It's no secret that our country's criminal courts, county jails and federal prisons are besieged with offenders who struggle with mental health problems.
Nonetheless, there is an inherent problem with this statistical fact regarding correctional facilities, including in Northwest Indiana.
"Our jails and prisons have become their treatment centers," said Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez, who deals with the issue on a daily basis.
This is especially true at Lake County Jail, where the average mental health caseload is roughly 20 percent of the jail's total population, according to the jail's figures.
"On any given day, the jail has an alarmingly large number of individuals who suffer from mental illness housed in the Y Pod," said Kellie Bittorf, executive director of Lake County Community Corrections. "All of these folks are coming back to our communities at risk of returning to the criminal justice system again and again without the aid of appropriate treatment and supportive services."
Vasquez explained the process this way: "A person is arrested and given medication or treatment while incarcerated. The case is resolved and the person eventually fails shortly thereafter by violating the conditions of a sentence. Or that person is rearrested on a new charge. Then the process begins all over again."
"It's the classic definition of insanity," he said. "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."
To help avoid repeating this, Vasquez and other correctional officials are launching the county's first mental health court later this month. Only three other Indiana counties – Allen, Madison and Marion counties – offer such mental health courts.
"The program is designed for nonviolent crimes, and the courts will be collaborating with local treatment facilities in Northwest Indiana for the guaranteed success of the program's participants," said Amy Brinkley, director of the Gary branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Inmates will continue to take medications while in the program, paid for by Medicaid, if the participant is on home detention, or the Recovery Works grant. All participants will be under the care of a psychiatrist at a local mental health center.
"Along with treatment, we would like to start a mentorship program, where we can assign a mentor to each individual," added Michael Pirtle, a mental health specialist with Lake County Community Corrections.
In regard to liability issues with mentors, evidence-based risk assessments are being completed for all participants. The majority of meetings will be done over the phone or in public places.
"Known violent offenders will not be accepted into (this program)," said Judy Love, coordinator of the new court. "Precautions are in place and assessed on a case by case, ongoing basis."
"This is a population of people who should not necessarily be defined as your typical offender," Love said. "These are individuals who need the support of many community agencies to address their needs and to help stabilize them."
"Because these individuals continuously find themselves incarcerated due to issues stemming from their mental illness, the ultimate goal is to reduce recidivism," Love added.
The plan is to select six initial jail inmates who will be placed on probation, meet specific criteria and certain requirements for their treatment. They will then meet monthly with Vasquez, who will preside over this new court, for up to 18 months depending on their progress.
"We can no longer find it acceptable to ignore this segment of the criminal court population and expect anything to change or get better," Vasquez said. "This (new program) will provide treatment in lieu of incarceration or conviction. The hope is that it will provide more supervision and accountability via a court process than what the person would otherwise have on his or her own."
Bittorf said there has been ongoing discussion for a couple of years about the implementation of such a new court. Lake County, however, can't wait one more month.
"Community corrections continues to see an increase of individuals who are ordered to its programs," she said. "Mental health courts are proven to be effective in reducing recidivism, crime and reducing jail populations. Ultimately, this will improve public safety and public health."
For several years I've heard from families of jail inmates who desperately wanted this type of court for their mentally ill loved one. This is one of many reasons why I will be shadowing this new mental health court after its March 17 launch and writing about its progress throughout the year.
Hopefully, it can better explain exactly how the new court will work while helping to demystify the stigma of mental illness in our correctional system.
"As a criminal court system, we ask ourselves, are we doing as much as we can? And can we do more?" Vasquez asked. "Our response is that we have to do more and we can do more."
Funding for this new program currently comes from the county's community corrections budget and its existing staff. Officials, though, have already applied for grant funding.
Pirtle is seeking volunteer mentors to take part in the program.
"I am making an appeal to people who've been successful in dealing with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder, among other illnesses," he said.
"A mentor does not need to be a mental health professional, but someone who is willing to encourage, to listen, and to check up on our clients. And to reinforce clients who are battling the court system that they are not alone," he said.
"I'm confident that our efforts… will reduce the rates of recidivism for this population significantly," Love said.
"My hope is that we provide offenders… with a continuous support system that will result in long-term, law-abiding behavior for program graduates," Bittorf said.
I've been continually impressed with the success rate of a similarly styled drug court and veterans' treatment court in Porter County, which also hold graduation ceremonies for clients. The courts' goal of rescuing clients' lives reflects "the starfish fable," which is often read aloud by new graduates.
The story tells of an old man who walks along miles of beach to rescue starfish left out in the sun to die. A young man asks the old man why he wastes his time doing so.
"You can't possibly save them all. Your efforts won't make any difference at all," he tells the old man.
The old man listens calmly, bends down to pick up another starfish, and throws it into the sea. "It made a difference to that one," he replies.