1. ARLINGTON COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DOCKET July 17, 2019

2. Membership on Mental Health Criminal Justice Review Committee (MHCJRC)
CSB staff
Arlington NAMI
Certified Peer Recovery Specialist
Homeless Services staff
Sheriffs Office
Magistrate
Public Defender
Commonwealth’s Attorney
Police Department
Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police
Community Corrections
State Probation
General District Court Judge

3. MHCJRC and Progress in Diversion and Treatment
2005 Created Forensic Case Manager/Jail Diversion Team 2007 Added Western State Hospital forensic discharge planner; Developed proposal for Crisis Intervention Center 2008 Began CIT training for Arlington Police; started county-wide jail reentry program 2009 Launched Magistrate Post Booking Project 2011 Started Project Exodus - Partnership between mental health and probation

4. MHCJRC and Progress in Diversion and Treatment
2014 Created exploratory committee for a mental health court 2015 Created Bond Diversion Program Jan Effective date of Supreme Court Rule 1:25 – Specialty Dockets Feb Anna Powers (OES) facilitates discussion about creation of a BHD Oct Anna Powers suggests, given lack of consensus surrounding the structure of a docket, a Judge needs to take over to get it off the ground

5. Supreme Court of Virginia Rule 1:25 Specialty Dockets (eff. 1/16/17)
(a) Definition of and Criteria for Specialty Dockets. (1) When used in this Rule, the term “specialty dockets” refers to specialized court dockets within the existing structure of Virginia's circuit and district court system offering judicial monitoring of intensive treatment, supervision, and remediation integral to case disposition. (2) Types of court proceedings appropriate for grouping in a “specialty docket” are those which (i) require more than simply the adjudication of discrete legal issues, (ii) present a common dynamic underlying the legally cognizable behavior, (iii) require the coordination of services and treatment to address that underlying dynamic, and (iv) focus primarily on the remediation of the defendant in these dockets. The treatment, the services, and the disposition options are those which are otherwise available under law. (b) Types of Specialty Dockets. The Supreme Court of Virginia currently recognizes only the following three types of specialty dockets: (i) drug treatment court dockets as provided for in the Drug Treatment Court Act, § , (ii) veterans dockets, and (iii) behavioral/mental health dockets…. Behavioral/mental health dockets offer defendants with diagnosed behavioral or mental health disorders judicially supervised, community-based treatment plans, which a team of court staff and mental health professionals design and implement. (c) Authorization Process. A circuit or district court which intends to establish one or more types of these recognized specialty dockets must petition the Supreme Court of Virginia for authorization before beginning operation of a specialty docket or, in the instance of an existing specialty docket, continuing its operation. A petitioning court must demonstrate sufficient local support for the establishment of this specialty docket, as well as adequate planning for its establishment and continuation.
(d) Expansion of Types of Specialty Dockets. A circuit or district court seeking to establish a type of specialty docket not yet recognized under this rule must first demonstrate to the Supreme Court that a new specialty docket of the proposed type meets the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this Rule. If this additional type of specialty docket receives recognition from the Supreme Court of Virginia, any local specialty docket of this type must then be authorized as established in subsection (c) of this Rule.
(e) Oversight Structure. By order, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may establish a Specialty Docket Advisory Committee and appoint its members. The Chief Justice may also establish separate committees for each of the approved types of specialty dockets. The members of the Veterans Docket Advisory Committee, the Behavioral/Mental Health Docket Advisory Committee, and the committee for any other type of specialty docket recognized in the future by the Supreme Court shall be chosen by the Chief Justice.
(f) Operating Standards. The Specialty Docket Advisory Committee, in consultation with the committees created pursuant to subsection (e), shall establish the training and operating standards for local specialty dockets.
(g) Financing Specialty Dockets. Any funds necessary for the operation of a specialty docket shall be the responsibility of the locality and the local court, but may be provided via state appropriations and federal grants.
(h) Evaluation. Any local court establishing a specialty docket shall provide to the Specialty Docket Advisory Committee the information necessary for the continuing evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of all local specialty dockets.

6. Description of Docket Post-plea/pre-conviction therapeutic docket
Serving misdemeanor (or felony reduced to a misdemeanor) defendants suffering from serious mental illness or dual diagnosis
Dual diagnosis defined as a significant thought, mood or anxiety disorder and potentially carrying a secondary diagnosis of substance use or an intellectual or developmental disorder
Voluntary participation in Court-supervised treatment and community support in lieu of jail
Incentives: Reduce or eliminate incarceration or in the appropriate case avoid a conviction altogether
Sanctions: Immediate sanctions for non-compliance with goal of modifying behaviors

7. Eligibility 18 years of age or older
Serious mental illness or dually diagnosed
On a case-by-case basis individuals with a sole diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability will be considered
Misdemeanor charges or felonies reduced to misdemeanor by the Commonwealth
Medium to high risk of recidivism
Arlington resident or Arlington homeless on the path to becoming an Arlington resident

8. Disqualifications Substance abuse as sole diagnosis
Established residence other than Arlington
Enrolled in Arlington Circuit Court Drug Court or any other Court’s therapeutic docket
Active capias and/or warrant from another jurisdiction
Prior history of violent felony crimes
Individual cases can be reviewed by the team for inclusion

9. Behavioral Health Docket Team
General District Court Judge
Behavioral Health Docket Coordinator
Behavioral Health Clinician
Behavioral Health Case Manager
Community Corrections Unit (probation)
Commonwealth’s Attorney (or designee)
Mitigation Specialist Office of the Public Defender
Defense attorney
Economic Independence Division designee
Certified peer recovery specialist

10. Why a Docket?
Arlington County Community Services Board created the Forensic Jail Diversion Team (FJDT)
The FJDT and the Sequential intercept model (SIM)
Intercept 1: (Law Enforcement/Emergency Services) – CIT
Intercept 2: (Initial Detention/Initial Court Hearings) – Magistrate Post Booking Project
Intercept 2.5: Bond Diversion Program
Intercept 3: (Jails/Courts) - Competency restoration, discharge planning from Western State Hospital, oversight of NGRI acquitees
Intercepts 4 and 5: (Re-Entry and Community Corrections/ Community Support) – Jail Re-Entry Program and Re-entry Program Unit at RPC Shelter
Other players involved in Intercepts 2 and 2.5
Sheriff’s supervised release staff, Commonwealth and Public Defender

11. What happens at Intercepts 4 and 5?
What do we need that we don’t already have?
Intensive oversight necessary to ensure the treatment provided at Intercept 2, 2.5 and 3 continues.

12. Why now?
Nov Visit to Loudoun County BHD Jan Began work on application Jan. 16, st announced at MHCJRC meeting Jan. 24, 2019 Announced creation of docket at CCJB meeting Feb Visit to Charlottesville BHD April 2019 Meeting with J&DR May 8, 2019 First draft to stakeholders

13. Because…..
Since 2003 the MHCJRC has been overseeing improvements in mental health and jail processes to more effectively divert, treat and monitor mentally ill, justice-involved individuals.
The Behavioral Health Docket is the next step in the progression toward fully achieving those goals.
In order to have the application submitted and approved by the statewide BHD advisory committee so we can start to operate before the end of the year.
This is the beginning, not the end.