have partnered to highlight…
Read More
The affordable housing crisis has increased the need for new housing developments in communities across the U.S., particularly…
Read More
Three Counties Receive In-Depth Assistance to Improve Crisis and Diversion Strategies
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance with technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center, facilitates collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health and substance use treatment systems to better serve people with mental illnesses and increase public safety.
Read More
From Treatment Courts to the Supreme Court: Q&A with Three State Supreme Court Justices
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation have partnered to highlight leaders working to address mental health needs among people in the criminal justice system through innovative practices and programs. This feature is the fourth in a series under the Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative.
Read More
How Three Communities are Developing Supportive Housing to Improve Access for People with Behavioral Health Needs Leaving Incarceration
The affordable housing crisis has increased the need for new housing developments in communities across the U.S., particularly for people leaving prison and jail who have behavioral health needs. To support these efforts, some local leaders have started developing supportive housing, which is an evidence-based intervention that combines affordable housing with wraparound services and has no residency time limit.
Read More
Apply Now to Join a National Program for Criminal Justice and Mental Health Learning Sites
In partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is seeking applicants to join the nationwide Criminal Justice-Mental Health Learning Sites Program, which will highlight effective approaches from crisis response through courts, jails, probation, and community-based programs.
Read More
Congress Approves the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act
With unanimous consent, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act of 2022 yesterday, officially approving the legislation sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Tom Emmer (R-MN). The bill will expand and improve upon the success of the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) to give the country’s criminal justice and mental health systems the tools they need to serve some of their most vulnerable individuals. It will also provide the resources to help communities divert people from the criminal justice system when appropriate.
Read More
President Biden Signs Spending Bill Funding Key Criminal Justice Programs
On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2023. Among other administration priorities, the omnibus spending bill funds various state and local justice system grant programs within the U.S. Department of Justice.
Read More