Judge Daniel Klau, vice chair of Connecticut’s mental health court task force, said the proposed court would connect eligible defendants living with mental health disorders to treatment and support services before incarceration.<\/p>\n
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“You, over the long term, make the community safer and reduce the cost to the community because incarceration, almost always, is so much more expensive than treatment,” Klau said.<\/p>\n
The task force plans to have the court led by a judge and supported by care coordinators, treatment providers and peer counselors who have experienced their own recovery journeys.<\/p>\n
Klau said the task force will determine which offenses and behaviors would qualify for the program. People charged with violent crimes would not be eligible for the mental health court.<\/p>\n
Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters:\u00a0Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines<\/a><\/p>\n “Do everything possible to help them stay in treatment and successfully complete treatment,” he said. “If so, the charges would either be dismissed, nulled or reduced. There are many options.”<\/p>\n Klau noted that the effort is driven in part by his daughter, Miriam, who struggled with mental health and substance use disorders before dying from a fentanyl overdose.<\/p>\n “Miriam was a remarkable young woman,” he said. “She was so intelligent and so gifted.”<\/p>\n A talented artist and musician, Miriam left home at 18 years old. Klau said she was living on the streets while battling a heroin addiction when she was arrested in 2015. Miriam then entered New York’s drug court system.<\/p>\n Although she participated in multiple drug treatment programs, Klau said those programs did not adequately address her underlying mental health disorders.<\/p>\n “So many people with mental illness have a drug addiction,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that the drug court or drug docket is an appropriate place for them.”<\/p>\n Klau said his part in creating the state’s first mental health court is all for Miriam.<\/p>\n “I know I can’t save her through this process, but I’m dedicated to finding some way to give meaning to her death in some positive way, through life,” he said.<\/p>\n Klau said the task force hopes to launch the mental health court in New Haven by early 2028. Their goal is to expand across the state and work alongside schools, first responders and other Connecticut leaders.<\/p>\n Skylar Musick is a Multi-Skilled Journalist for FOX61 News. She can be reached at\u00a0smusick@fox61.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Exclusive: Suffield chicken farmer forced to reduce flock after 22 years as a result of zoning regulations<\/a><\/p>\n ‘It\u2019s healthy and affordable’: A new hydroponic enterprise in Hartford starts from the ground up<\/a><\/p>\n Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at\u00a0newstips@fox61.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS<\/p>\n Download the FOX61 News APP: iOS<\/a> | Android<\/a><\/p>\n Stream for FREE on ROKU, Amazon FIRE TV, and other Connected TVs | Click for instructions<\/a><\/p>\n FOLLOW US ON\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/p>\n