Centre County DA Launches Mental Health Diversionary Initiative

Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna announced a new program designed to divert individuals with serious mental illness from the criminal justice system to community-based treatment services.

“One of the things we need to do in the criminal justice system is address the underlying causes that bring someone into the system,” said Cantorna said. “All too often, serious mental illness plays a role in individuals having police contact, arrests and incarceration.’

In fact, Cantorna said, Warden Chris Schell reported that 60% of individuals incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility in August received medications related to mental health issues.

The goal of the new Behavioral and Mental Health Diversionary Initiative is to reduce police contact and recidivism for individuals with mental illness.

The program has two tracks. In both, cases are reviewed by the DA’s office and approved if criteria are met and public safety is ensured. For both tracks an individual must provide proof of a mental health diagnosis, agree to a treatment plan,  comply with case management requirements, such as a prohibition on possession of firearms and non-prescribed drugs, and pay restitution.

Track one is for primarily non-violent offenses, with an expected minimum treatment period of six months. In cases of co-occurring conditions, the treatment period is expected to be one to two years.

The individual could then be accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, which allows for criminal charges to be dismissed if successfully completed.

“People who successfully complete the program avoid the consequences of a lengthy criminal record that would make it difficult for them to have productive lives in our society,” Cantorna said.

The second track is for crimes of a serious nature, which are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. It requires a guilty plea to negotiated charges. The individual must have been engaged in and in compliance with a mental health treatment plan for at least six months prior to the plea and must meet the program’s 10 standard conditions.

Individuals in track two may still face jail time, in-home detention or inpatient treatment.

The intersection of law enforcement and mental health has been a focus in the Centre County community since the March 2019 death of Osaze Osagie. A 29-year-old State College resident with a history of mental illness, Osagie was fatally shot during a confrontation with borough police who had come to his apartment to serve a mental health warrant.

Since then, groups such as the 3/20 Coalition have advocated for alternative approaches to reduce police contact in mental health matters and the divestment of firearms from the serving of mental health warrants, as well as police reforms and racial equity measures.

The Task Force on Mental Health Crisis Services, formed by the borough and county following Osagie’s death, is expected to deliver its report and recommendations in November.