Cobb County Mental Health Court Graduates Five People
Kristie Garrett
Five participants graduated Thursday from a two-year program at Cobb County’s mental health court. It’s one of 24 mental health courts in the state for people diagnosed with mental illnesses.
Cobb County Mental Health Court coordinator Adrienne Bowen said it keeps individuals charged with felonies out of jail and saves money in the long-term.
“There’s a much less likelihood that somebody would re-offend or they would have an emotional or psychotic break because we’re seeing them on such an ongoing basis,” Bowen said. “So you’ve lessened the amount of time that officers on the road have to deal with them, you’ve lessened hospital admissions for mental health issues because they’re getting the treatment and the services they need through the court.”
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office says 33 percent of its inmates are diagnosed with a mental illness and the county spends $300,000 each year on medication to treat these inmates. Nationally, it’s closer to 50 percent.
The program is funded by a $200,000 grant from the Council of Accountability Court Judges and has had 15 graduates since it began in 2012 under Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark.
Graduates have the opportunity to have the felony charges dismissed from their record after completion of the program. The program works to connect graduates to housing and employment.
The district attorney screens applicants before they are eligible for mental health court. Individuals who have committed one of the “seven deadly sins” (murder, rape, armed robbery with firearm, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery or voluntary manslaughter) are not eligible for the program.
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