On June 30, the Chattanooga Bar Association presented a seminar on the new Mental Health Court (MHC). Speakers included: the Hon. Don Poole; the Hon. Gary Starnes; Public Defender Steve Smith; Dr. Luke Queen, director of clinical services at Health Connect America; Assistant Public Defender Anna Protano-Biggs; and Samantha Bayles, sentencing advocate in the public defender’s office.
The speakers talked about the prevalence of mental illness, why lawyers need to consider it across all aspects of their cases, the ethical duties of attorneys working with mental health consumers, best practices, and basic information on the MHC and how it will function.
The need for a Mental Health Court in Hamilton County
One in four adults experiences mental illness, and one in 17 suffers from a severe and persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or chronic depression. In Hamilton County, 41 percent of the inmates at Silverdale Detention Facilities – CCA (Silverdale) and 35.2 percent of the inmates at the Hamilton County Jail are on psychotropic medication. Tennessee statistics show mental health consumers remain incarcerated up to eight times longer than non-consumers. There is a lack of structured support for them when they leave custody. Many face homelessness, difficulties with obtaining discharge medications, and substance abuse problems, on top of their mental illness. The current system leads to a revolving door with significant barriers to reentry.
The current system isn’t working, and the average cost to the system is seven times higher for mental health consumers
Chattanooga/Hamilton County Mental Health Court – making it a reality
In December 2013, the Hamilton County Concurrent Grand Jury recommended the establishment of a MHC in our community. After the release of the report, a small team comprised of members of the Office of the Public Defender, Office of the District Attorney, and a representative of NAMI Chattanooga started meeting and working inside and outside the court system to advocate the adoption of the grand jury’s recommendations. Christie Mahn Sell, judge of General Sessions Court Criminal Division I, together with Barry Steelman, judge of Criminal Court Division I and Judge Poole of Criminal Court Division III, committed their time and support to the “Mental Health Court Feasibility Study” and the subsequent planning committee.
Recognizing the strength of an inclusive plan for implementation of a MHC in Hamilton County, the team reached out to key stakeholders for input and support. The MHC is a community plan led by the public defender’s office and developed through our planning committee, a broad collaboration of government agencies, private providers, non-profits, and consumer groups. The MHC is supported by an advisory board consisting of individuals with expertise in the law, mental health, and social work, and City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County community advocates.
The Chattanooga/Hamilton County Mental Health Court is starting this month in both General Sessions Court and Criminal Court.
The City/County MHC planning committee
Judge Sell; Judge Steelman; Judge Poole; Chancellor Pam Fleenor; Jim Coppinger, Hamilton County mayor (designee – Shawn Johnson, criminal justice public safety coordinator); Andy Berke, City of Chattanooga mayor (designee – Paul Smith, public safety coordinator); Steve Smith (designees – Protano-Biggs, leader of the committee, and Bayles, sentencing advocate); Neal Pinkston, district attorney general (designees – Boyd Patterson, assistant district attorney; and Amanda Morrison, assistant district attorney); Jim Hammond, sheriff (designees – G.A. “Gino” Bennett, director of support services; Joe Fowler, deputy chief of corrections; and Wanda Mays, Crisis Intervention Team manager); Randy Russell, chief magistrate; Sharetta Smith, magistrate; Vince Dean, Criminal Court clerk (designees – Stacy Burke and Joyce Allen); Gale Reed, director, Field Services Division, Tennessee Department of Correction; Barbara Payne, director, Hamilton County Corrections; Valda Cowan, program manager, Hamilton County Community Corrections; Elaine Kelly, coordinator, Hamilton County Drug Court; Donna Maddox, executive director, Johnson Mental Health Center (designee – Tina Glenn, criminal justice mental health liaison); Melissa Wilson, agency director, Mental Health Cooperative (designee – Eve Nite, business development specialist); Gayle Lodato, senior director, Helen Ross McNabb Center; Jean Cobb, behavioral health consultant, Cherokee Health Systems; Rick Swistek, director of operations middle grand region, Health Connect America; Queen; Jane Elmore, education director, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illiness) Chattanooga; Eileen Robertson-Rehberg, director of community impact, data analysis and strategy, United Way; Zachary Newman, attorney, representative for the Chattanooga Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Linda Graham, mental health coordinator at Silverdale and the Hamilton County Jail; Barry Abbott, attorney, Cavett& Abbott; Bud Ragan, independent licensed clinical social worker; Cathy Davis, family nurse practitioner at Erlanger Medical Center; Chris Howard, warden, CCA; and Desiree Andrews, CCA.
Source: City/County MHC planning
On June 30, the Chattanooga Bar Association presented a seminar on the new Mental Health Court (MHC). Speakers included: the Hon. Don Poole; the Hon. Gary Starnes; Public Defender Steve Smith; Dr. Luke Queen, director of clinical services at Health Connect America; Assistant Public Defender Anna Protano-Biggs; and Samantha Bayles, sentencing advocate in the public defender’s office.
The speakers talked about the prevalence of mental illness, why lawyers need to consider it across all aspects of their cases, the ethical duties of attorneys working with mental health consumers, best practices, and basic information on the MHC and how it will function.
The need for a Mental Health
Court in Hamilton County
One in four adults experiences mental illness, and one in 17 suffers from a severe and persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or chronic depression. In Hamilton County, 41 percent of the inmates at Silverdale Detention Facilities – CCA (Silverdale) and 35.2 percent of the inmates at the Hamilton County Jail are on psychotropic medication. Tennessee statistics show mental health consumers remain incarcerated up to eight times longer than non-consumers. There is a lack of structured support for them when they leave custody. Many face homelessness, difficulties with obtaining discharge medications, and substance abuse problems, on top of their mental illness. The current system leads to a revolving door with significant barriers to reentry.
The current system isn’t working, and the average cost to the system is seven times higher for mental health consumers
Chattanooga/Hamilton County Mental Health Court –
making it a reality
In December 2013, the Hamilton County Concurrent Grand Jury recommended the establishment of a MHC in our community. After the release of the report, a small team comprised of members of the Office of the Public Defender, Office of the District Attorney, and a representative of NAMI Chattanooga started meeting and working inside and outside the court system to advocate the adoption of the grand jury’s recommendations. Christie Mahn Sell, judge of General Sessions Court Criminal Division I, together with Barry Steelman, judge of Criminal Court Division I and Judge Poole of Criminal Court Division III, committed their time and support to the “Mental Health Court Feasibility Study” and the subsequent planning committee.
Recognizing the strength of an inclusive plan for implementation of a MHC in Hamilton County, the team reached out to key stakeholders for input and support. The MHC is a community plan led by the public defender’s office and developed through our planning committee, a broad collaboration of government agencies, private providers, non-profits, and consumer groups. The MHC is supported by an advisory board consisting of individuals with expertise in the law, mental health, and social work, and City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County community advocates.
The Chattanooga/Hamilton County Mental Health Court is starting this month in both General Sessions Court and Criminal Court.
The City/County MHC
planning committee
Judge Sell; Judge Steelman; Judge Poole; Chancellor Pam Fleenor; Jim Coppinger, Hamilton County mayor (designee – Shawn Johnson, criminal justice public safety coordinator); Andy Berke, City of Chattanooga mayor (designee – Paul Smith, public safety coordinator); Steve Smith (designees – Protano-Biggs, leader of the committee, and Bayles, sentencing advocate); Neal Pinkston, district attorney general (designees – Boyd Patterson, assistant district attorney; and Amanda Morrison, assistant district attorney); Jim Hammond, sheriff (designees – G.A. “Gino” Bennett, director of support services; Joe Fowler, deputy chief of corrections; and Wanda Mays, Crisis Intervention Team manager); Randy Russell, chief magistrate; Sharetta Smith, magistrate; Vince Dean, Criminal Court clerk (designees – Stacy Burke and Joyce Allen); Gale Reed, director, Field Services Division, Tennessee Department of Correction; Barbara Payne, director, Hamilton County Corrections; Valda Cowan, program manager, Hamilton County Community Corrections; Elaine Kelly, coordinator, Hamilton County Drug Court; Donna Maddox, executive director, Johnson Mental Health Center (designee – Tina Glenn, criminal justice mental health liaison); Melissa Wilson, agency director, Mental Health Cooperative (designee – Eve Nite, business development specialist); Gayle Lodato, senior director, Helen Ross McNabb Center; Jean Cobb, behavioral health consultant, Cherokee Health Systems; Rick Swistek, director of operations middle grand region, Health Connect America; Queen; Jane Elmore, education director, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illiness) Chattanooga; Eileen Robertson-Rehberg, director of community impact, data analysis and strategy, United Way; Zachary Newman, attorney, representative for the Chattanooga Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Linda Graham, mental health coordinator at Silverdale and the Hamilton County Jail; Barry Abbott, attorney, Cavett& Abbott; Bud Ragan, independent licensed clinical social worker; Cathy Davis, family nurse practitioner at Erlanger Medical Center; Chris Howard, warden, CCA; and Desiree Andrews, CCA.
Source: City/County MHC planning