Therapeutic Courts continue to yield success

In 2023, Tacoma Municipal Court launched two different therapeutic courts – a Mental Health Court and a Community Court. Since then, many successful outcomes have been achieved by targeting the root cause that led to an individual landing in court in the first place.

Instead of traditional sentencing with jail time or fines, therapeutic courts connect participants with treatment services and community resources. It takes a team of judges, attorneys, coordinators, case managers, treatment providers, law enforcement personnel and peer support staff working together with participants to develop an individual plan and path for recovery and success. 

There are more than 150 treatment courts in Washington state. Pierce County Superior Court and Tacoma Municipal Court have been leaders in establishing these courts locally, which continue to be adopted by courts across the country. 

With May being National Therapeutic Court Month, Gov. Bob Ferguson has issued a proclamation officially declaring 2025 Therapeutic Court Month for our state’s commitment to the program. It states in part: “The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services found that cost savings due to crime reduction created a $4 return on every tax dollar invested in a Washington state drug court, and analyses of mental health courts and family treatment courts in Washington state have shown savings from reduced recidivism, lower rates of hospitalization, fewer emergency department visits, less involvement in the child welfare system, and few children born drug affected.” 

At the county level in our state, Pierce County therapeutic courts include Felony Drug Court, Family Recovery Court, and Felony Mental Health Court. In 2018, Pierce County Superior Court partnered with Comprehensive Life Resources for an Assisted Outpatient Behavioral Health Treatment pilot. This program delivers community based mental health services under court supervision to individuals with severe mental illness who have demonstrated difficulty adhering to prescribed treatment on a voluntary basis. 

In Tacoma’s municipal court system, its Mental Health and Community courts are showing numerous signs of success. Mental Health Court serves community members with mental health diagnoses who are at risk of repeat criminal offenses. A holistic approach promotes well-being, independence, accountability, and safety in our community. 

Community Court promotes personal growth by connecting community members to needed health and social services. This program recognizes that individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses are often dealing with significant life challenges such food insecurity, housing instability, mental health concerns, limited job opportunities, substance use disorder, and trauma. Community Court brings together case management, community partnerships, and treatment providers to reduce recidivism and increase overall independence and rehabilitation. 

At Tacoma City Council’s April 22 study session, council members heard updates on both these courts from three Tacoma Municipal Court judges – Presiding Judge Steve Krupa and judges Drew Henke and Dee Sonntag. 

“We are so excited about our therapeutic courts. Over the last year, we’ve been able to make some great strides and part of that is the support that you give us in any aspect of our program,” Henke told the council. 

Henke, who was first elected in 2015, presides over Mental Health Court. “I’ve been working on it since 2019 and we formally started in 2023. I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish,” she said. 

Sonntag, elected as Tacoma Municipal Court judge in 2022, is developing the therapeutic court system including the launch of Community Court in 2023. Key members of the city’s therapeutic court team include Court Operations Supervisor Andrea Currin who works closely with Therapeutic Court Coordinator Emily Splinter-Felton; Case managers Elidia Colmenares and Hannah Olver; and defense attorney Kate McCracken and prosecutors Jagbir Atwal and Matt Dixon.

“This is an incredibly hardworking team that makes Mental Health Court and Community Court possible,” Sonntag said. “Our courts would not be possible without them.” 

Henke explained that therapeutic courts treat people individually, not as just another case.

“We look to see what the root cause of the problem is, whether it’s treatment issues such as substance use disorder or mental health, or things like not being able to get a job because they can’t get their license or there are housing issues,” she said.

A case manager is assigned to each case as a resource for participants. Case managers are well versed in community resources to connect participants with the resources they need.

“Also, we try to be welcoming and approachable and supportive,” Henke said. “Another benefit of our program is that the individual charges are dismissed at the end of the program upon successful completion.” 

Showing the council members Mental Health Court data collected from June 2023 to December 2024, Henke revealed that the program had 25 referrals in that time period. Twelve of these were declined, eight people entered the program, and two have graduated. Looking at gender data, 12.5 percent are female and 87.5 percent are male with the majority of them having some college or trade school experience.

“Because it’s a year-long program, we still have six individuals in the program and we just had someone graduate last week,” she said. “We’re looking at what we can do to encourage people to become more involved in the program.” 

In further Mental Health Court data, 100 percent of graduates have had no new charges or convictions. While in the program, 25 percent of participants incurred new charges of which 40 percent were dismissed and 60 percent were added to the client’s Mental Health Court agreement. 

Sonntag explained, “We look at those very carefully. The prosecutor and defense talk about how they want to handle those cases and 40 percent of the time, prosecutors decided to dismiss the charge because they (clients) are in Mental Health Court and hopefully addressing the issues that got them the charges. If they are serious enough that the prosecutor wanted to keep the charges, they add them to the Mental Health Court agreement. We’ve been successful in people wanting to do that because they want to continue in the program.”

In Community Court for the period of October 2023 to December 2024, there were 155 referrals, with 41 individuals entering the program and 13 graduations. Sonntag noted that to date in the Community Court program, there have been 227 referrals, 65 entries, 44 current participants, 78 pending referrals and 21 graduations. Community Court participant demographics show 39 percent female and 61 percent male, most of them being high school graduates or GED recipients. 

“Who is in our program?” Sonntag said. “As participants submit their referral with their attorney, they submit all this demographic data. We ask them to collect it so that we know who’s being referred to the program, who’s being successful, and who needs more support as we track our recidivism data after they complete the program.”

After graduating from Community Court, data shows that 92 percent of the graduates have had no new charges. 

“We continue to track recidivism data all the way from graduation through six months, one year and up to five years to see how they do,” Sonntag said. “We also track if they have new charges during that time. Our therapeutic court programs are having positive impacts on our participants even before graduation.”

While participating in the program, 20 percent incurred new charges. The outcome of those new charges are as follows: 36 percent were dismissed, 29 percent remain in pending status, 21 percent resulted in a conviction, 7 percent were added to the client’s Community Court agreement, and 7 percent entered in a deferral agreement through traditional court. 

Across both Mental Health Court and Community Court, feedback from participants has been exceedingly positive, with 100 percent reporting feeling that they were treated fairly and many plan to continue working with the treatment providers and other community resources they received during the program.