The Statewide Community and Court Liaison Service will now be available at Orange, Bathurst, Blayney and Oberon Local Courts, diverting eligible defendants living with mental illness away from the criminal justice system and connecting them with local mental health care and support services.
The service provides comprehensive assessments by mental health clinicians who make recommendations to the magistrate on appropriate treatment and rehabilitation services available in the community.
It commenced in 2002 across seven Local Courts in NSW and has expanded to support the diversion of more than 3,000 people each year away from custody and into clinical care and treatment.
A recent study of the service in the International Journal of Forensic Mental Health examined 2,476 individuals identified as eligible for mental health court diversion and compared reoffending of those granted and not granted court diversion.
It found individuals not diverted had 43 per cent higher reoffending rate than those granted diversion.
This additional investment by the NSW Government will expand the service to a total of 58 courts throughout NSW and will also involve the appointment of Aboriginal mental health clinicians to ensure culturally safe and responsive diversions.
Justice Health NSW Chief Executive, Wendy Hoey said the expansion means more people in regional NSW will get the mental health care they need.
“The new court diversion service across the central west will ensure vulnerable individuals with serious mental health conditions are linked to appropriate mental health care, which helps to reduce further offending in the community," Ms Hoey said.
"For many of our patients, their first contact with a healthcare professional is through the court or custodial system.
"This initiative can help to address some of the underlying causes that lead people to come in contact with the justice system and achieve better outcomes for these individuals and their communities.”
