With low recidivism, mental health court shows progress

EVERETT — The city’s initiative to divert people with mental health issues who are facing misdemeanors into a special court is starting to show good results.

Established in mid-2013, the city’s Mental Health Alternatives Program, formerly known as the Criminal Justice Alternative Program, has graduated 10 people, and recidivism has been low, said Laura Van Slyck, the presiding judge at the Everett Municipal Court who oversees the program.

Those 10 offenders came into the program with 125 criminal charges among them, Van Slyck said.

In the year since those 10 have graduated, only one has reoffended, leading to two new charges.

Van Slyck told the Everett City Council that the investment in the program has been worth it.

“You’ve had people out for over a year and we have not heard a peep from them,” she said. “Not even a traffic ticket.”

The program is targeted at nonviolent offenders whose mental health issues might cause them to reoffend. Instead of jail time, people the program get pointed toward services they need to keep them straight, whether it’s therapy, medications or stable housing.

Graduates of the program may have their charges dismissed.

Participants in the program go before Van Slyck twice a month for advice, guidance or direction for at least a year.

As of this month, there are 19 people taking part in the Mental Health Alternatives Program. Only two people since the court’s inception have been dismissed from the program for failing to keep up with the requirements of the court.

The program predates Everett’s Community Streets Initiative, last year’s task force that identified steps to take to combat the city’s chronic problems with homelessness, mental health, addiction and petty crime.

But in its final report, the task force made expanding the use of therapeutic courts one of its key recommendations. In its final report issued a year ago, the task force recommended creating a drug court and exploring the feasibility of specific homeless courts and community courts.

The court also has been selected for study as part of the Public Service Clinics at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. The program has second-year graduate students research real-world policy issues for their final projects.

Councilman Paul Roberts told Van Slyck that in addition to being kept abreast of the study, its results will be made available to the council, and by extension, the public.

Many people across the country feel the criminal justice system isn’t working, Roberts said, and should be made more aware of innovative programs like the mental health court.

“There is where this stuff happens,” Roberts said.

“I hope this information comes to the public so they can see what is happening,” he said.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Guilty: Jury convicts Bothell man in long-unsolved 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.