Location

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Greenspun Hall

Description

The number of America’s mental health courts has grown significantly over the course of the past 15 years. Mental health courts can be seen as a form of therapeutic jurisprudence where the court implements therapeutic interventions, case management and treatment (Palermo, 2010). A mental health court was established in Clark County during 2003. Its mission is to promote engagement in treatment, improve quality of life, decrease recidivism, and increase community safety and awareness (Glass, 2008).


The focus of the evaluation of the Clark County Mental Health Court, limited to performance measures related to the decreased recidivism by its clients and graduates, provides an incomplete assessment of the program’s outcomes. The goal of this research is to develop a comprehensive set of outcome measurements to more fully reflect the impact the court program has for the client, the criminal justice system, and our community.

Keywords

County courts; Mentally ill — Rehabilitation; Mentally ill offenders; Nevada – Clark County

Disciplines

Counseling Psychology | Criminology and Criminal Justice | Mental Disorders | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation | Psychiatry and Psychology

Language

English


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Apr 20th, 1:00 PM Apr 20th, 2:00 PM

Clark County Mental Health Court: An outcomes-based evaluation model of residential and treatment programs beyond recidivism

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Greenspun Hall

The number of America’s mental health courts has grown significantly over the course of the past 15 years. Mental health courts can be seen as a form of therapeutic jurisprudence where the court implements therapeutic interventions, case management and treatment (Palermo, 2010). A mental health court was established in Clark County during 2003. Its mission is to promote engagement in treatment, improve quality of life, decrease recidivism, and increase community safety and awareness (Glass, 2008).


The focus of the evaluation of the Clark County Mental Health Court, limited to performance measures related to the decreased recidivism by its clients and graduates, provides an incomplete assessment of the program’s outcomes. The goal of this research is to develop a comprehensive set of outcome measurements to more fully reflect the impact the court program has for the client, the criminal justice system, and our community.