Bay Area Spotlight: Judge Stephen Manley Honored for Mental Health Work

Santa Clara County Judge Stephen Manley Receives National Honor for His Work in Mental Health

NADCP Board Member and Drug Court pioneer Judge Stephen Manley has been awarded the prestigious Jacob K. Javits Award for Public Service by the American Psychiatric Association for his work as a mental health advocate within the justice system. Named for former Senator Jacob K. Javits of New York, the award is given annually to officials that have demonstrated distinguished leadership in supporting psychiatric medicine and mental health advocacy.

Judge Manley founded the Santa Clara County, CA Drug Court in 1994. Under his leadership, Santa Clara’s Drug Court became a national model, and helped spur the implementation of similar programs throughout California. In 1999, Judge Manley launched Santa Clara’s Mental Health Court, which is now the largest in the United States. When he noticed an increase in the number of veterans appearing on his dockets addicted and seriously mentally ill, he once again took action. In late 2008, he launched one of the first Veterans Treatment Courts in the United States. Today, Judge Manley personally presides over a number of Collaborative Justice programs and calendars that include more than 2,300 offenders who participate in treatment and rehabilitation services while on probation or parole.

Judge Manley’s efforts to promote treatment and recovery for the addicted and mentally ill do not end in his courtroom. He has been a tireless advocate for policies that expand these opportunities to every citizen in need. In California, Judge Manley has participated in the drafting of legislation that expanded and funded treatment courts, created and funded pilot reentry courts for parolees, and greater opportunities for veterans to receive treatment as a part of probation. In Washington, DC, he is no stranger to Members of Congress as he is a vigorous and effective advocate for the drug-addicted and mentally-ill in the criminal justice system.

An innovator, visionary, and advocate, Judge Stephen Manley has saved countless lives and impacted criminal justice policy throughout the nation. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals applauds his service to this nation and congratulates him on this much deserved honor.

Source: National Association of Drug Court Professionals

Judge Mary C. Morgan recieves Heros & Hearts Award

We are please to announce that San Francisco Superior Court Judge Mary C. Morgan is one of four recipients of the 2011 Heroes & Hearts Awards, a program of San Francisco's General Hospital Foundation. The award recognizes individuals who inspire others through exceptional community service.

Judge Morgan is being recognized for her contributions to Behavioral Health Court (BHC). She spearheaded several initiatives that dramatically changed the public dialogue about people with mental illness. She guided the BHC team to embrace evidence based practices; inspired San Francisco community leaders to change policy issues related to the treatment of people with mental illness; and influenced statewide practices to improve California’s mental health system. Most of all, she changed the lives of so many.

William T. Rossiter Award given to Judge Stephen Manley of Santa Clara

Judge Stephen Manley, Superior Court Judge in Santa Clara County was the recipient of the 2010 William T. Rossiter Award by the Forensic Mental Health Association of California (FMHAC). With over 30 years on the bench he was honored for his exceptional global contribution to the field of Forensic Mental Health.

Congratulations to Jo Robinson!

Jo Robinson, MFT, Director of Jail Psychiatric Services and the Assistant Director of Jail Health Services in San Francisco, was awarded the Christine M. West Award for 2010 by the Forensic Mental Health Association of California (FMHAC) at this year’s annual conference. The West Award recognized Jo for her valuable contributions and dedication in the field of Forensic Mental Health.

Homeless Prenatal Program Wins Best of the Bay

Congratulations to the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) for winning Best Local Nonprofit in the SF Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay! http://www.sfbg.com/bob/2008/city.php

A partner agency in the San Francisco Superior Court's Dependency Drug Court, HPP provides intensive case management for parents with substance abuse issues involved in the dependency court/child welfare system.

To learn more about HPP, go to: http://www.homelessprenatalprogram.org/

Judge Morgan Accepts COMIO Award

Judge Morgan delivers an address at the COMIO award reception after recieving the "Best Practices" plaque from Secretary Tilton.

Last week at a reception in Monterey, Judge Morgan accepted an award from Secretary James Tilton that honored BHC as one of the first "Best Practices" award recipients from COMIO, the Council on Mentally Ill Offenders. Read the CDCR's press release for more information:

SEASIDE -- The Council on Mentally Ill Offenders (COMIO) announced the recipients of the first annual Best Practices awards today at its council meeting. Awards were given for “outstanding best practices” in the adult programs category to Behavioral Health Court, San Francisco Superior Court; Co-occurring Disorders Court, Orange County Superior Court; and Mental Health Treatment Court, Santa Clara County Superior Court. Recipients for juvenile programs included Client Assessment Recommendation Evaluation Project (C.A.R.E.), Los Angeles County Public Defender; and the Court for the Individualized Treatment of Adolescents, Santa Clara County Superior Court, Juvenile Delinquency Division.

“The Council has broken new ground this year by establishing and recognizing the Best Practices in serving mentally ill offenders,” said James Tilton, COMIO Chairperson and Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). “Persons with mental illness traditionally have been underserved and often end up in jail or prison due to few community alternatives and a lack of understanding of the needs of these individuals. These five projects show creative approaches to serving this population.”

BHC was proud to be among the programs represented at this awards ceremony and the Superior Court would like to extend a warm thanks to our partner agencies and treatment services for making the success of BHC, and this award, possible!

Behavioral Health Court wins COMIO Best Practices Award

Behavioral Health Court was recently chosen as a recipient of the COMIO (Council on Mentally Ill Offenders) Best Practices Award.

COMIO is comprised of eleven members, representing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Department of Mental Health and members of law enforcement, the legislature and the courts. Since 2001, its charge has been to "investigate and promote cost-effective approaches to meeting the long-term needs of adults and juveniles with mental disorders who are likely to become offenders or who have a history of offending."

Behavioral Health Court will be recognized at an awards ceremony on March 19th, 2008.

PO on Wheels and Jefferson Awards

Recently, two articles on San Francisco's programs have appeared in the SF Chronicle.
This morning, the Chronicle featured Darren Dill, a specialized probation officer working with homeless probationers in the Tenderloin and SOMA. Officer Dill is an active member of the CJC steering committee, bringing his expertise to the planning board and was a panelist at the CJC Town Hall held in January. An excerpt from the article:

Dill is believed to be the only probation officer-on-wheels working with homeless people in the country, a simple idea for which he recently won the California Probation Officer of the Year Award.

"The simplest approaches are sometimes the best," said Lisa Lightman, who directs special courts for drug offenders and mentally ill people within the Superior Court system. "What he's doing is extraordinarily unique. It really brings supervision up a notch when you can go out and make contact with people where they live."

On Sunday, the Chronicle featured another key person involved with innovative solutions in San Francisco Superior Court - Retired Judge Ina Gyemant - who founded Youth Treatment and Education Court (YTEC), San Francisco's Juvenile Drug & Behavioral Health Court. The program, which began in 1997, has since grown and partnered with the San Francisco Unified School District to offer a specialized high school, the Principal Center Collaborative (known as the PCC), that offers integrated behavioral health services alongside a traditional high-school curriculum. Judge Gyemant was awarded a Jefferson Award for her work in establishing YTEC, and will be featured on KPIX Channel 5 tomorrow on the 6pm nightly news.