The Council of State Governments (CSG) has recently released its third -- and most comprehensive -- national survey of mental health courts. To participate in this initiative, fill out the Mental Health Court Survey by clicking here.

The first survey of mental health courts, conducted in 2003, was the result of a collaboration among CSG's Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project, NAMI, and the GAINS Center. It was developed in response to a shared observation among these organizations that no single body of information existed about this fast-growing phenomenon; in the late 1990s, there were only four known mental health courts, but by January 2004, 70 such courts were known to be operational. Click here to view the first national mental health court survey.

The Web site developed to disseminate the first national survey will remain online until all of the data it contains is transferred to the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Information Network (InfoNet), an online clearinghouse of program information, research, media, legislation, and more. At that time, the old site will automatically re-direct Web traffic to the InfoNet Web site and eventually be taken offline.

Recognizing the degree of variation in how mental health courts are designed and implemented, the Consensus Project developed the second national mental health court survey in 2005 to capture more detailed program information from the then 120 known courts. The survey, administered in conjunction with the Consensus Project's Mental Health Courts and Beyond conference, was completed by nearly 100 mental health courts and court-based programs from over 30 states. Information from this survey helped shape the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Consensus Project's technical assistance agenda including the development of BJA's Mental Health Court Learning Site program. (Results of this survey were also captured in the short pamphlet, Mental Health Courts: A National Snapshot.) Click here to view the second national mental health court survey.

In order to keep pace with the continued proliferation of mental health courts, the Consensus Project has developed its third, most extensive survey of mental health courts. But this third national survey is not only intended for communities with new courts: it is also meant to collect the most up-to-date, and highest quality, information from courts which completed either or both of the preceding surveys. Information from this survey will be combined with -- and update -- information gathered through past surveys and will be available on the InfoNet Web site. The site will also act as a platform for peer-to-peer networking among criminal justice and mental health professionals interested in mental health court and related issues.