MEDFORD, OR - Jackson County officials are considering a mental health court that would operate much as the drug courts do in many Oregon counties, focusing on treatment rather than incarceration.

A recent survey from the Oregon Department of Human Services showed that 20 percent of the inmates in the Jackson County Jail have a serious mental illness, well above the average of 9 percent among the state's 30 county-run jails.

Three counties, Clackamas, Lane and Yamhill, already operate mental health courts. As with drug courts and people arrested for minor offenses, the mental health courts treat and stabilize the mentally ill who are accused of minor crimes with a yearlong, voluntary program of intensive support services and frequent court visits. Read more.

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