Montgomery County tries team approach to help mentally ill
By Renée C. Lee, Houston Chronicle
Updated 09:27 p.m., Monday, February 13, 2012
Montgomery County has begun providing mentally ill defendants with a professional team to help them with legal and personal needs in an effort to keep them out of jail.
The county's Managed Assigned Counseling Mental Health program, launched last month, is the second in the state. Lubbock County started its program, which handles all indigent defendants, a few weeks earlier.
State lawmakers authorized the new model of indigent defense last year. It enables judges to remove themselves from assigning and paying attorneys to represent the poor.
Instead, managed assigned counseling pairs defendants with a specially trained attorney, a case manager coordinator and a case worker. Together, they walk defendants through the criminal process and assist them with obtaining community services, such as counseling, housing and other services.
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