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The Supreme Court of South Carolina

DONALD W. BEATTY CHIEF JUSTICE

MEDIA CONTACT: Office of Public Information (803) 734-1800 mvjones@sccourts.org

Judicial Branch Introduces S.C. Courts Mental Health Initiative
Statewide Collaborative to Begin with Educational Webinar Series

October 10, 2022 – Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty has authorized the Judicial Branch to establish the S.C. Courts Mental Health Initiative, a collaborative, statewide endeavor to improve the administration of justice for people affected by mental health issues.

Designed to affect change through unprecedented statewide collaboration, participants in the Initiative will include executive and legislative branch agency officials, state and local behavioral health organizations, law enforcement agencies, lawmakers, healthcare providers, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, and others.

The Judicial Branch will kick off the Initiative with a series of educational webinars exploring concepts related to mental illness and the judicial system. Anyone may register for the webinars.

Each webinar has been approved for 1.5 credit hours of Continuing Legal Education. Attorney registrants requesting CLE credits should enter their S.C. Bar number into the registration form for each webinar listed below.

S.C. Courts Mental Health Initiative Educational Webinars

Register for Session 1, Thursday, Oct. 13, Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Judge Steven Leifman: Mental Health Diversions from the Justice System through Leadership, Collaboration, Building Momentum, and Moving Forward with Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

Register for Session 2, Thursday, Oct. 20, Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Paul Galdys: The Future of Crisis Care

Register for Session 3, Thursday, Oct. 27, Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Dr. Debra A. Pinals: Systems, Struggles, and Strategies: Opportunities at the Justice and Behavioral Health Interface

Following the webinar series, the Judicial Branch will hold stakeholder meetings in each of South Carolina’s 16 judicial circuits. The participation of judges and court officials, state and local behavioral health organizations, law enforcement officials, lawmakers, healthcare providers, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, and others stakeholders will be critically important to ensure success for the Initiative.

“We are looking forward to working with South Carolina partners and mental health professionals so that we may collaboratively develop policies, resources, tools, and other practices needed to create a more effective, fair, and timely judicial system for individuals facing mental health issues,” Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty said.

The S.C. Courts Mental Health Initiative will conclude with a statewide summit in the fall of 2023.

Individuals and organizations in the mental health field, judicial system, or related industries are invited to attend the upcoming webinars for information about becoming involved. The Initiative is being administrated through the Office of State Court Administrator Tonnya K. Kohn. For more information about the S.C. Courts Mental Health Initiative, please contact Jordan Kemmerlin at (803) 734-1800.