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Judiciary highlights recovery, jobs and gun-violence initiatives; mental-health diversion pilots set to expand
Summary
Acting Administrative Director Michael Blee told senators the judiciary’s recovery court, job-placement programs and gun-violence initiative have measurable success and described an attorney-general-led mental-health diversion program that is moving into pilot selection and initial funding.
Michael Blee told the Senate panel the judiciary’s recovery court and related programs produce strong outcomes and that a newly enacted mental-health diversion law is entering its pilot phase.
Blee said recovery court graduates have substantially lower reincarceration rates: while about 25 percent of people released from prison return within three years, he said the reincarceration rate for recovery court graduates is “just 2 percent.” He described the program as connecting participants to treatment, education and employment and noted job-placement partnerships in vicinages such as Atlantic–Cape May.
The nut graf: Committee testimony emphasized programs that couple supervision with services — recovery court, a jobs program, and a gun-violence reduction initiative — and pointed to an attorney-general-led mental-health diversion pilot that will draw funding from state health resources.
Blee described the jobs program as a partnership among courts, government, employers and community organizations to link probationers and child-support respondents to training and employment; he said participants have found work in health care, casino employment, retail and higher education. He said the gun-violence reduction initiative offers closer supervision and wraparound services for lower-risk defendants charged with weapons offenses; completion rates for probation in the program were described as about 75 percent.
On the mental-health diversion law enacted in 2023, Blee said the attorney general will solicit interested vicinages and that funding from the Department of Health and Human Services will support the pilots; he described the initiative as prosecutorially driven, with screening and referral to services after charge review.
Blee also supplied data on statewide referrals tied to the gun-violence initiative and related supports, saying 93 referrals were made statewide in the 2023–24 period and listing types of services delivered: education and employment supports (44%), general counseling (17%), substance-abuse counseling (16%), mental-health evaluation (10%) and housing (8%). He said 688 clients participated overall in the initiative during the court year, including 193 juveniles.
Ending: Senators thanked Blee for the program updates and asked the judiciary to provide follow-up statistics and cost information as the committee considers budget allocations.
