Homesteading a Pioneer Mental Health Court: A Judicial Perspective From the Last Frontier. (February 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Trawver, Kathi R.; Rhoades, Stephanie L.
• Other Names: Anderson Leon guest-editor.; Peak Terry guest-editor.; Hughes Shannon guest-editor.; Castellano Ursula guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: American behavioral scientist. Volume 57:Number 2(2013)
• Page Start: 174
• Page End: 188
• Publication Date: 2013-02
• Subjects: mental health court -- mental health court judge -- problem-solving courts; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; United States -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1177/0002764212465417
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7642

Abstract

Although judges with interests in improving the criminal justice response to individuals with serious mental illness have long been principal leaders in the development and innovation of mental health courts (MHCs), little is known about the experiences of pioneering MHC judges. Through an edited written narrative, this article provides a history of one "first-generation" MHC through the lens of its founding judge. This chronicle of the Anchorage Mental Health Court's 15-year history details its inception and evolving challenges, triumphs, sustainability, and philosophy. The history of the Anchorage Mental Health Court, in the context of evolving national changes in MHC practices, is presented to inform both current and developing MHCs.