Suite 200
Juneau, AK 99801-1121
(907) 465-3071
(907) 465-3079 (Fax)
amhb@alaska.net
|
431 N.Franklin Street Suite 200 Juneau, AK 99801-1121 (907) 465-3071 |
| Presiding Judge Elaine Andrews of the Third Judicial District
(Anchorage) signed a Court Order on April 14, 1999 which placed the Anchorage District
Court with two other courts dealing with the revolving door that brings mentally impaired
individuals back into the criminal justice system due to lack of sustained community
treatment. Broward County, Florida, King County, Washington and Anchorage's District Court are recognized by the federal Bureau of Justice Administration as the leaders in an effort to link misdemeanants with mental disabilities with community services through court intervention. Called "mental health courts," BJA sees them as the judicial frontier. Judge Stephanie Rhoades of Anchorage has received national recognition for her leadership in developing Anchorage's mental health court. The Anchorage Mental Health Court works with a pilot project, Jail Alternative Services, in the Department of Corrections to link up to 40 incarcerated, sentenced, mentally disabled misdemeanor offenders with community based care as an alternative to jail time. One of a few in the country, this project, sponsored by the Alaska Mental Health Board and funded by the Alaska Mental Health Trust, is a three year effort to evaluate the impact on the judicial and correctional systems and on public safety of ensuring that mentally disabled misdemeanants comply with treatment. "Criminalization of people with mental disabilities is a national problem,"
according to Walter Majoros, Executive Director of the AMHB. "The Alaska Mental
Health Board responded with these innovative projects in recognition that a large number
of misdemeanor cases in Alaska involve individuals with mental disabilities, making the
Department of Corrections the largest single provider of mental health services in
Alaska." For more information, call Margo Waring at 465-3278 |