HERE'S HOW COUNTY'S MENTAL HEALTH COURT WORKS

ROCKFORD -- The Therapeutic Intervention Program (TIP Court) is
funded through the 1-cent sales tax voters approved to build a new
jail and pay for alternative programs to reduce the jail population.

The goal is to break the cycle of arrest and incarceration for people
who commit crimes because of their mental illness. The program is
based on the belief that treating the mental illness and, often,
substance abuse that goes with it, can keep people out of the revolving door.

"The object is still justice," said Chief Judge Kathryn Zenoff, who
presides over TIP Court. "One of the reasons this program will be
successful is that the authority of the court accompanies the
willingness to help someone.

"If we can get people with mental illness to take their medication,
participate in treatment, get job training, link them with other
entitlements, and have a stable home, it has been shown that they are
less likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, public
safety is increased and the quality of their lives is improved."

The Winnebago County Board authorized spending money from the sales
tax for TIP Court. Janet Wattles Center receives almost $174,000
annually for its services to TIP. The in-house expenses for the court
are about $160,000, which doesn't include probation office expenses,
the assistant state's attorney or public defender services or the
judge's salary, Zenoff said.

Defendants are referred to the court by various people, including
police, public defenders or private attorneys, prosecutors, judges,
probation officers, pretrial service officers or community mental
health caseworkers.

More than 100 police officers and sheriff's deputies in Winnebago
County have received special training to identify mental health
issues in people they encounter on police calls.

If accepted into the program, defendants are required to report often
to the court and follow Zenoff's orders. Participation is voluntary
and defendants sign papers indicating their desire to have their
cases handled in TIP Court.

In exchange for participating in and successfully completing the
program, defendants may have their charges dismissed. The program
will not accept violent offenders. It will accept some defendants who
are charged with domestic battery, but only if the victims (often
family members) consent.

More than half the defendants in TIP court have substance abuse
issues, in addition to mental illness. Mental health professionals
say it is common for people with mental illness to "self-medicate"
with alcohol or illegal drugs to help themselves feel better. Many
TIP defendants are subjected to regular and random "drops" (urine
tests) to monitor drug use.

Noncompliance with the judge's orders may result in sanctions,
including jail time. Many of the TIP Court defendants have been in
and out of jail in the past, usually because of actions related to
their mental illness. The 35 defendants who participated in the
program in 2005 had logged a combined total of almost 4,200 days in
jail before entering the program.

A recent survey of local jail inmates indicated that about 14 percent
have mental health issues.

"Some of these people, we've seen for years," said Public Defender
Karen Sorensen, who represents most of the TIP Court defendants.
"They all want to do this because it's the best thing for them to do.
Maybe it's not the best thing for them legally, because I could get
them straight probation."

The reason defendants volunteer for the program, she said, is that it
is an opportunity to change their lives.

Many defendants are low-income residents, and many have not had
access to medical or mental health care.

Virginia Desjarlais is one of two probation officers assigned to TIP
participants.

"One of the joys of this court is that they have access to services
they are entitled to, and there is a coordination of services that
they might not get in another program or ever get at all," she said.

The biggest challenge, according to everyone involved in the program,
is the lack of appropriate housing and treatment for people with
co-occurring disorders, the new term for people who suffer from
mental illness and drug addiction.

Zenoff and Judge J. Edward Prochaska, who presides over drug court,
convened a mini-summit March 9 to shine a light on the issue. A
working group has been appointed to study the extent of the problem
and propose possible solutions.

"There is a need for integrated, simultaneous treatment rather than
sequential treatment," Zenoff said. "A lot of people in this court
don't have the skills or literacy level to participate in some of the
residential treatment programs that exist to date."