MAHONING COUNTY New court to allow mental treatment

Offenders will have the option of going to mental-health court.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Officials have firmed up operating plans for the Mahoning County Mental Health Court and expect it to be up and running around Nov. 1.
Municipal Judge Robert Douglas will preside over the mental-health court, the goal of which is to consider treatment instead of incarceration for nonviolent offenders.
Judge Douglas has said there will be much coordination and cooperation between the and mental-health court and the drug court, which he also operates.
He estimated that 75 percent to 80 percent of the people who come before him in drug court also have mental illnesses of some kind.
New liasion
The Mahoning County Mental Health Board announced Thursday it has hired Linda Blum, its current forensic monitor, to be the mental-health court liaison, working out of Turning Point Counseling, 611 Belmont Ave.
The mental-health court is financed by a two-year $75,000 Department of Justice grant and $25,000 a year in matching funds from the county mental health board.
Toni Nataro, Turning Point clinical director, said Blum will also assess clients and supervise the mental-health court case workers.
Nataro said selected offenders will be given the option of participating in the two-year treatment program through Turning Point Counseling or continuing through the criminal court system.
Nataro said studies have shown that two years is needed for effective treatment and to stabilize medications and housing.
If mental-health clients complete treatment, their record can be expunged.
If they fail to follow the treatment program, they can be remanded back to criminal court to face their original charges.
Nataro said the grant allows for 20 mental-health court clients to be in treatment at any one time.