Tarrant County Mental Health Treatment Program
Persons with mental health issues are often jailed for crimes over which they had little or no control. While this punishes the behavior, it fails to address the deeper issue of the illness itself. Thus, individuals never get the actual correctional treatment they need.
In the mental illness diversion program, individuals with a documented mental health problem are treated as patients, not criminals.
What is the mental illness diversion program?
The mental illness diversion program was started by a local judge who recognized the severity of placing mentally ill individuals in jail and prison cells along with criminals from the general population. Not only were they a danger to themselves, but also to those around them. In addition, they lacked the medical and psychiatric care they needed to cure the problem. Today, this judge supervises all mentally ill cases that are referred through this program.
In the program, individuals are placed on a strict, supervised probation with regular court check-in dates to document and receive progress updates. Psychiatrists and other professionals develop a mental health treatment program, customized to meet the specific needs of the participants. Following completion of the program, the charges are dismissed and may be eligible for expunction.
Who is eligible?
Many individuals with documented mental health issues are eligible for the diversion program. Sometimes all it takes is a family physician to testify to the severity of the condition when their patients are off medications.
At the law office of Richard A. Henderson, we have helped many mentally ill clients avoid penalties of criminal charges by entering into the diversion program. Attorney Richard A. Henderson is a strong proponent of getting these clients the help they need.
Contact Us
Learn more about the Texas mental illness diversion program by contacting a lawyer at the law office of Richard A. Henderson. We represent clients throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Spanish service is available. Hablamos Español.
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