COLUMBUS, Ind. – In response to Bartholomew County’s commitment to addressing the mental health crisis, Judge Jonathan Rohde announced Friday he plans to initiate a new program providing court-supervised treatment to individuals suffering from a mental health diagnosis.
Judge Rohde has partnered with Columbus Regional Health, Centerstone, Mental Health Matters, and the South Central National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). These organizations will dedicate existing resources to the program, resulting in no additional costs to taxpayers.
The program’s objectives are to provide an alternative local mental illness treatment option to decrease the number of repeated interactions that those suffering from mental health illness have at local medical facilities and with law enforcement and to reduce the current strain on inpatient services.
Judge Rohde stated, “Our goal is to get people the help they need before their crisis results in them committing a crime, while at the same time maximizing the efficiency of our community’s emergency resources, all of which will result in us having a safer community.”
The program will have strict residency requirements with only permanent Bartholomew County residents eligible. Rohde said, “I designed it to serve our community members and to deter attracting problems that may exist elsewhere, but crafted it so it can be replicated in other areas that have a need. We look forward to doing our part in addressing the local mental health crisis.”
Beginning in April, this mental health solution will be called an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Court. While such courts are prevalent in Ohio and Kentucky, Judge Rohde’s program will be only the second in Indiana.
Last year, Judge Worton implemented a mental health court program within the county’s criminal courts. Judge Rohde’s new mental health solutions program will be a civil court.
