Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton speaks at a graduation ceremony for veterans in the Bartholomew County Veterans Treatment Court in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 at the Bartholomew County Courthouse in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, June 8, 2023.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County is in the final planning stages of creating a Mental Health Court that, if approved by the state, will become the fourth problem-solving court in Columbus.
The others include Adult Drug Court, supervised by Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin, and Family Dependency Court, overseen by Bartholomew County Juvenile Magistrate Brittney Newland Long and the Veterans Court, overseen by Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
All four courts are intended to provide an alternative to the traditional court system by emphasizing a problem-solving model, as well as connect defendants to a variety of rehabilitative services and support networks, according to the Indiana Office of Court Services website.
Worton is leading the effort to establish the Mental Health Court, saying mental health affects almost every family one way or another. Too many families have no idea of what to do with a loved one with a mental illness, especially after they become involved in the criminal justice system, Worton said.
“The court would provide a lot of structure and extra supervision for that individual that our standard criminal justice system doesn’t do,” he said.
Mental Health Court has the support of Bartholomew County Chief Deputy Sheriff Maj. John Martoccia, who served six-and-a-half years as jail commander.
Once the community starts to look at the individual reasons for why a person is in jail and address them, “it becomes a ‘win-win’ for the entire community, Martoccia said.
“You can’t just address them as a group,” the chief deputy said. “If you look at what each individual needs to stay out of jail, I don’t see how you can lose at that.”
For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
