problem solving courts michigan

• Nation & World

Michigan Supreme Court issues problem-solving courts annual report

Tracking the progress and highlighting the success of 207 problem-solving courts across Michigan from Oct.1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court has released its 2022 Problem-Solving Courts Annual Report.

Using evidence-based practices to stop the cycle of crime, Michigan problem-solving courts were developed to address the root causes of crime among individuals.

Monroe County has its Veterans Treatment Court and Mental Health Recovery Court which help individuals in the community that are charged with criminal offenses by helping them overcome underlying issues such as substance abuse and mental illness and combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The Veterans Treatment Court gives veterans that commit nonviolent crimes a second chance to become successful civilians in our community,” said Chief District Judge Michael C. Brown in a written statement. Brown is the presiding judge for the Monroe County Veterans Treatment Court.

“Our community is suffering from a mental health crisis," District Judge Amanda L. Eicher, presiding judge for the Monroe County Mental Health Recovery Court, said in a written statement. "The Mental Health Recovery Court treats the participants’ mental health illnesses and gives them the tools to be successful in society and avoid criminal activity.”

“Problem-solving courts exemplify how we are working to increase public trust and confidence in the judiciary through collaboration and compassion-an overarching goal of our Michigan Judicial Council,” said Justice Kyra H. Bolden, the PSC liaison for the Michigan Supreme Court. “What struck me the most about this report is that these pages are not just filled with numbers and milestones; they are filled with hope and humanity.”

The report included several key findings:

• On average, mental health court graduates were nearly two times less likely to commit another crime within three years of admission to a program.
• Unemployment among adult mental health court graduates dropped by 81%.
• Average 99% improvement in mental health and 95% quality of life improvement.
• Graduates of veterans treatment courts were nearly two times less likely to reoffend within three years of admission to a program.
• Unemployment dropped by 88% among veterans treatment court graduates.
• Michigan remains a national leader with 28 veterans treatment courts

Problem-solving courts focus on providing treatment and intense supervision to offenders as an alternative to incarceration. These include drug and sobriety, mental health, veterans, and other nontraditional courts.

The Michigan Supreme Court, through its State Court Administrative Office, assists trial court judges in the management of these courts by providing training, education, operational standards, monitoring, certification requirements and funding.

Michigan Problem-Solving Courts

Section title.

Michigan Problem-Solving Courts are uniquely designed to lower recidivism and address chemical dependence among nonviolent individuals and to improve the the likelihood of successful rehabilitation through early, continuous, and rigorous supervised treatment, regular drug testing, and the use of appropriate parameters.​ Recovery treatment courts evolved to rectify the cycle of incarceration among those with chemical dependence. Treatment courts address addiction through a holistic, sustained continuum of therapeutic interventions, treatment, and support services to lower the likelihood of relapse, re-arrest, and incarceration. Michigan has lead the way in the treatment court initiatives. There are 84 drug treatment courts operating throughout Michigan, including 32 adult narcotics courts, 23 DWI courts, 15 juvenile narcotics courts, 11 family dependency courts, and 3 tribal healing-to-wellness courts. Michigan's recovery treatment courts serve individuals across 40 counties. Participation in these courts includes case management and an assigned recovery management team. Over the course of participation, the team meets often to determine how best to serve the chemical dependence and related issues of that lead to involvement with the criminal justice system.

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Michigan’s Problem-Solving Courts for Mental Illness, Veterans and Addiction Get Infusion of Resources

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Beth Clement says the near $17 million expansion of the state’s courts — which provide alternatives to imprisonment for nonviolent offenders — will help reshape the justice system.

Michigan Supreme Court

Problem-solving courts , or courts that provide alternatives to imprisonment for nonviolent offenders, accommodate those in the criminal justice system with mental health or addiction issues. Michigan recently received nearly $17 million in grants for these programs statewide, which Justice Beth Clement says will reshape our justice system. 

“What [problem-solving courts] are is very strict supervision and treatment … What kind of treatment do they need? What kind of support do they need in order to help them tackle what has led them to the criminal justice system?” –Michigan Supreme Court Justice Beth Clement

Listen: Michigan’s near $17 million funding boost to specialized judicial treatment programs.

Guest  .

Justice Beth Clement serves on the Michigan Supreme Court. She says problem-solving courts are an alternative to the traditional judicial system, which is ill-equipped to serve those suffering from mental health or addiction issues. “We have the data to show our traditional models are not leading us toward rehabilitation.” Problem-solving courts account for an individual’s issues, providing alternative sentences for rehabilitation rather than imprisonment. “What [problem-solving courts] are is very strict supervision and treatment … What kind of treatment do they need? What kind of support do they need in order to help them tackle what has led them to the criminal justice system?” 

Michigan has more than 204 problem-solving courts statewide, and Clement says this recent grant will expand access to these programs. “We’ve started … bringing together judges around the state talking about what the judiciary should look like going forward … You don’t have to have a formal problem-solving court program in your court to model what our problem-solving courts stand for.”

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Problem-Solving/Treatment Courts

Michigan’s problem-solving courts have been extraordinarily successful in solving problems and saving lives. These innovative courts reach 97 percent of our state’s population and help to make communities statewide safer and stronger. Also called treatment courts, they are successful because participants can access treatment and other support needed to address underlying issues affecting persons entering the criminal justice and abuse neglect court systems, specifically, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, mental illness, and untreated trauma. Unlike traditional courts, problem-solving courts are not adversarial and take a team approach that brings community stakeholders together to reach a “win-win” outcome that prevents further offenses and saves local governments the cost of incarceration. The Cass County Courts have been on the forefront of the problem-solving/treatment court movement and have obtained numerous federal and state grants to provide much-needed services to our Cass County community.

Cass County’s full continuum of problem-solving courts focuses on providing evidence-based responses that work to improve outcomes, restore families, and make our communities safer. For more details about each program, click the links below.

Videos from Cass County Problem-Solving Courts Summer 2021 Celebration can be access by clicking on links below:

Click HERE: Video 1, Summer 2021 Celebration

Click HERE: Video 2, Summer 2021 Celebration

Click HERE: Video 3, Summer 2021 Celebration

Click HERE: Video 4, Summer 2021 Celebration

ADULT TREATMENT COURT/SOBRIETY COURT

Presiding Judge: Honorable Stacey A. Rentfrow

The Cass County Adult Treatment Court (ATC)/Sobriety Court (SC) has been operational since March 16, 2012. ATC and SC provide an alternative to the traditional court process in criminal cases where substance abuse is a primary presenting factor. ATC and SC are evidence based and trauma informed substance abuse treatment programs.

ATC and SC are committed to improving community safety, transforming lives and changing outcomes for defendants in the criminal justice system who have been diagnosed with drug and/or alcohol dependence, by judicial oversight over the provision of evidence based services through an integrated, court-based collaboration among a diverse group of community service providers, who work as a team, providing individualized, self-directed, and trauma-informed treatment services, holding criminal defendants accountable and providing them with opportunities and skills to live a life of recovery while also keeping the community safe.

For more information, contact Dr. Barb Howes, at 269-313-5094.

CASS MENTAL HEALTH COURT

Presiding Judge: Honorable Mark A. Herman

Mental health courts in Michigan have been established since the late 2000s. Mental health court is modeled after drug court and was developed in response to the overrepresentation of people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system.

In 2014, Berrien County and Cass County collaborated to apply for, and were awarded, a Regional Mental Health Court grant to take the mental health court philosophy more to scale by expanding the mental health court concept into two counties. In 2019, it was unanimously decided by program leadership, including the Chief Judges of Berrien and Cass Counties, to discontinue the Regional Mental Health Court and instead for each county to operate stand-alone mental health courts.

Cass County’s Mental Health Court (CMHC) became operational October 1, 2019. CMHC provides an alternative to the traditional court process in criminal cases where a defendant’s involvement in the criminal system is related to the defendant’s diagnosis with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, co-occurring disorder, or developmental disability. The CMHC operates pursuant to authority, limitations and requirements set forth in Michigan law, specifically MCL 600.1090-600.1099a.

For more information , contact Dr. Barb Howes, at 269-313-5094.

SWIFT & SURE SANCTIONS PROBATIONS PROGRAM

The Cass County Swift & Sure Sanctions Probation Program (SSSPP) has been operational since 2013. SSSPP is an intensive probation supervision program that targets high-risk felony offenders with a history of probation violations or failures. Governed by MCL 771A.1 et seq., SSSPP is modeled on Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program, which studies have shown to be very successful in improving the rate of successful completion of probation among high-risk probationers.

SSSPP participants are closely monitored, including being subjected to frequent random testing for drug and alcohol use and being required to attend frequent meetings with probation and/or case management staff. SSSPP aims to improve probationer success by promptly imposing graduated sanctions, including small amounts of jail time, for probation violations. Judges in Michigan’s SSSPP courts have reported a reduction in positive drug tests and failures to appear at scheduled meetings with probation officers among their SSSPP participant population.

FAMILY TREATMENT COURT

Presiding Judge: Honorable Carol Montavon Bealor

The Cass County Family Treatment Court (FTC) was Cass County’s first problem-solving court. In 2001, the Honorable Susan L. Dobrich applied for a federal training grant to bring the family treatment court approach to Cass County. Judge Dobrich was awarded the training grant. Judge Dobrich, Dr. Barbara Howes, and a team of interdisciplinary professionals were trained in “best practices” of the family treatment court model. And as they say, “the rest is history.” FTC has transformed the way we do business in the Courts in Cass County. Judge Bealor previously sat on the FTC team as a private attorney for parents and children and then as Court Administrator before coming to the bench to preside over FTC.

FTC provides an alternative to the traditional court process in abuse and neglect cases where parental substance abuse is a primary factor. FTC is an evidence-based, family-based, and trauma-informed substance abuse treatment program.

The traditional court process in abuse and neglect cases, with the traditional prosecutor and defense functions, coupled with standard court procedures and infrequent hearings, often reinforces the participant’s denial of substance abuse issues. The FTC model transforms the roles of those involved in the court process and establishes a coordinated systemic and integrated trauma-informed system of care focusing on sobriety and accountability.

FTC is committed to providing permanency for children who have been abused or neglected through the court system’s identification of and engagement with parents who have been diagnosed with drug and/or alcohol dependence, by judicial oversight over the provision of evidence-based services to strengthen the entire family system through an integrated, court-based collaboration among a diverse group of community service providers, who work as a team, providing individualized, self-directed, and trauma-informed treatment services, holding parents accountable and providing parents with opportunities and skills to live a life of recovery while also providing a safe and nurturing environment for their child(ren).

For more information, contact Coordinator, Preston Collett at 269-635-0035

Cass County Family Treatment Court Brochure

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Annual reports shows success of problem-solving courts.

April 25, 2023 558 Views

The Michigan Supreme Court has released its fiscal-year 2022 Problem-Solving Courts annual report, tracking the progress and highlighting the success of 207 problem-solving courts across Michigan from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.

Melissa Bliss, St. Joseph County’s director of community corrections, said St. Joseph County is fortunate to have the 45th Circuit Adult Drug Treatment Court, 45th Circuit “Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation” program and 3B District “Sobriety Court,” which helps justice-involved individuals by helping them overcome underlying issues such as substance use disorder specific issues.

Bliss said key findings from the report include: adult drug court programs were, on average, more than three times less likely to be convicted of a new offense within three years of admission to a program; sobriety court graduates who used an ignition interlock device were nearly five times less likely to be convicted of a new offense within three years of admission; and unemployment dropped by 88 percent for adult drug court graduates, 86 percent for sobriety court graduates and 85 percent for hybrid court.

Mendon Riverfest begins today

St. Joseph County’s namesake will be at the center of a three-day community celebration starting …

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Bills to expand specialty courts in Michigan head to Senate for a vote

By: jon king - february 15, 2024 4:33 pm.

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A package of bipartisan bills that would expand Michigan’s problem solving courts is heading to a vote in the Senate.

The bills, which won bipartisan House passage in October , were passed out of the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Thursday. They would expand the availability of the specialty courts, both by offering access to individuals involved in civil disputes as well as criminal defendants currently prevented from participating.

The courts, officially referred to as problem-solving courts (PSCs), provide alternatives to imprisonment for nonviolent criminal offenders with substance use disorders and/or mental illnesses. According to the Michigan Courts website , there are 209 such courts across the state using a “specialized therapeutic jurisprudence model designed to treat the underlying cause of the criminal behavior and thus reduce future reoffending, or recidivism.” Currently, there are five different types of PSCs: adult and juvenile drug courts, adult and juvenile mental health courts and veterans treatment courts. 

The first bill in the package, HB 4522 , sponsored by Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi), would open up the PSC model to those involved in civil court proceedings. 

“They will target civil child abuse or neglect cases and are to be addressed in the Family Division of circuit courts, which are very different from the criminal process,” Breen told the committee earlier this month. “These civil cases in which children are involved, target parents who have a substance abuse issue. Separating families that can otherwise be helped is heartbreaking and can have serious long lasting ramifications. Family treatment courts will embrace a team of people focused on providing a safe and nurturing and permanent home for children, while simultaneously providing parents the necessary support and services they need to achieve drug and alcohol abstinence.”

The other three bills in the package, HB 4523 , sponsored by Rep Kara Hope (D-Holt), HB 4524 , sponsored by Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph), and HB 4525 , sponsored by Rep. Graham Filler (R-DeWitt), would amend the Revised Judicature Act (RJA) to allow certain violent offenders, currently barred from the programs, to participate if the judge and prosecuting attorney, in consultation with any known victim, were to approve. 

“These deal with us trying to fix a problem,” said Filler. “Currently there is a complete prohibition on anyone who has committed a violent crime from being enrolled into a specialty or treatment court, and in testimony in the House, the Michigan Association of Treatment Court professionals said that they expect this instance to be quite rare. But there are situations where everyone is in agreement that the individual who committed the crime should be allowed to access the programming, and I think that we did find agreement that this is a common sense change that could be easily managed by judges and prosecutors.”

Filler specified the bills would still completely bar anyone from participating convicted of first degree murder or first, second or third degree criminal sexual conduct..

At Thursday’s hearing, state Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) said while he was supportive of the specialty courts, and understood they do a “fabulous job,” he felt the bills needed further refinements and put forward several amendments. One would have added torture, first degree sexual abuse, second degree child abuse, kidnapping and treason to the list of crimes making someone ineligible, while another sought to add to the definition of a violent offender those who attempted to commit a violent act. 

“For instance, a person should not be considered a non-violent offender just because they’re a bad shot,” he said. “The change simply says, ‘A violent offender also includes individuals who attempt to cause death, serious bodily injury or commit criminal sexual conduct in any degree.”

Breen told the committee those were not issues that were relevant to the legislation.

“I will say to at least one of Sen. Runestad’s big concerns about individuals who have been charged with certain crimes having the possibility of instead being referred to family treatment court. … People who have been charged with kidnapping or terrorism, they are not going to treatment court; they are going to prison. So they will not be able to have that opportunity,” she said.

Kate Hude, executive director of the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals, also addressed Runestad’s concerns.

“I just want to reiterate that these are civil NA [child protective] cases. They will never be anything else,” she said. “Any discussion about criminal matters generally has to do with admittance into one of the family treatment court programs. But, as you heard a couple weeks ago, they have to operate under the drug treatment court statute, which is criminal in nature. So we really just need to provide family treatment courts their own bill that reflects them being civil in nature.”

None of Runestad’s amendments were approved by the Democratic majority on the committee, which passed them on to the full Senate for consideration.

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Jon King is the Senior Reporter for the Michigan Advance and has been a journalist for more than 35 years. He is the Past President of the Michigan Associated Press Media Editors Association and has been recognized for excellence numerous times, most recently in 2022 with the Best Investigative Story by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Cleary University. Jon and his family live in Howell.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom , the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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