NY Task Force Lays Out Plan for Expanding Mental Health Courts

A New York State court task force on Tuesday issued its first report in which it calls for setting up mental health courts in rural counties and within the family court system.

The report—the first issued by the Judicial Task Force on Mental Illness since it was established last year—proposes five initial steps the court system can take over the next year to help divert people with mental illness away from the justice system and connect them to essential services. The recommendations jibe with the court system’s goal to expand New York’s 340 treatment courts for those with mental illness, ...