San Luis Obispo County To Begin New Mental Health Court Program
San Luis Obispo County on Friday will begin a new court program that will require people with mental illnesses who are on probation to check in with a judge regularly, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports. Under the new program, people with mental illnesses on probation will report on their progress to the same judge for each visit, which initially will occur as frequently as every two weeks. Currently, probationers with mental illnesses check in with different judges only when they break the law. Those in the program also are enrolled in the county's Mentally Ill Probationers Services program, which is designed for frequent lawbreakers with mental illnesses. Currently, 22 people are enrolled in that program, which can accommodate as many as 30. The program already requires participants to meet regularly with a therapist and attend group therapy sessions. The new program, which is being funded by a $20,000 state grant, is part of an effort to hold probationers with mental illnesses more accountable and keep them out of jail or the hospital, the Tribune reports (Phillips, San Luis Obispo Tribune, 2/2).
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