By Rich Larson, KYMN News
Rice County is moving forward with the creation of a Mental Health Court, a new treatment-focused alternative aimed at reducing repeat offenses among individuals whose criminal behavior is tied to serious mental illness.
The decision follows years of observations from probation officers, law enforcement and community service providers who have seen a growing number of justice-involved residents struggling with untreated or inadequately treated mental health conditions.
Angela Brewer, Rice County’s Community Corrections manager, said the trend has been evident in report after report. Many individuals on probation, she noted, face significant mental health challenges that make it difficult to navigate the justice system or successfully complete traditional probation requirements. In many cases, those challenges are closely linked to criminal activity.
Rice County Attorney Brian Mortenson and Faribault Police Sgt. Brandon Gliem echoed those concerns during a Jan. 20 meeting of the Rice County Board of Commissioners.
“We have mentally ill offenders who continue to reoffend, and their offenses are largely because of their mental illness,” Mortenson said.
Gliem, who has spent 24 years in law enforcement, said the demand for mental health services has increased dramatically. “The cost, and application and the resource allocation of our law enforcement officers are going way more toward mental health than it ever has,” he said.
After an unsuccessful federal grant application in 2023, Brewer learned that Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis law included funding for new treatment courts. An 18-member multidisciplinary team then spent months assessing local needs and developing policies, goals and procedures for a Mental Health Court, which recently received preliminary approval.
This week, the County Board formally endorsed the court. Final approval from the Treatment Court Initiative Advisory Committee and the Minnesota Judicial Council is expected this spring, with a planned launch in July.
The Mental Health Court will operate as a treatment court under the Minnesota Judicial Branch and will be led by District Court Judge Christine Long. Participants will commit to at least 13 months in the program, which emphasizes recovery, stability and accountability through evidence-based practices, intensive supervision and individualized treatment plans.
Unlike drug treatment courts, the Mental Health Court team will include mental health professionals such as therapists, a psychiatric nurse practitioner and a mental health social worker, alongside prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, law enforcement and substance use specialists.
Participation is limited to adults with felony-level offenses who are Rice County residents and have a qualifying diagnosis of Serious and Persistent Mental Illness. Certain offenses, including felony sex crimes, exclude eligibility.
Once operational, Rice County will become the fifth county in Minnesota to offer a Mental Health Court. Officials say the program is not only more cost-effective than incarceration but also enhances public safety by addressing the root causes of criminal behavior.
“If we can end that cycle or at least minimize its impact,” Mortenson said, “we’re doing more for public safety without sending a person to prison.”