Collin County has launched a new specialty court to divert mentally ill offenders into a court-supervised outpatient treatment program instead of the traditional criminal justice process.
The program combines mental health treatment with frequent court appearances, home visits, case management, counseling and community based support services.
The specialty court team will work together with community partners such as LifePath Systems to provide mental health treatment for offenders, safeguard the community, and decrease the need for hospitalization and incarceration.
"Collin County continues to make great strides serving those with mental health concerns. We are proud the new diversion court for offenses involving persons with mental illness has been created and appreciate another opportunity to assist those suffering from mental health issues in the criminal Justice system and provide them with services needed to remain stable," said Danielle Sneed, Deputy Clinical Officer of LifePath Systems.
The specialty court was funded by a grant from Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office last fall, and is open to people 17 and older with a mental health diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, major depression, bipolar and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Its start-up target is to bring 40 eligible cases into the alternative program. The court was slated to begin accepting eligible felony and misdemeanor cases on Feb. 23.
Officials estimate that the diversion program, described as an "intensive community supervision model," will run from 9-12 months for each participant, and those who complete it successfully can get their cases dismissed and expunged from court records. The program will compliment Collin County's Mental Health Managed Counsel Program led by Alyse Ferguson, which is one of only a handful of county advocacy programs in Texas for the mentally ill.
Warrant forgiveness program
The McKinney Municipal Court's warrant forgiveness program runs from March 1-31.Â
The McKinney Municipal Court will remove the warrant and $50 fee for each outstanding case that is resolved.
You must contact the Municipal Court before making your online payment or the fee will not be removed.
Those interested are encouraged to email contact-courts@mckinneytexas.org or call 972-547-7676. Those interested can also visit the court (130 S. Chestnut St.) in person without fear of arrest.
Election 2023: dates to know
The voter registration deadline for the May 2023 election is April 6.Â
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
Post a comment as anonymous
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.