drug, mental health treatment, substance abuse, dependency

Anyone may refer cases to the Orange County Mental Health Treatment Court (called the Community Resource Court or CRC); most referrals come from court officials. Referral sources include judges, attorneys, district attorney, magistrates, law enforcement, probation officers, treatment providers and family members. The assistant district attorneys screen all referrals to make sure defendants are legally appropriate for the CRC. Legally eligible defendants are then referred to the next CRC session to be clinically screened by the Case Manager/Clinician and presented to the CRC Team. To be eligible, offenders must have a mental health diagnosis or mental health treatment history, with priority given to defendants with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). Additionally, all eligible defendants are screened by the District Attorney who attends to public safety concerns.