#7 Judge Wolke: Promoting Public Safety by Strengthening the Civil System

The Center Collaborative: Creative Solutions in Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice

Judge Pat Wolke, Josephine County Mental Health Court Judge; Co-Chair of the Workgroup to Decriminalize Mental Illness; and Member of the Chief Justice’s Behavioral Health Advisory Committee discusses:

• His work to strengthen the pathways into the civil system as a diversion from the criminal justice system, particularly in regards to civil commitment and assisted outpatient treatment (AOT).
• What AOT is and how it can be useful.
• The connection between the difficulty around the civil process and fitness to proceed numbers.
• The importance of mental health courts in changing people’s lives while supporting public safety.

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