A Participant Observation Study of Virginia’s Behavioral Health Court Dockets

• In Event: Considering Mental Health in Courts and Sentencing

Abstract

Mental health courts provide a unique pathway to divert individuals with mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. While mental health courts are often compared to drug courts, they operate in a much different manner and most of the studies of ‘problem-solving courts’ have focused upon drug courts. This study utilized a participant observation methodology and semi-structured interviews to fully document, examine, and analyze Virginia’s behavioral health dockets. The study focused upon how these courts were implemented, how they operate, the interactions between court teams and participants, and participant outcomes. Much of the focus is also on how these dockets differ from the traditional court process and other ‘problem-solving courts’. This presentation will detail the existing literature on mental health courts and the methodology we used to fill the gap in the literature. It will then detail the results of our analysis of court observations, as well as interviews with court team members and docket participants. The presentation will conclude with an exploration of the policy implications of the study results. This study aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the role of diversionary efforts to address mental health needs within the criminal justice system.

Authors

• Steven Keener, Christopher Newport University

• Kaylee Moore, Christopher Newport University