Increased Caseloads Plague King County's Mental Health Court
“I know this is a difficult day for you, but can I ask you a few questions?” Judge Johanna Bender is asking the question while presiding over a courtroom unlike any other in King County. The subject of her inquiry is a woman strapped to a gurney. The courtroom is open to the public, but it’s intimate. There is one row of chairs in the back, but those seats are mostly occupied by attorneys. Few but court staff ever venture to the small space tucked away on the second floor of a building at Harborview Medical Center.
After responding in the affirmative, the patient is asked, “What do you like to do for fun?”
After a long silence, she responds in a quiet voice, “Crafts.”
This isn’t a criminal proceeding. This is King County’s Involuntary Treatment Act Court, where it is decided whether mentally ill patients need to be involuntarily committed to a hospital because they either pose a threat to themselves or others.
The court is the product of the Involuntary Treatment Act, which was enacted in Washington in 1974, creating these courts in every county in the state. The Act was established for patients needing court-ordered mental health treatment, the courts meant to be a last resort for the most severe cases of mental illness in our community. Since its founding, the court has operated in relative obscurity.
Read more: http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/increased-caseloads-plague-a-court-designed-to-help-the-mentally-ill/