HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University announced today that three NKU faculty members have been awarded a $55,448 NKU University-Community Partnership Grant to partner with the Campbell County Criminal Justice Advisory Commission (CJAC) to begin building the structure of the Northern Kentucky Regional Mental Health Court.
The Campbell County CJAC, along with its state, regional and county partners, will partner with NKU through this grant to begin to develop a unified screening instrument based upon a system of established criteria to be used by jailers, pretrial services, public defenders, probation, parole, judges and prosecutors to determine whether a defendant is a potential mental health court participant. This grant funding will also be used to train personnel on appropriate utilization of the unified screening instruments.
As the recipients of this University-Community Partnership Grant, professors from the NKU Department for Political Science and Criminal Justice, Drs. Amy Thistlethwaite and Julie Raines, will contribute their expertise in the area of criminal justice to conduct the necessary initial actions to bring the Northern Kentucky Regional Mental Health Court to fruition. Dr. Gregory Hatchett from NKU's Department of Counseling, Human Services and Social Work will contribute his expertise to the project as well.
Thistlethwaite and Raines also serve on the Campbell County CJAC, co-chaired by Campbell County Judge Executive Steve Pendery and Campbell County Jailer Greg Bucker, and the Mental Health Court Subcommittee of the CJAC, chaired by Campbell District Judge Karen Thomas, who is serving as Chief Regional Judge for the Mental Health Court pilot program.
"The Regional Mental Health Court is a unique collaboration in the Northern Kentucky area to assist individuals suffering from a mental illness," Pendery said. "We are happy to forge this partnership with NKU and commend their efforts in regional stewardship in this regard."
NKU President James Votruba said he is excited about the partnership and the continued impact of NKU's University-Community Partnership Grant Program.
"Since the creation of the University-Community Partnership grant program in 2002, it has been a pleasure to see our faculty partner with community leaders to help address issues facing Northern Kentucky," Votruba said. "This grant is just the latest example of how our region can accomplish all that it aspires to if we work together."
The University-Community Partnership grant program partners NKU faculty with various local and regional organizations to address significant issues facing the Greater Cincinnati region by researching, evaluating and resolving problems affecting the region.
For more information contact NKU Political Science and Criminal Justice Professor Julie Raines at rainesj2@nku.edu or 859-620-8439.
This project has received funding from The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University during the planning phase.
The ultimate goal of this project is to implement a regional mental health court servicing Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Northern Kentucky.