Bexar County Juvenile Mental Health Reentry Court

The Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JJMHCP) supports cross-system collaboration to improve responses and outcomes for youth with mental illness (MI) or co-occurring MI and substance abuse (CMISA) who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. This program supports public safety efforts through partnerships with juvenile justice, mental health and substance abuse agencies to enhance responses to justice-involved youth with MI and CMISA. The Bexar County Juvenile Board on behalf of its Juvenile Probation Department and Center for Health Care Services submitted a project for the juvenile mental health reentry court. The project includes the planning and implementation of a problem-solving, specialized mental health reentry court model for juvenile justice system-involved juveniles with mental illness transitioning from a residential treatment facility back into community. The proposed program will be available to all three juvenile district courts. The Mental Health Reentry Court will serve 150 youth and incorporate comprehensive services such as: judicial oversight; specialized supervision caseloads; targeted case planning; home-based case management; evidence-informed treatment; and family liaison assistance. CA/NCF Juvenile Probation will be contracting with a vendor to provide training In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Through DBT Training and Consultation contract, all community-based reentry treatment partners will be trained in dialectical behavior therapy and will receive site-specific consultation and coaching in order to ensure implementation fidelity. We will also be contracting for an online survey platform to ensure that a youth’s and family’s needs are being addressed while also fostering a holistic evaluation of the program’s effectiveness.