NCJ Number
237719
Date Published
2008
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This guide highlights several positive impacts crime victims' policies can have on mental health court operations.
Abstract
This guide focuses on two key issues regarding the needs of crime victims in mental health courts: the value of involving victims in the mental health court setting and adopting formal policies and procedures that respond to their needs, and ways to adapt standard victims' rights upheld in criminal courts around the country for the nontraditional operations of mental health courts. These policies may enable staff to better uphold principles outlined in victims' rights regulations, increase public confidence in the court as a justice-serving institution, support better responses to interfamilial crime, and enhance services to participants with previous trauma. This guide was created for stakeholders involved in either planning or operating these specialized courts, and highlights the potential role of crime victims in mental health courts; addresses the challenges court teams face in trying to involve victims and the reasons to devote time and energy to overcoming them; and offers concrete steps communities can take to ensure that the interests and needs of crime victims are reflected in court policies and practice. Appendixes and notes