August 1, 2008

Tri-County Mental Health Mental Retardation Services 2009 Jail & Detention Diversion Action Plan

Tri-County Mental Health Mental Retardation Services, which serves Montgomery County, Texas, described its plans to implement a variety of criminal justice diversion programs for people with mental illness. The most recent implementation, as of the first quarter of 2010, was a mental health diversion court for juvenile offenders. The program started in October 2009 with about $50,000 from the county and $50,000 from the state. Designed to keep juvenile offenders with mental health issues from spending time in juvenile detention, the program provides intensive community-based treatment and counseling for up to 15 juvenile offenders and their families.