The 14th Judicial District Court’s Adult Mental Health Court will continue operating through June after several Calcasieu Parish entities provided $172,800 in funding, officials said Wednesday.

Judge Robert Wyatt said at a news conference that the court, the District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office and the Police Jury have each provided $25,000 through a joint services agreement. The Imperial Calcasieu Human Services Authority provided $72,800 to pay for case managers.

The mental health court, which has operated for more than three years, offers community-based treatment instead of jail time for those with mental health issues. Wyatt said the court was funded through money left over from class action litigation.

“Those dollars are turned back over to the court, and the court can deal with those as it sees fit, especially with nonprofit situations or court programs that benefit your jurisdiction,” he said.

When that money ran out last October, Wyatt said the judges and the ImCal HSA came together to fund operations at the mental health court until other funding sources were found.

Wyatt said officials thought the funding problem could be fixed if the state Supreme Court placed the mental health court under the umbrella of the drug and DWI courts. That didn’t happen, and he said officials reached out to other parish entities to secure the additional money.

“We got together and agreed that none of us wanted to see this thing end,” Wyatt said.

District Attorney John DeRosier said the mental health court is important because, like the drug and DWI courts, it uses treatment to address a person’s mental issues, rather than jail time.

“We have different people with different problems in this community,” he said. “There are too many people who violate criminal laws because they can’t help themselves. But putting them all in jail is not the answer.”

Because the mental health court remains active, it will “open up more jail space” for those who violate the law and don’t suffer from mental issues, said Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Stitch Guillory.

ImCal HSA Executive Director

Tanya McGee said the group was able to ask the board of directors to provide additional funding for the mental health court. The authority is formerly the Region 5 Office of Behavioral Health.

“We locally recognize the benefits of mental health courts,” she said. “The court marries the treatment aspect with the judicial aspect for the benefit of the person involved.”

Coalition Services Inc., a nonprofit corporation, helped put the mental health court program together and provides case management for the court.(MGNonline)