Program Rules

As a Mental Health Court (MHC) participant, you will be required to abide by the following rules:

• Attend all ordered treatment sessions. This includes individual and group counseling, educational sessions, and other treatment as directed. Unexcused missed treatments sessions will result in a sanction.
• Be on time. If you are late for a treatment, you may not be allowed to participate and will be considered non-compliant. Contact your counselor if there is a possibility that you may be late.
• Do not make threats toward other participants or staff or behave in a violent manner. Violent or inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated and will be reported to the court. This behavior may result in a sanction or termination from the MHC program.
• Attend all court sessions as directed by the MHC probation officer.
• Abstain from the use of alcohol and illicit drugs. This condition is fundamental to successful completion of the program. Any prescription medication must be reported to the MHC team for review. Abuse of prescription drugs will result in a sanction.
• Submit to urinalysis and/or breath test as requested. You will be tested throughout the entire program for substance abuse and/or medication compliance. During the first phase, you will be tested frequently and randomly. As you progress through the program, testing will be required on a less frequent basis. The MHC judge may order a test at any time and will have access to all drug testing results including any "stalls" or failures to test. A "stall" is considered the inability to provide a urine specimen within 15 minutes of the request. A "stall", failing to report, or appearing late to submit a urine test will be treated as a violation. Adulterated urine will be considered as a positive test. One of the goals of the MHC is to help you achieve total abstinence from alcohol and illicit drugs; however, a positive breath or urine test will not automatically disqualify you from the program. The judge will review your overall performance with the MHC staffing team to determine appropriate consequences. No new criminal charges will be filed against you as the result of a positive breath or urine test, unless a separate crime has been committed.
• Maintain confidentiality of other MHC participants. Treatment cannot succeed unless all participants maintain the confidentiality of other participants and of information disclosed in treatment.