Delaware Mental Health Courts’ Process Evaluation: Progressive Treatment and Systematic Obstacles

Abstract

Despite the recent proliferation of Mental Health Courts (MHC) nationwide, little empirical research connects on-the-ground insight into how these courts work with their measurable outcomes. This paper contributes to the existing literature on MHC by illustrating some of issues that Delaware’s New Castle County MHCs have faced in their daily operation that appears to hinder the effectiveness of the courts, as well as highlighting some of the obstacles other jurisdictions should address as they implement their own MHC. While numerous articles have highlighted potential obstacles and have made suggestions about how MHC should run in theory (See Scheider 2008), this paper will discuss technical issues that affect the operation of the MHC and the innovative ways that Delaware’s Chief Justice’s Task Force is seeking to address them, as well a some very preliminary outcome measures that underline potential for progress, improvement, and expansion.

Keywords: mental health court, problem-solving courts

JEL Classification: K14