A $200,000 grant has been awarded to the First Circuit Court. The project is a partnership between the Hawaii Drug Court Program and the Mental Health Court. The funds will provide treatment to non-violent, mentally ill offenders, many of whom have co-occurring problems with substance abuse.

The grant, which was awarded by the Office of Justice Programs of the U.S. Department of Justice, will fund 30 additional treatment slots for the Hawaii Drug Court and 10 additional treatment slots for the Mental Health Court for two years.

Also, a portion of the grant will be used to put on two workshops for probation officers and community-based treatment providers who work with offenders who have a mental health disorder.

Approximately 25% (30) of the drug court population has co-occurring mental health disorders (ranging from anxiety disorders to schizophrenia), and about 90% (27) of the Mental Health Court’s population has substance abuse problems.