County Board members took action on Saturday (Oct. 17) that could lead to expansion of a court program focused on offenders with mental illnesses.
The county is submitting a proposal to state officials for a behavioral health docket within the county’s circuit court. If approved by the Virginia Supreme Court, the post-plea program will serve some individuals charged with felony offenses who are suffering from serious mental illness or a combination of mental illness and developmental disabilities.
The program will allow those who agree to participate in the program to receive court-supervised treatment and community support in lieu of jail time. A similar program at the district-court level in Arlington began in 2020.
Board members authorized a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Community Services Board and a host of agencies required for the proposal.
The Circuit Court program, if implemented, will augment existing restorative justice efforts in Arlington, county staff said.
The initiative will:
“… allow for regular supervision with a team of dedicated professionals to monitor the individual’s treatment, provide a rapid application of interventions and/or incentives to modify behavior, and an opportunity to provide immediate access to mental health and/or substance treatment tailored to each individual’s specific needs … [it will] support the county’s initiative to promote public safety while also assisting Arlington’s most vulnerable in their illness management and recovery journey.”
“This is very important to all of us,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said of the initiative.
Other participants in the initiative will include the Circuit Court, Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, the Office of the Public Defender, Commonwealth’s Attorney, Arlington County Department of Human Services’ Economic Independence Division, Virginia Department of Corrections and District 10 Probation and Parole.
At the time the behavioral-health docket was established for Arlington’s General District Court, local leaders already were seeking potential expansion opportunities. According to the county government’s website:
“There is nothing to preclude Circuit Court or Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court from also developing a behavioral health docket. Specialized dockets are rare in these courts but not excluded from consideration; in Arlington there is certainly an interest in alternative sentencing and utilization of mental-health expertise in the courtrooms of both Circuit Court and J&DR Court.”
If it wins approval, the county’s Community Services Board will provide a full-time coordinator for the Circuit Court program. The initiative, once approved, will continue unless terminated by any of the participating agencies.
