New York Mental Health Diversion Court’s Progress Slowed by the Pandemic

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on our country’s health care system. Each day, there are news stories about hospitals reaching full capacity as overworked doctors, nurses, and attendants struggle to keep up with patient care. In addition to straining medical resources, the pandemic has increased the need for behavioral health services, including those offered by mental health diversion courts. However, like many other public entities, courts have been limited by COVID-19, making it difficult for diversion programs to serve those with behavioral health needs. In New York City, where nearly one in every 25 citizens lives with a serious mental illness, these programs are essential.

According to a recent report, approximately “280,000 adult New Yorkers have [a] serious mental illness, such as diagnoses of schizophrenia or major depressive disorder accompanied by substantial functional impairment.” City officials believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the care needs and access challenges for this population, especially those experiencing homelessness or who have been involved in the criminal justice system.

New York City has several mental health court programs that offer specialized services to defendants with certain mental illnesses. However, the pandemic has led to multiple court shutdowns, restricting the availability of mental health court diversion services throughout the city. According to a recent report, one New York program that the pandemic has impacted in this way is the Manhattan Mental Health Court (MMHC).

The MMHC is a referral-based mental health diversion court program that combines the efforts of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Special Litigation Bureau, a designated judge, and lawyers, with services provided through the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES). According to the program’s website, to be eligible for participation in the MMHC, a defendant must be 18 years old, charged with a non-violent felony offense, and diagnosed with a mental illness such as bipolar disorder, major depression, or schizophrenia. Those charged with violent felony offenses may be considered for program eligibility on a case-by-case basis.

Participation in the MMHC is voluntary, and defendants must agree to treatment before entering the program. Eligible defendants may be referred by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and mental health agencies. Upon successful completion, program participants can plead to a reduced charge or charges and be sentenced according to the terms of a program-connected plea agreement.

Like several other mental health diversion programs in the country, the MMHC's goal is to provide incarceration alternatives while holding defendants accountable for their actions. The program also seeks to help ensure that defendants receive treatment for their mental health conditions by providing comprehensive evaluations by medical professionals, linking them to the appropriate treatment services, and assisting them in gaining access to needed medications. The MMHC also provides defendants with access to vocational education and substance abuse treatment services.

According to a recent report, the MMHC program serves a limited number of defendants even when it is fully operational. In 2018, the program reportedly received 74 requests for referral. However, only 43 cases, approximately 58%, were referred. Of the 136 requests received in 2019, only 46 (about 34%) were approved for referral. Further, even before the pandemic, cases within the program moved slowly, averaging a reported 286-day waiting period from arraignment to mental health court, with the process lasting between 18 to 24 months. In March of 2020, the MMHC program had referred 3 cases, 12 were not referred, and 35 were pending. However, the court closed mid-month due to the pandemic, further slowing the program’s availability and progress.

The MMHC, like several other similar programs in the country, was designed to address the needs of those defendants who require mental health treatment and other services while offering an alternative to the standard criminal justice model. Often, crimes that diversion court defendants commit are connected to the state of their mental health. Mental health diversion programs can consider a participant’s condition and other related facts when determining the appropriate penalties for their conduct. Further, when those in need of support get the care and services they require, it may help minimize the need for future criminal justice intervention. However, to achieve these results and to have the desired community impact, it’s crucial that mental health diversion courts be widely available as well as fully operational.

If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation, contact us or call (509) 991-7058.

Suicide and its Impact on the Criminal Justice System

By Elizabeth Kelley and Francesca M. Flood

Whether you are a defendant, family member, criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, judge, law enforcement officer, academic, or mental health professional, this book provides much-needed information about a pervasive phenomenon––suicide in the criminal justice system.

For far too long, speaking about suicide was a taboo subject. Today, it is a topic we cannot avoid, and we are finally coming to terms with its pervasiveness across all races, ethnicities, religions, and professions. Yet despite this growing awareness, we have yet to acknowledge and address the arc of suicide in the criminal justice system.

In this seminal work, the authors enlist the insights of academic specialists, professionals within the criminal justice system, and individuals who have served time to bring voice to the subject of suicide within the criminal justice system. This unique book provides insights that have yet to be broadly examined. Whether you are a defendant, family member, criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, judge, law enforcement officer, academic, or mental health professional, this book provides much-needed information about a pervasive phenomenon––suicide in the criminal justice system.

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Elizabeth Kelley

Criminal Defense Attorney

Elizabeth Kelley is a criminal defense lawyer with a nationwide practice specializing in representing people with mental disabilities. She is the co-chair of The Arc's National Center for Criminal Justice and Disability, serves on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights, Criminal Justice Section Council, and Editorial Board of the Criminal Justice Magazine. Learn more.

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