Reimagining Justice: Exploring Texas Innovations in Mental Health

In this episode, we are joined by Judge of Tarrant County Criminal Court 8 Hon. Chuck Vanover, Program Manager Courtney Young, and Caser Manager Sydney Howard. They tell us about the Tarrant County Public Safety Employees Treatment Court . The program is designed to divert eligible public safety employees out of the traditional criminal justice process and into appropriate rehabilitative alternati...

In this episode, we are joined by Travis County District Attorney José Garza. He tells us about the Travis County Transformation Project , a pre-arrest, community-based pilot program for 15 to 16-year-olds involved with family violence in the home. In this episode, our guests talk about a video shown to families before they decide to join the program. You can view it here . If you have an innovati...

In this episode, we are joined by JCMH Collaborative Councilmember Dr. Sandra Smith, the Vice President of Via Hope, and Abena Asante, a Senior Program Officer at St. David's Foundation. They tell us about the Libraries for Health initiative . This program places peer support specialists in public libraries in eight different Central Texas communities . In this episode, our guests talk about a...

In this episode, we are joined by JCMH Collaborative Councilmember Sergeant Shawn Edwards, the lead of the Burleson County Sheriff's Office Crisis Intervention Team. He tells us about the county's diversion program and his experience starting the program in a rural community. If you have an innovation in mental health that you'd like to see on the podcast, email JCMH@txcourts.gov with...

In this episode, we are joined by two JCMH Commissioners: Denise Oncken, the Mental Health Bureau Chief at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, and Wayne Young, the Chief Executive Officer of The Harris Center for mental Health and IDD . They introduce us to the Harris County Diversion Center, which just celebrated its 5th year. If you have an innovation in mental health that you'd li...

In this episode, we are joined by Lee Pierson, JCMH Commissioner and Dallas County District Attorney’s Office Mental Health Division Chief. He introduces us to the Pretrial Intervention Program in Dallas County, a series of conditions a defendant with a mental health concern can meet to ultimately have their case dismissed. If you have an innovation in mental health that you'd like to see on t...

In this episode, we are joined by Hon. Stephanie Sawyer, a Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge and the Founder and Board Chair of The Sentencing Foundation . Since 2018, Judge Sawyer has been at the forefront of innovation by utilizing a program she developed: Resource-Based Sentencing & Supervision. Her program is meant to reduce mass incarceration and recidivism by providing re-e...

In this episode, we are joined by Judge Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt, the 449th District Court Judge in Hidalgo County. She presides over juvenile cases and provides youth with an opportunity for rehabilitation while simultaneously ensuring the general public’s safety. Judge Rodriguez-Betancourt introduces us to her newly decorated trauma-informed courtroom, which is designed to create a more physic...

In this episode, we are joined by Bailey Hagler, the Community Based Mental Health Director for StarCare Lubbock . She introduces us to Multisystem Therapy (MST), an intense, family-focused and community-based treatment program with the goal of rehabilitating juvenile offenders. If you have an innovation in mental health that you'd like to see on the podcast, email JCMH@txcourts.gov with the s...

In this episode, we are joined by Anthony Graves, the Director of Community Outreach at the Harris County Public Defender's Office. He introduces us to the Peer Navigator Project , which he started on his own before bringing the program to Harris County. Graves tells the story of his wrongful conviction and the 18 years he spent incarcerated. He is now using that experience to connect people w...

In this episode, we are joined by Sergeant Rico Gomez with the Harris County Sheriff's Office's Behavioral Health Unit. He introduces us to Harris County's CIRT (Crisis Intervention Response Team) and CORE (Clinician Office Remote Evaluation) programs and tells us how they have improved Harris County's response to calls with a mental health nexus. If you have an innovation in menta...

WARNING: This episode contains discussion related to bullying, sexual assault, suicide, childhood trauma, and human trafficking. Some listeners may want to skip this episode and catch up with us for the next one. In this episode, we are joined by Judge Cynthia Wheless, the Presiding Judge of the 417th District Court in Collin County. Judge Wheless tells us how and why she created the GEMS (Girl’s...

For our very first episode of Reimagining Justice, we are joined by Kirk Noaker, Senior Specialist of Mental Health & Criminal Justice at the Arc of Texas. Kirk talks to us about the Whole Person Project, which seeks to expand access to quality mental health services for adult Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Links: Whole Person Project videos  Whole Person Project back...