Bill aims to help courts better serve people with mental illness

CORRECTION: The original story indicated money would be used to create mental health courts, not develop specialized programs.

REFILED March 8, 2019: Cassy Barry, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 15, now sits in a Clay County jail awaiting trial on several felony charges.

“The mentally ill are not to be disposed of, but that’s what we do. We lock them up and we forget about them,” her father, Tim, told the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Division Thursday.

He spoke in support of HF474 that would fund pilot projects in two or more Minnesota counties to develop specialized programs in their probation departments to better work with people with chronic mental illness.

Her mental illness, plus a massive stroke at age 26 and the resulting traumatic brain injury, has resulted in her having numerous encounters with law enforcement. None of the encounters have led to Cassy getting the medical help she needs, Tim Barry said.

“There is a hole between criminal justice and the Department of Human Services that people fall into and cannot get out,” he said. “My daughter has been through hell in this state. The system needs to be fixed.”

“The criminal justice system in Minnesota is failing people with chronic mental illness in really serious and consequential ways every single day,” said Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL-Coon Rapids), the bill sponsor.

As amended, the bill was held over for possible inclusion in the division’s omnibus bill. The companion, SF1130, is sponsored by Sen. Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes) and awaits action by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. The House bill has an unspecified appropriation for Fiscal Year 2020.

Goals of the pilot project include:

• improving mental health service delivery;
• providing expedited assessment and treatment;
• enhancing community supervision;
• offering alternatives to jail or prison;
• reducing the number of incarceration days related to mental illness;
• eliminating the duplication of services; and
• improving collaboration between criminal justice partners and mental health providers.