Well, here is good news: Utah and Arizona are at the top of the list of states diverting the mentally ill who are charged with crimes, out of the Criminal Justice System and into other services. So says the Treatment Advocacy Center in this report. On a grading scale, the national average grade given states was C+, with fully 1/3 of the states rating a D or F on this scale.
The Treatment Advocacy Center (Arlington, VA) runs a national campaign to expand access to treatment, for the mentally ill. They bring a spotlight into focus on the consequences of not treating them, and on the success of prevention programs.
In New Jersey, we see programs improving for recognizing mental illness and dealing with it in the criminal justice system. There, they estimate that 14 percent of inmates suffer from depressions, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. In the nine years since instituting treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration, they have experienced a 78% success rate – those with no arrests or convictions in the following four years.
The Arizona system is complicated, and if your loved one is charged, and is suffering from mental illness, you don’t have time to figure out how to navigate it. You need experience on your side. Criminal Defense Attorneys want to see the best outcomes for their clients, but many attorneys are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the Arizona courts in dealing with mental illness. While we applaud the general trend of improvement, we emphasize that you can’t just go with the flow. You need experience on your side.
