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Mental Health Courts (Recovery with Justice)

Mental health court sessions include a court-imposed condition of probation for defendants who have serious mental illness or co-occurring mental health or substance use disorders.

Mental health court sessions include a court-imposed condition of probation for defendants who have serious mental illness or co-occurring mental health or substance use disorders. The sessions provide an alternative to incarceration through case management, and by linking to community-based services with probation.

The Recovery with Justice Program (RWJ) is a specialized court session that helps defendants maintain stability, achieve recovery and avoid incarceration by providing intensive social services and mental health treatment.

Participation and Locations

Probationers must participate in community-based treatment for a minimum of three months along with regular reviews by the specialty court team. Participation in the mental health court is for people placed on pre-trial probation or post-disposition probation, and who have serious mental health issues or co-occurring mental health and alcohol/substance use disorders.

Working with a mental health clinician, the probation officer assigned to the mental health session identifies the particular mental health and social needs of each participant. The treatment provider creates a service plan which includes referrals to mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment when appropriate, as well as housing, educational and employment opportunities.

There are three mental health courts within the Boston Municipal Court Department:

And there are five within the District Court Department (and one Collaborative Treatment Court):

Additional Resources

Contact   for Mental Health Courts (Recovery with Justice)

Online

Specialty Court Locations Find your Specialty Court 

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