CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH MAGISTRATE DAVE MADDOX
Schoolcraft County held the first graduation on Monday of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Mental Health Court. This specialty court, based in Schoolcraft County, has approximately 50 participants its service area that includes Alger, Luce, Schoolcraft, Mackinac, and Chippewa Counties.
EUPMHC, which was launched in October 2017, is intended to reduce recidivism by aggressively treating participants underlying mental health and substance abuse disorders. Mental health court staffs work closely with Hiawatha Behavioral Health, Pathways Community Mental Health, the Veterans Administration, and several local treatment providers and hospitals.
Program length ranges from 18-24 months and combines intensive probation oversight with various intensive forms of treatment which are tailored to the participant needs.
EUPMHC is fully funded by the Michigan State Court Administrators Office and the Michigan Supreme Court and has three staff members, Ms. Karen McDougle (Program Coordinator), Ms. Brianna Johnson (Case / Data Management), and Mr. Greg Schultz (Probation Agent). Judge Mark Luoma, Judge William Carmody, and Judge Eric Blubaugh serve as the presiding mental health court judges and Magistrate David Maddox serves as the regional program administrator.
“Four years ago this program was studied, designed, and a request was submitted to SCAO to develop this treatment court. From that time, to the first graduation Monday, the mental health court staff and our partners have performed with the highest commitment to the judicial treatment process,” said Judge Mark Luoma. “We’ve identified that in certain cases, traditional sentencing wasn’t addressing the cause of the conduct. We’ve employed evidence based best practices, to attempt to address these issues and have a positive impact on the participant’s life.”
Schoolcraft County Magistrate David Maddox thanked the EUPMHC stakeholders, “we would like to thank our treatment court staff, treatment providers, treatment teams, probation agents, county prosecutors, defense counsel, and local law enforcement agencies for their continued commitment to this process. The Schoolcraft County Board of Commissioners and Schoolcraft County Clerk’s Office also continue to be vital to the program’s success.”
