'Judge's Guide to Mental Health Diversion' examined

The National Center for State Courts will present a webinar on “Mental Health Diversion - Lessons from the Field” Monday, December 11, from 4 to 5 p.m. via Zoom.

In 2022, the National Judicial Task Force Examine Courts’ Responses to Mental Illness recommended that the “Judge’s Guide to Mental Health Diversion,” a vital tool for judges across the country for over a decade, should be updated.

The new guide, with revisions by the National Center for State Courts, along with stakeholders and national experts, contains updated information and relies on a better understanding of how to effectively divert people with mental health and co-occurring disorders towards treatment at every stage of legal system involvement.

In 2023, the National Center for State Courts provided technical assistance to six jurisdictions around the United States to develop pre-adjudication diversion programs. The pilot jurisdictions assembled system-wide stakeholder teams to lead these efforts, while also contributing to the improvement of the revised “Judge’s Guide to Mental Health Diversion.”

Attendees of this webinar will learn about the soon-to-be-released “Judge’s Guide to Mental Health Diversion,” how courts in Kentucky and Missouri used the guide to develop new diversion opportunities, and NCSC’s ongoing efforts to improve outcomes for people with mental health and co-occurring disorders.

Panelists include:

• Judge Steve Leifman, associate administrative judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, Florida (Miami-Dade County)

• Judge Nathan Carroz, associate circuit judge, 12th Judicial Circuit Court, Missouri

• Judge Kevin Mullins, district judge of the 47th Judicial District Court, Kentucky

Michelle O’Brien, principal court management consultant, National Center for State Courts, will moderate the presentation.

To register for the webinar, visit www.ncsc.org and click on “webinars.”