It is no secret that jails have become de facto mental health institutions and detoxification centers. The result is jails overcrowded with people who need mental health and substance abuse counseling, not incarceration, to improve their situation. A small program in Kennebec County aims to change this situation. Given the success of similar programs across the country, this new approach should work in Maine as well.

Nationally, correctional facilities house eight times as many mentally ill people as do state psychiatric facilities. Nationally, about 16 percent of the inmate population is in treatment for mental illness, but in Maine, that figure is closer to 25 percent, according to a report released in 2002 by the Maine chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Compounding the problem is that well over half of the inmates have drug and alcohol abuse problems, making jails detoxification facilities too. Jail is not where individuals with these problems belong.

The judge, district attorney, counselors, case workers and others who volunteered to start the Co-occurring Disorders Court in Kennebec County understand this. In this court, defendants can avoid jail time if they commit to a closely supervised treatment program for both their mental health and substance abuse problems. If they fail to adhere to the treatment program, which often lasts a year or more, they will go to jail. Offenders who are referred to the program are closely screened.

This pilot program was started by volunteers who felt there had to be a better way to handle mentally ill law- breakers who also have substance abuse problems. This month, the court was awarded at $450,000 federal grant, which will allow the program to serve more people. A key component of the grant, and the program’s success, is to monitor its outcomes and to fix those aspects that aren’t working well.

Results from other states are promising. More than two dozen other states have similar court programs. Most are only a few years old. An evaluation of a Seattle Mental Health Court found that participants were more likely to succeed in their mental health treatment plan and half as likely to return to jail than other defendants who didn’t not participate in the special court program.

An evaluation of Arizona’s program found that participants were much more likely to meet probation requirements.

Maine will likely see similar results. If it does, the program should be expanded to other parts of the state.