Participation in Fayette County’s Mental Health Diversion Court continues to increase. During a briefing to a Lexington committee Tuesday, officials said on average, referrals to the unique court program have gone from 36 during 2015 to 2017 to 128 last year.
Fayette District Judge John Tackett presides over mental health court. “The Fayette County Mental Health Court was founded upon a concept of criminal justice reform to promote human dignity, restore personhood, and decriminalize mental illness,” said Tackett.
The program works to keep mentally ill people out of jail by providing wrap around supportive services. Lexington government has provided $370,000 over the past two years. Representatives of Lexington’s National Alliance on Mental Illness said more than 15,000 days of incarceration have been diverted, saving more than a million dollars in detention costs.
Kelly Gunning with the Lexington chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness said too many people are still ending up in jail. “We cannot incarcerate an addict out of being addicted. We cannot incarcerate serious mental illness out of someone who has a biological brain disease. Those people have no business in the jail. Now, if they’ve committed a serious crime, that’s a whole nothing thing,” Gunning explained.
Gunning noted one of the most heard terms in Frankfort currently is reference to criminal justice reform. She added it’s a prominent saying because the county jails are so full that they are dangerous to inmates and staff. Gunning said establishing similar mental health courts in other parts of the state would help free up jail space.?
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