By Darrell Kirby | [email protected]

For the first time in a long time, Kody Rushton is happy. 

The 36-year-old West Valley City resident has a way to go to get his life exactly where he wants it, but right now it’s all about progress and he has made plenty of it so far.  

It was about a year ago that Rushton was arrested for domestic violence for punching a friend of his mother. “She got scared and called the cops on me. I knocked down her TV and broke a glass,” he said. He readily admits he threw the punch, but says he didn’t mean to connect with it. It was the second time he had a physical altercation with the same guy. Before that, Rushton did three terms in prison for crimes stemming from a methamphetamine addiction that started when he was 18. 

He could have had his case sent to justice or district court, pleaded or been found guilty, served his penalty, and gotten out to likely commit another crime. Especially with depression, anxiety and anger management issues that impacted his ability to make good decisions.

Instead, Rushton had an offer from police, attorneys and West Valley City Justice Court Judge Clint Gilmore—go through Mental Health Court and try to get lasting, life-changing help. 

He accepted it. 

Mental Health Court was launched in March 2018 as a special judicial process within the West Valley City Justice Court to provide intensive, court-supervised, mental-health treatment for offenders who commit misdemeanor-level crimes like drug possession and abuse, assault and domestic violence. It is a partnership between police, who have the first contact with the perpetrators, mental health professionals, and the court to help reduce recidivism, jail populations and, most importantly, get people help for the mental health problems that are often the root cause of their law breaking.

“We needed some kind of avenue to assist individuals violating the law to find a resource to get treatment and help for their mental illness instead of sending them down the same cycle they’d been dealing with,” said Sgt. Scott Arnold, who oversees the West Valley City Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team. 

They are still held accountable for the crimes they commit but at the same time “get help to become more productive members of society,” he said.

About 25 to 30 people a year have their cases heard in Mental Health Court. Each one learns and observes what the court is about and then decides if they want to participate or have their cases run through regular justice or district court. “They do have a choice,” Arnold said. 

Some individuals referred to Mental Health Court “decide they don’t want to conform to all the conditions of probation and they’d rather just take the fine or jail time and opt out of Mental Health Court and go through the normal process.”

Arnold says patrol officers in the field can make a preliminary determination while on a call that a mental or psychological condition exists in the person they’re dealing with. That assessment is reviewed by Arnold and detectives in the police department who further decide if a person’s case would be better suited for Mental Health Court. Prosecutors, mental health professionals and the judge also have a say in the matter.

As of early December, 13 people were having their cases adjudicated by the Mental Health Court, with a fairly even split of men and women, ranging from age 18 into their 50s and 60s.

Arnold says two standards must be met for a defendant to be sent to Mental Health Court. First, there must be a qualifying misdemeanor offense. Second, the offender is diagnosed to have at least one of five conditions: psychosis, major depression, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective (schizophrenia combined with mood disorders like depression) and bipolar disorders. 

The person is evaluated by Salt Lake County Probation to gauge the likelihood that he or she will repeat their criminal behavior. The higher the risk, the greater the chance they can be referred to Mental Health Court rather than traditional court. “We’re taking more of the high-risk individuals into Mental Health Court because we feel there’s a greater need for them to get the proper treatment,” Arnold said. 

The person is required to participate in individual and group therapy at Cornerstone Counseling in South Salt Lake, a treatment center for mental illness, addiction and trauma run by the Utah chapter of Volunteers of America. 

The program helps move and keep people out of the crowded Salt Lake County Jail, but Arnold says it has a greater purpose. “We have to look at the underlying issues as to why they’re (in jail or court). In a lot of cases, it’s because they haven’t had access to treatment, medication, or mental health services.”

Mental Health Court is not a one-strike-and-you’re-out proposition. Many people adhere to and complete the terms laid out by the court and their probation, but those who slip up can get another chance with the prospect lurking they could face stricter penalties if they mess up again. “There’s some teeth to the program,” Arnold said. 

Mental health calls to West Valley City police are sent to the department’s Crisis Intervention Team. The CIT is housed in the investigations division, which Arnold supervises. It has four mental health detectives and a social worker. Twelve patrol officers spread over three daily shifts often take the initial calls and refer them, if needed, to detectives and a social worker for further investigation. Even if people aren’t committing crimes, the CIT can respond to mental health calls and direct them to appropriate treatment resources. 

Detective Ray Wilhelm joined the West Valley City Police Department not long before the Mental Health Court was started. 

He was ambivalent about the program and its potential for success when first told about it. Now he’s sold on it after conducting probation visits with offenders. 

“We address our clients’ needs well before it becomes a huge problem, before they catch felony charges, before they go to prison,” he said. 

For many of the offenders it’s their first time getting treatment for the mental health issues that underlie their illegal behavior. 

Wilhelm recalled a 22-year-old woman with mental problems who was arrested after spitting on officers at her house. She entered mental health court, got the help she needed, and completed her probation with flying colors. “I’ve never seen somebody go through their entire probation stint without a single violation. I was flabbergasted.” 

Accompanying detective Wilhelm on his probation visits is Tori Yeates, a licensed clinical social worker who works with West Valley City police under a contract with her employer, University Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of Utah. 

“My role with that is mostly to observe what their home life is like,” she said. “How are they doing, how are they functioning, how supportive is the family?” Yeates compiles her observations and reports to the court and treatment providers. “Most of the people we’ve had in Mental Health Court have had pretty significant mental health issues.” She cited one example of a man whose violent behavior led to a number of run-ins with CIT officers. He began to turn things around when he was referred to Mental Health Court and started adhering to the requirements placed upon him, which included therapy and medication. “If we can get them to buy into all of that, they can actually do really, really well.” 

And if they stop buying in? “Sanctions might be something like writing an essay on why it’s important to stay on your meds or it could be jail” for severe violations, Yeates said. “We get really creative.” 

Arnold says the success rate of Mental Health Court is high, with a number of participants changing their ways. “We’ve seen them turn around, being able to get jobs, massive improvement in their home and family life. We’ve had numerous individuals we were dealing with on a fairly regular basis that once they’ve come through the Mental Health Court we’ve had no further dealings with them.” 

Trust is built among offenders, police, and the mental health community. “It’s not this ‘us-versus-them’ situation,” Arnold said. “There is a genuine concern from everybody involved and they’re constantly looking for solutions to help these individuals be successful. It’s been eye-opening.” 

Mental Health Court is funded by West Valley City and has strong support from city leaders. “It has been very refreshing to have the police department and city administration be on board and recognize the need for this,” Arnold said. “They’re recognizing that law enforcement needs to be innovative and look for solutions to curtail some of these issues that maybe we haven’t looked at in the past.” 

There were about 350 other Mental Health Courts in the U.S. as of 2017, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services.

“In my opinion, it has seen a lot of success and return on investment,” Arnold said of the West Valley program. 

“We want to make sure you go on and live a very successful life without having to come back to court,” Yeates added. 

When probationers complete the program, they graduate. “It’s great to see the progress they make. You can see the change in their demeanor, attitude and outlook on life,” Arnold said.

“Instead of just cycling in and out of jail over the same issues, they’re finally getting the help they need.” 

Rushton can attest to that. He has high praise for everyone with a hand in his case, but it is especially effusive for Cornerstone Counseling. “They’re everything to me,” he said. Besides individual and group therapy, the center provides and monitors his medications. “Now I’m staying away from prison, staying clean, and everything’s going good. I enjoy being sober.”

With a growing self-esteem and confidence, he is scheduled to graduate Jan. 13 by presenting a two-page essay to the court on how his life has changed. “I’ll be totally done. I won’t have to contact the court and I won’t have to do UAs (urine tests).” He’ll then continue with after-care at Cornerstone Counseling, try to re-establish a relationship with his mom, and not look back at what was.