Amongst the thousands of defendants Wayne County Municipal Court judges see each year, there are several dozen who have significant diagnosed mental health issues such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.

According to John Bridger, probation officer, in the past most of these people moved through the system unnoticed.

“No one is ever the wiser until they’ve been before the judge so many times that the judge actually recognizes them. When you get that familiar with a judge…that’s a little late in the game,” Bridger added.

With assistance from the Ohio Supreme Court, in 2007 the court instituted Helping Offenders Prosper Effectively or HOPE Court in order to address the problems associated with chronic offenders suffering from mental illness.

The team, which is comprised of mental health professionals from the Counseling Center, Millhoan, her colleague Judge William Rickett, probation officers and other court officials, meets twice a month to monitor a plan specifically designed to meet the needs of each offender as they move through the year-long program.

“Bringing this team together is very important. Everyone brings their own expertise, their own background information, and we truly work as a team in terms of sharing that information and then relying on someone’s expertise,” said Millhoan.

Counseling center caseworkers formulate treatment plans that often include monitoring prescription medication usage, taking part in therapy groups and seeking employment. The caseworkers then share information with court officials on the participant’s compliance with the plan.

Bridger said the key differences between HOPE Court and general probation are the close monitoring and the ability for the court to act swiftly if the participant does not comply with the plan by incarcerating the participant for the weekend.

While on occasion that does happen, the real motivator is praise for a job well done.

“Praise is a big deal with them. Most of them have never been praised ever and to hear it from a judge…it’s just remarkable what a change it can make in some people,” said Karl Kubb, probation officer.

“You could see physically the change in him over time,” said Kubb of one participant. “He’s healthier. He’s more outgoing. He’s really becoming involved in the community. It’s made a remarkable change in him.”

Bridger cited the example of one participant who “never had much of a work history.”

“Now he has two jobs. His whole demeanor has changed. He’s upbeat. He’s positive. He’s doing things that we would do on a regular basis, but it’s brand new for him,” said Bridger. “He’s doing great and that’s what we look for with each one of the people we have in this program.”

“It’s a powerful program,” said Millhoan. “We believe in the possibility that people can succeed, and as a result of giving people a little bit of hope, it’s amazing to see what they can accomplish on their own.”

To date the program has been remarkably successful.

According to Kubb, of the 32 people who have committed to the program, the court has a 50 percent successful completion rate. While the normal recidivism rate would be virtually 100 percent, only two people who have completed the program have re-offended.

The program has other benefits as well.

“One of the real beauties of this program is that we’ve taken existing resources, existing personnel, existing services…and we’ve realigned them so we are getting better results, so we’ve done this with no money,” said Millhoan.

“Not only have we done it without added money, we’re saving money in terms of hospital days and days people are in jail. Those are major expenses. We are keeping people out of those two institutions,” said Millhoan.