Many of you may be familiar with the court system, and have a general idea of the "regular" courtroom and process. Over time, systems must adapt to problems that they are seeing and seek out ways to reduce the frequency of that problem or minimize the risk of that problem hurting their future chances for success. The court system is not immune to facing chronic issues that are not just criminal behaviors. An adaptation that some courts have made is creating "problem-solving" courts, also known as treatment courts or specialty courts. For the purpose of this post, I will refer to them as specialty courts. It should be pointed out that just because these programs exist, that does not mean that all people who may meet some of the criteria are enrolled in those programs.
Brief History:
The first type of these courts in Pennsylvania was started in Philadelphia in 1997, which was an adult drug court program. Shortly thereafter, York County (1997), Chester County (1997), Lycoming County (1998), and Allegheny County (1998) all created adult drug courts. As other problems were identified, other types of specialty courts were created throughout the Commonwealth. The first adult mental health court was developed in Allegheny County in 2001. Later, counties created veterans court programs, which first popped up in Allegheny and Lackawanna counties in 2009. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania began officially recognizing specialty courts in 2006. This attempted to centralize the specialty court programs by offering a statewide coordinator and having committees to offer support. Today, over 90 specialty courts have been established throughout the Commonwealth.
Types of Courts:
There are several different types of specialty courts that have been created to address various identified problems that the court system consistently comes into contact with. Some courts that have been established include: [List according to AOPC 9/24/2019]
Adult:
Drug Court
DUI Court
Mental Health Court
Veterans Court
Re-Entry Drug Court
Recovery Drug Court
Domestic Violence Court
Sexual Offender Court
Prostitution Court
Co-Occurring Court
Juvenile:
Drug Court
Pre-Adjudication Court
Mental Health Court
Mission of Specialty Courts:
There is a balancing act that must occur at all times in the criminal justice system, a balance between treatment and rehabilitation of the offender, and the community's safety. This is a tough scale to balance and something specialty courts attempt to do is have more input that will help keep the scales better balanced. While improving the individual is a primary goal, reducing the likelihood that that person will return to the system or re-offend is another focus.
Tools of the Trade -- How do they differ?:
These specialty courts' primary tool to address the problems identified is a team approach. Once an individual is screened and deemed to meet criteria for a specialty court program, a team is assembled to maximize that individual's success. These teams can include people from multiple agencies/departments, including, district attorney, defense attorney, probation officer, caseworker/case manager, treatment providers, and the Judge. Often, the professionals on these teams undergo specialty training and have experience/education to support the mission and success of these programs. For example, a probation officer may be the department's "mental health probation officer" because of unique training they have undergone and may have an education in psychology/mental health/mental illness. Veteran's courts utilize a mentor program where someone, often a veteran, who has undergone mentor training, will assist a new person.
In addition to the team approach, these programs begin where individuals are given a packet going over the rules and expectations. When they attend court hearings, other specialty court participants will be present, who learn from others and hold each other accountable. These hearings may be as frequent as weekly when a person first starts the program, decreasing in frequency as they progress through "phases" before "graduating" from the program. At each hearing, the Judge will ask the team for updates about the person's progress or issues, and then speak with the individual as well. Judges can offer the person incentives for doing well, such as gift cards, increased freedoms, or even graduation. They also deliver prompt sanctions for failing to meet requirements. A large incentive for many participants of these programs is they can have their charges "reduced" (in severity/numbers), dismissed, or apply for expungement, if they complete the program successfully.
Considerations:
These programs have specific criteria for people to be accepted into them, such as must be a county resident and have a verifiable history/diagnosis of substance use disorder (for drug court). These programs also have exclusionary criteria that would prevent someone from participating in these specialty court programs, such as being dishonorably discharged from the military or having committed certain criminal offenses (Megan's Law offenses). Part of the requirements of these programs is often compliance with medications or therapeutic intervention. One of the best ways for people to fully benefit from therapy or any intervention is to be open-minded and recognize the need for such intervention. Because sometimes these individuals feel they are forced, they may only be "going through the motions".
Some counties (or even states) may not have all types of specialty courts listed above. In addition, new problems may become identified and require the creation of new programs that do not yet exist anywhere. There was a recent guest opinion article in the Bucks County Courier Times by Martha Stringer about how that county needs a mental health court. Ms. Stringer is the mother of a young woman who spent 71 days in the prison there before being transferred to a long-term psychiatric hospital. She asserts that the best approach to reducing the risk for further harm to someone with a mental illness is to divert those individuals from the prison system in the first place.
Are you interested in learning more about these types of courts? Are you a professional that would like to develop similar programs in your county? Check out the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts website section on "Problem-Solving Courts". You can also attend a hearing in your county (or nearby). They are open to the public just like other adult court hearings. (Juvenile court hearings are closed to the public in Pennsylvania). You can contact your county commissioners, state representatives, and other community members about advocating for the creation of these types of courts.
**As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask. I have relevant professional knowledge and experience, and can also provide resources related to the topic.**
Sources: [Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts "Problem-Solving Courts" http://www.pacourts.us/judicial-administration/court-programs/problem-solving-courts; Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas https://www.court.co.lancaster.pa.us/129/Treatment-Courts; Martha Stringer "Guest Opinion: Mental Health Court in Bucks County is long overdue" 7/13/2020]
Photo: Twitter, Josh Shapiro, Jan 6, 2016