Kenosha County Treatment Court |
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What is the Behavioral Health Treatment Court?
Established in 2013, the goal of this unique treatment court is to stabilize people with mental illnesses in order to keep them from returning to the criminal court system. Service providers affiliated with the program help participants receive therapy, medications, housing and employment as appropriate.
This program is not just about medical treatment. It is also about establishing a good support system and mentoring individuals on skills they need to stay well, and to become organized and independent. It helps participants develop life skills and a routine that they can maintain which includes therapy, medications, safe and secure hosing and employment. The goal is to transform the individual into a productive member of our community.
In the first two years of the program 27 people have joined, 3 have graduated, and nine were discharged.
The Kenosha County Treatment Court is an intervention program for adults who have pled guilty to one or more crimes related to their severe and persistent mental illness and/or drug or alcohol addiction and are having difficulty stabilizing in their recovery. Treatment intervention is structured around the authority and personal involvement of the Treatment Court Judge and the Team of Treatment Court Professionals. By working together, they seek to provide a variety of programs and supervision that support and help maintain a stable life free from illegal drugs and alcohol.
Kenosha’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court began operations and the first Drug Court participant was accepted on August 19, 2009. In January of 2017 the Kenosha County Drug and Alcohol Treatment court absorbed the Behavioral Health Treatment Court and was renamed simply The Kenosha County Treatment Court, a seamless transition.
Who is Eligible?
Individuals with a history of criminal convictions and a severe and persistent mental illness, which contributes to why he or she is in court. These defendants have demonstrated that they are of high risk and high needs.
Eligible participants are identified through screenings and must be diagnosed with a moderate to severe substance abuse disorder and/or significant behavioral health diagnosis. To be accepted, individuals must be willing to abide by the Treatment Court program rules. Once they are accepted into the program, they are placed on probation with the specifically trained probation agent and develop a treatment plan that is created by the whole team: their agent, the Judge, Court Coordinator, Treatment professionals, and case workers, with regular status hearings in front of the Judge.
How can a defendant join the program?
The program operates on a referral system. Individuals are recommended for the program by others (such as attorneys, judges, and probation officers), but this does not always mean automatic acceptance into the program.
Once accepted by the program, the defendant is assigned a case manager to help them navigate the program services and requirements.
Who manages the program?
Judge Jodi L. Meier oversees the program and determines if participants are meeting their goals and what consequences they may receive. When goals are met, incentives like gas station gifts cards are provided. If goals aren’t met, participants receive consequences like community sanctions or jail time.
Jodi L. Meier is a judge for the Kenosha County Circuit Court, presiding over Branch 7. She was appointed to the bench in July 2016 and elected in 2017 to a 5-year term. Judge Meier received her undergraduate degree from Marquette University in 1988 and her J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 1991. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Meier was an attorney in private practice since 1991, predominantly practicing in the criminal and family courts. She was a Guardian ad Litem for Kenosha County since 2005 representing children and vulnerable adults in the court system. In 2015, Judge Meier was appointed a Court Commissioner by Judge Chad Kerkman.
Stephanie Karls, the Coordinator of Kenosha County Treatment Court, was the original Coordinator for the Drug Court since 2010. She is the only fully grant-funded member of the Team, and is employed by Kenosha Human Development Services. Prior to her job with the Drug Court, she worked for 5 years as an Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator for Women and Children’s Horizons, where she served as a facilitator for the Living Free Program, teaching Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Education as well as Life Skills to males and females at the Kenosha Detention Center. This program is highly utilized by the Treatment Court Program. Ms. Karls received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
How does the program work?
Initially a defendant must attend court on a weekly basis. Over time this frequency can reduce to twice per month and then once per month. During this time a defendant must meet with their probation officer, a program coordinator, attend treatment, take drug tests, and perform assigned tasks like seeking housing and/or employment. Of a participant in the program is unemployed, they will be assigned to work crew or community service.
Drug and Alcohol testing is a major component of the program. Any drug or alcohol addictions are treated as a co-occurring disorder.
Established in 2013, the goal of this unique treatment court is to stabilize people with mental illnesses in order to keep them from returning to the criminal court system. Service providers affiliated with the program help participants receive therapy, medications, housing and employment as appropriate.
This program is not just about medical treatment. It is also about establishing a good support system and mentoring individuals on skills they need to stay well, and to become organized and independent. It helps participants develop life skills and a routine that they can maintain which includes therapy, medications, safe and secure hosing and employment. The goal is to transform the individual into a productive member of our community.
In the first two years of the program 27 people have joined, 3 have graduated, and nine were discharged.
The Kenosha County Treatment Court is an intervention program for adults who have pled guilty to one or more crimes related to their severe and persistent mental illness and/or drug or alcohol addiction and are having difficulty stabilizing in their recovery. Treatment intervention is structured around the authority and personal involvement of the Treatment Court Judge and the Team of Treatment Court Professionals. By working together, they seek to provide a variety of programs and supervision that support and help maintain a stable life free from illegal drugs and alcohol.
Kenosha’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court began operations and the first Drug Court participant was accepted on August 19, 2009. In January of 2017 the Kenosha County Drug and Alcohol Treatment court absorbed the Behavioral Health Treatment Court and was renamed simply The Kenosha County Treatment Court, a seamless transition.
Who is Eligible?
Individuals with a history of criminal convictions and a severe and persistent mental illness, which contributes to why he or she is in court. These defendants have demonstrated that they are of high risk and high needs.
Eligible participants are identified through screenings and must be diagnosed with a moderate to severe substance abuse disorder and/or significant behavioral health diagnosis. To be accepted, individuals must be willing to abide by the Treatment Court program rules. Once they are accepted into the program, they are placed on probation with the specifically trained probation agent and develop a treatment plan that is created by the whole team: their agent, the Judge, Court Coordinator, Treatment professionals, and case workers, with regular status hearings in front of the Judge.
How can a defendant join the program?
The program operates on a referral system. Individuals are recommended for the program by others (such as attorneys, judges, and probation officers), but this does not always mean automatic acceptance into the program.
Once accepted by the program, the defendant is assigned a case manager to help them navigate the program services and requirements.
Who manages the program?
Judge Jodi L. Meier oversees the program and determines if participants are meeting their goals and what consequences they may receive. When goals are met, incentives like gas station gifts cards are provided. If goals aren’t met, participants receive consequences like community sanctions or jail time.
Jodi L. Meier is a judge for the Kenosha County Circuit Court, presiding over Branch 7. She was appointed to the bench in July 2016 and elected in 2017 to a 5-year term. Judge Meier received her undergraduate degree from Marquette University in 1988 and her J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 1991. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Meier was an attorney in private practice since 1991, predominantly practicing in the criminal and family courts. She was a Guardian ad Litem for Kenosha County since 2005 representing children and vulnerable adults in the court system. In 2015, Judge Meier was appointed a Court Commissioner by Judge Chad Kerkman.
Stephanie Karls, the Coordinator of Kenosha County Treatment Court, was the original Coordinator for the Drug Court since 2010. She is the only fully grant-funded member of the Team, and is employed by Kenosha Human Development Services. Prior to her job with the Drug Court, she worked for 5 years as an Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator for Women and Children’s Horizons, where she served as a facilitator for the Living Free Program, teaching Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Education as well as Life Skills to males and females at the Kenosha Detention Center. This program is highly utilized by the Treatment Court Program. Ms. Karls received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
How does the program work?
Initially a defendant must attend court on a weekly basis. Over time this frequency can reduce to twice per month and then once per month. During this time a defendant must meet with their probation officer, a program coordinator, attend treatment, take drug tests, and perform assigned tasks like seeking housing and/or employment. Of a participant in the program is unemployed, they will be assigned to work crew or community service.
Drug and Alcohol testing is a major component of the program. Any drug or alcohol addictions are treated as a co-occurring disorder.
A Court of Refuge: Stories From The Bench Of America's First Mental Health Court by Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren
The story of America’s first Mental Health Court as told by its presiding judge, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren – from its inception in 1997 to its implementation in over 400 courts across the nation.
As a young lawyer, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren bore witness to the consequences of an underdeveloped mental health care infrastructure. Unable to do more than offer guidance, she watched families being torn apart as client after client was ensnared in the criminal justice system for crimes committed as a result of addiction, homelessness, and severe mental illness.
In A Court of Refuge, Judge Lerner-Wren tells the story of how the court grew from an offshoot of her criminal division without the aid of any federal funding, to a revolutionary institution that has successfully diverted more than 20,000 people with serious mental illness from jail and into treatment facilities and other community resources. Working under the theoretical framework of therapeutic jurisprudence, Judge Wren and her growing network of fierce, determined advocates, families, and supporters sparked a national movement of using courts as a place of healing.
Poignant and sharp, Lerner-Wren demonstrates that though mental health courts offer some relief in under-served communities, they can only serve as a single piece of a new focus on the vast overhaul of the policies that got us here. Lerner-Wren crafts a refreshing possibility for a future where our legal system and mental health infrastructure work in step to decriminalize rather than stigmatize.
The story of America’s first Mental Health Court as told by its presiding judge, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren – from its inception in 1997 to its implementation in over 400 courts across the nation.
As a young lawyer, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren bore witness to the consequences of an underdeveloped mental health care infrastructure. Unable to do more than offer guidance, she watched families being torn apart as client after client was ensnared in the criminal justice system for crimes committed as a result of addiction, homelessness, and severe mental illness.
In A Court of Refuge, Judge Lerner-Wren tells the story of how the court grew from an offshoot of her criminal division without the aid of any federal funding, to a revolutionary institution that has successfully diverted more than 20,000 people with serious mental illness from jail and into treatment facilities and other community resources. Working under the theoretical framework of therapeutic jurisprudence, Judge Wren and her growing network of fierce, determined advocates, families, and supporters sparked a national movement of using courts as a place of healing.
Poignant and sharp, Lerner-Wren demonstrates that though mental health courts offer some relief in under-served communities, they can only serve as a single piece of a new focus on the vast overhaul of the policies that got us here. Lerner-Wren crafts a refreshing possibility for a future where our legal system and mental health infrastructure work in step to decriminalize rather than stigmatize.