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The Cincinnati Beacon
County’s Criminal Justice Commission Approves Reform Initiatives
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Posted by Media Release
Expansion of Mental Health Court A Key Step Forward
As part of an ongoing effort to reform the County’s criminal justice system, the recently formed Hamilton County Criminal Justice Commission (HCCJC) approved two important measures today aimed at addressing different areas within the overall system.
One initiative approved today proposes to expand the County’s mental health court docket. Currently the mental health court handles a total of 35 inmates at one time, and excludes felony inmates. Working with national models, local service providers, and current mental health court judges, the HCCJC Policy and Structure Committee will look at ways to open the docket up to more inmates that would benefit from the court’s approach.
Additionally, the Commission will meet with experts from the Ohio Supreme Court Special Courts Docket to examine the County’s docket and make recommendations on how to expand the program.
“We know there is a far greater demand for service that we provide today,” said County Commissioner David Pepper, who vice chairs the HCCJC. “The last thing we want is people with mental illnesses sitting in jail, not getting the treatment they need, and then getting locked up again and again because of that illness.”
The other initiative approved today was to adopt a national “best practice” in facilitating offenders’ reentry into the community, called a certificate of rehabilitation. Using model legislation adopted in other states, the HCCJC Reentry Committee will design a certificate of rehabilitation program with specific requirements, and upon completion of the program, offenders will receive a document certifying they have been rehabilitated. States with these programs have found them very helpful when ex offenders apply for jobs, job training programs, licenses, and other programs that require criminal background checks.
“Offenders reentering the community must earn community trust, and these certificates give us a tool to do that. This gives offenders who have gone through rehabilitation the opportunity to prove they’ve left their old life behind,” said North College Hill Mayor Dan Brooks, who chairs the Reentry Committee.
Retired federal judge Nathaniel Jones, who chairs the HCCJC, remarked: “The progress we made today demonstrates why we need a comprehensive approach to criminal justice reform. We need to tackle issues at all ends of the system, beginning when inmates enter the system all the way through when they reenter the community. That’s the only way we’re going to have a real impact.”
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