Mental Health Task Force
De Supreme Court forms Criminal Justice & Mental Health Task Force
The frequency with which people with mental illnesses enter our criminal justice system and their handling within that system are critical issues across the nation and in Delaware. In an effort to better understand and address these issues, the Delaware Supreme Court is participating in the Chief Justices' Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative, a national project in its second year. This year Delaware was one of only four states selected by the by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center to participate and as one of the states selected, Delaware will receive funding and technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center and National GAINS Center.
Chief Justice Myron T. Steele has designated Delaware Supreme Court Justice Henry duPont Ridgely as the chair of the project due to his extensive experience with criminal justice and mental health issues. Under Justice Ridgely's leadership, the Delaware Supreme Court's Criminal Justice and Mental Health Task Force began meeting in December and has brought together judges, state leaders, legislators and nonprofit organizations (including the Mental Health Association). Over the next year, the Task Force will work to develop a strategic plan to improve outcomes for people with mental illnesses engaged with the criminal justice system.
"The frequency with which people with mental illnesses enter our courts, jails, and prisons remains a critical problem. This Task Force will greatly enhance our understanding of the problems that individuals with mental illnesses face, enable us to identify specific gaps in resources, including improvements to treatment options, as well as steps to take, when appropriate, to help individuals with mental illnesses avoid contact with the criminal justice system," said Justice Ridgely.
According to a 2006 report by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly a quarter of both state prisoners and jail inmates who reported they had a mental health problem had served three or more prior incarcerations. This makes them familiar faces in our nation's courtrooms. Justice Ridgely noted, "Delaware has already initiated substantial efforts to divert those with mental illnesses from the criminal justice system, including the establishment of pilot mental health courts in New Castle County. Through the Delaware Supreme Court's Criminal Justice and Mental Health Task Force, we look forward to the opportunity to support and expand these initiatives, and to explore new ways to improve the treatment of the mentally ill within Delaware's criminal justice system. The Task Force has the joint goals of improving the quality of life for those with mental illnesses in Delaware, increasing public safety, and ensuring that state funds directed towards mental health issues are being used most cost-effectively."
Charge of the Criminal Justice and Mental Health Task Force
The charge of the Supreme Court Mental Health/Criminal Justice Task Force is to develop recommendations to policymakers to improve prevention and system-wide responses to persons with mental illness involved in the entry into the criminal justice system or re-entry into the community through inter-branch communication, collaboration and allocation of resources for the education of the criminal justice community, the identification of juvenile and adult defendants in need of mental health treatment, the enhancement of victim's rights and the referral, when appropriate, of defendants with mental illness to mental health courts established in each county for judicially supervised community-based treatment.
For more information about the Delaware Supreme Court's Criminal Justice and Mental Health Task Force, please contact Stephanie Symons at the Administrative Office of the Courts, (302)255-2475 or stephanie.symons@state.de.us.
New Castle - (302) 577-2484 - Kent/Sussex - (800) 345-6785
or go the nearest hospital or emergency center, or call 911.