F R O M T H E T H I R T E E N T H J U D I C I A L C I R C U I T C H I E F J U D G E J u d g e R o n a l d F i c a r r o t t a - C h i e f J u d g e f o r t h e T h i r t e e n t h J u d i c i a l C i r c u i t
addressing mental Health at Court
instead of “ defendants ,” they have became known as “ clients ,” which is often the vernacular in problem Solving Courts .
There was a time , not so long ago , that mental health did not get the court ’ s full attention . Yes , it was discussed somewhat frequently in criminal courtrooms , where competency was questioned and medically evaluated . It also had a place in guardianship matters , where those deemed unable to care for themselves found relief in the supervised care of the court . But now , in the Thirteenth Circuit , our Mental Health Division goes beyond the aforementioned matters .
In January 2017 , we launched the Mental Health Court ( MHC ), where I preside over cases in the Enhanced Offender Diversion Initiative ( EODI ). Hillsborough County received a grant , in partnership with the court , to provide recovery-oriented services and intensive case management for individuals with severe mental illness . ACTS was selected as the service provider to enhance the Mental Health Pretrial Initiative with a continuum of diversion alternatives .
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