Campbell County creates new adult diversion court program

Campbell County was selected by the state to be the site of a pilot program for individuals who have treatable mental health issues. If it’s successful, it could be replicated in other communities around the state.

The goal is to treat people who wouldn’t be involved with the criminal justice system if it weren’t for their mental health.

Chad Beeman, director of Adult Treatment Courts, said this new program will not require any additional money from the county this fiscal year.

“It’s a great opportunity to get something finally going for the better of mental health in our community,” Beeman said.

County Attorney Nathan Henkes said there may be up to eight people in the program at any given time. He said the number of stakeholders involved in this project is “absolutely amazing.”

They range from the Wyoming Judicial Branch, Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming Department of Corrections to local law enforcement agencies.

Volunteers of America, a faith-based human services organization, will be taking on a lot of responsibility with this new program, including treatment, referrals and housing. It has a crisis intervention shelter in Sheridan that people can be transported to, if they need it.

Beeman’s team will be handling the supervision portion of the program.

To start, the program will focus on non-violent misdemeanor offenders who have mental health issues treatable with medication.

There are two ways people can be referred to the program. Law enforcement officers responding to people with suspected mental health disorders will screen them. Screening also will take place at the Campbell County jail as part of the standard booking process.

If the screening indicates the person may suffer from serious mental illness, the officer will not only immediately refer the individual for a more thorough evaluation, but also actively facilitate the evaluation by the VOA.

The officer will notify the diversion court case manager and the prosecutor, either city or state, when a person is referred for a clinical evaluation.

If the screening is done on the street and does not indicate serious mental illness, the officer will refer the individual to community-based services unless a citation or arrest is more appropriate.

Within 24 hours of referral, the VOA will conduct a clinical evaluation, as well as an assessment of how likely the person is to engage in criminal behavior. If the assessment validates a very high, high or moderate risk/need category, the person will be considered for adult diversion.

The diversion court team will then review the referral, and if the person meets all the criteria, he will be invited to participate in the program. By accepting, each participant must consent to behavioral health treatment and services and random drug screening.

This new program will operate until at least Jan. 2, 2026, and will be reviewed periodically by the state.