Forensic Behavioral Health Services
Second Chances Through Treatment in Tampa
At Ibis Healthcare, we believe in early intervention and second chances. Our mental health court and jail diversion services connect individuals with serious mental illness to treatment—not incarceration. By partnering with the courts, public defenders, and behavioral health experts throughout Tampa and Hillsborough County, we help people restore their lives, reduce recidivism, and rejoin their communities with dignity and hope.
Our Tampa mental health court and jail diversion programs recognize that behind every legal charge is a person with inherent worth, potential, and the capacity for positive change when provided with appropriate support and evidence-based treatment.
Hope, Recovery, and Second Chances
"My dark days made me stronger. Or maybe I was already strong and they made me prove it." Program Graduate
Our forensic behavioral health team works actively to reduce stigma associated with both mental illness and justice involvement, helping community members understand that mental illness is a treatable medical condition and that recovery and positive change are possible with appropriate support and intervention.
"We see the person, not just the charges. Our work is about recognizing that mental health treatment is often the intervention that changes the trajectory of someone's life—from repeat cycles of crisis and incarceration to stability, recovery, and meaningful community participation. Treatment works. Jail doesn't fix mental illness." — Ashley Scott, MS, Director, Adult Forensic Services
Mental Health Court Liaison Program
Partnership with Hillsborough County Courts
In partnership with the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, our mental health court liaison program provides specialized expertise to support judges, attorneys, and court staff in making informed decisions about treatment alternatives for defendants with mental illness
Court Partnership Benefits:
- Reduces inappropriate incarceration of individuals with mental illness
- Provides judges with expert clinical recommendations
- Connects defendants to appropriate levels of mental health care
- Supports successful community integration and reduced recidivism
Referral and Intake Process
Referral Sources:
Our liaison program accepts referrals from multiple sources within the justice system. Court administration staff, judicial officers, public defender attorneys and investigators, state attorney prosecutors and victim advocates, probation officers, and court case managers can all refer individuals who may benefit from mental health intervention rather than traditional criminal justice processing. The final decision regarding court-ordered treatment rests with the presiding judge.
Once a referral is received, our clinical team conducts an initial screening and risk assessment. This comprehensive mental health evaluation examines psychiatric symptoms, substance use history, criminal risk factors, and treatment needs. Based on this evaluation, we develop specific treatment recommendations and work with the individual to establish agreed-upon goals. Throughout the treatment process, we provide regular progress monitoring and detailed reporting to the court, ensuring accountability while supporting the individual's recovery journey.
Clinical Assessment and Evaluation Services
Evidence-Based Assessment Tools
Our forensic mental health assessments utilize standardized, validated instruments to provide courts with reliable, objective information. The Level of Service Case Management Inventory serves as our primary comprehensive risk and needs assessment tool, helping identify criminogenic factors that contribute to criminal behavior while guiding treatment and supervision recommendations. This assessment also provides ongoing progress monitoring capabilities throughout an individual's engagement with our services.
Beyond risk assessment, our clinical team conducts thorough psychiatric diagnostic evaluations to identify mental health conditions requiring treatment. We assess substance abuse patterns and develop integrated treatment plans that address both mental health and addiction. Cognitive and intellectual functioning evaluations help us understand each person's capacities and tailor interventions appropriately. Risk assessments for violence and recidivism inform safety planning and treatment intensity, while evaluations of treatment motivation and readiness help us engage individuals effectively in their own recovery process.
Court Reports and Documentation
Our clinical team provides detailed, professional reports to the court system that support informed judicial decision-making. These comprehensive evaluation summaries present diagnostic findings, treatment needs, and clinical recommendations in clear, accessible language for legal professionals. Our treatment recommendations identify appropriate levels of care and specific service referrals, while progress reports provide ongoing updates on treatment engagement, symptom management, and community stability. All reports include risk assessment information and public safety considerations, as well as documentation of medication compliance and psychiatric stability when relevant to the case.
Treatment and Case Management
We provide comprehensive coordination of behavioral health services, either directly through our programs or by connecting individuals with appropriate community providers. Our team facilitates access to Mental Health Pre-Trial Intervention programs, coordinates with substance abuse treatment providers when co-occurring disorders are present, and arranges for domestic violence treatment, GED preparation, or parenting classes as needed based on individual circumstances and court requirements.
Housing assistance represents a critical component of successful community reintegration. Our case managers help secure appropriate residential placements, connect individuals with housing resources, and provide ongoing support to maintain housing stability. We also assist with benefits applications and financial planning, recognizing that economic stability supports both mental health recovery and reduced criminal justice involvement.
Ongoing support services include regular case management and treatment monitoring to ensure consistent engagement with prescribed interventions. Our team provides crisis intervention and develops comprehensive emergency response plans to prevent psychiatric decompensation that could lead to hospitalization or re-arrest. Medication management and psychiatric follow-up ensure that mental health symptoms remain stable, while family support and relationship counseling help rebuild and strengthen natural support systems. For many participants, vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance prove essential to establishing meaningful roles in the community and achieving long-term stability.
Forensic Impact Teams and Specialized Programs
Court-Ordered Competency Restoration
Our residential treatment program serves individuals found incompetent to stand trial on felony charges, providing intensive therapeutic intervention designed to restore competency while promoting long-term mental health recovery and community integration. This specialized program offers an alternative to long-term hospitalization in state facilities, providing treatment in a community-based setting that better prepares individuals for successful reentry.
The program typically length is four to six months, during which participants engage in intensive, evidence-based treatment specifically designed to address both competency deficits and underlying mental health conditions. Our competency restoration curriculum includes structured educational groups focusing on legal concepts, courtroom procedures, and defendant rights and responsibilities. Participants learn about the roles of various courtroom personnel, the nature of criminal charges, and how to work effectively with their attorneys.
Individual psychotherapy addresses underlying mental health conditions through trauma-informed, cognitive-behavioral approaches. Our psychiatric team provides comprehensive medication management and ongoing psychiatric monitoring to ensure symptom stabilization. Life skills training prepares participants for independent living in the community, covering practical skills like budgeting, cooking, self-care, and social interaction. Family involvement plays a crucial role in treatment, with family therapy sessions, education about mental illness and the justice system, and support services to strengthen these vital relationships.
Comprehensive Community-Based Services
This intensive program addresses the complex needs of individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders who have justice system involvement. The team provides both outpatient and inpatient care coordination for adults with serious mental illness and substance use disorders, particularly those with repeated justice system involvement who are at high risk for psychiatric hospitalization or incarceration. The program excels at supporting individuals transitioning from jail, prison, or residential treatment back into the community.
Services integrate dual diagnosis treatment that addresses mental health and substance use disorders simultaneously, recognizing that these conditions interact and must be treated together for optimal outcomes. Intensive case management provides high-frequency contact and comprehensive service coordination, with case managers maintaining small caseloads to ensure adequate attention to each participant's complex needs.
Housing support ranges from emergency housing assistance during crisis periods to transitional housing placement and ultimately permanent supportive housing that provides long-term stability. Vocational rehabilitation services include job training, placement assistance, and supported employment that helps individuals develop work histories and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Throughout the process, our team maintains active
communication with probation officers, attorneys, and court personnel to ensure that legal requirements are met while treatment needs remain the priority.
Community Stabilization and Reentry Support
Our forensic intensive case management program is specifically designed to stabilize community living, ensure treatment compliance, and reduce the risk of repeat offenses for individuals transitioning from incarceration or court involvement. This program recognizes that the period immediately following release from jail or prison represents the highest risk time for both psychiatric decompensation and re-arrest.
Housing stabilization forms the foundation of community success. Our case managers work intensively to secure appropriate housing and then provide ongoing support to help individuals maintain their residences. Treatment compliance receives equal attention, with case managers ensuring consistent engagement with mental health and substance abuse treatment through regular check-ins, appointment reminders, and problem-solving when barriers arise.
Crisis prevention focuses on developing and implementing comprehensive strategies that identify early warning signs of psychiatric or behavioral deterioration and intervene before crises escalate. Community integration support helps build healthy social connections and support networks that replace criminal associations with prosocial relationships. Throughout the process, our team supports adherence to probation requirements and court orders, serving as a bridge between the justice system and the mental health treatment system.
Evidence-Based Interventions and Treatment Modalities
Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions
Our forensic mental health programs utilize proven cognitive-behavioral techniques specifically adapted for justice-involved populations. These interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing criminal behavior by addressing the thinking patterns that contribute to illegal activity.
Cognitive restructuring helps individuals identify and change criminal thinking patterns and cognitive distortions that contribute to illegal behavior. Many justice-involved individuals have developed habitual thought patterns that minimize the harm of criminal behavior, externalize blame, or rationalize illegal activities. Through structured interventions, participants learn to recognize these patterns and develop more balanced, prosocial ways of thinking.
Problem-solving skills training teaches systematic approaches to identifying problems, generating multiple potential solutions, evaluating the likely consequences of each option, and implementing effective strategies. Many individuals with justice system involvement have
developed impulsive decision-making patterns or lack effective problem-solving skills, leading to poor choices in stressful situations. This training provides concrete tools for making better decisions.
Anger management and emotional regulation interventions address the intense emotions that often precipitate criminal behavior. Participants learn to recognize physiological signs of escalating anger, employ de-escalation techniques, and develop healthy ways to express and manage difficult emotions without resorting to aggression or substance use.
Social skills training builds appropriate interpersonal skills and healthy relationship patterns. Many justice-involved individuals have learned maladaptive social interaction patterns or lack basic social skills. This training covers everything from basic communication skills to conflict resolution, helping participants build the interpersonal capabilities needed for successful community living.
Trauma-Informed Care
Recognizing that individuals involved in the justice system have experienced trauma at significantly higher rates than the general population, our Tampa forensic behavioral health services incorporate trauma-informed principles throughout all program components. This approach acknowledges the widespread impact of trauma, recognizes signs and symptoms of trauma in clients and staff, responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies and practices, and actively works to avoid re-traumatization.
Our trauma-informed approach creates environments that feel physically and emotionally safe for participants. Staff receive training in recognizing trauma responses and avoiding inadvertent triggering. We offer choices whenever possible, recognizing that trauma often involves loss of control, and choice-making supports empowerment and healing. Throughout all interventions, we emphasize collaboration and mutuality rather than hierarchical approaches, recognizing that healing occurs in the context of respectful, trustworthy
Motivational Enhancement Techniques
Our team employs motivational interviewing techniques to help participants identify their own reasons for pursuing treatment and community success. Rather than imposing external motivations or using confrontational approaches, motivational interviewing explores ambivalence about change and strengthens intrinsic motivation and commitment to treatment.
This approach proves particularly effective with justice-involved populations, who often enter treatment with mixed feelings, external pressure from courts, and limited internal motivation for change. By helping individuals articulate their own values and identify the ways that criminal behavior and mental health symptoms interfere with achieving what they truly want in life, motivational interviewing builds sustainable commitment to the recovery process.
Measuring Success: Outcomes and Impact
Recidivism Reduction
Our Tampa forensic behavioral health programs have demonstrated significant success in reducing repeat offenses and improving community integration outcomes for program participants. Comprehensive outcome tracking shows reduced arrests and criminal justice involvement among program completers compared to similar individuals who received traditional justice system processing without mental health intervention. Participants also experience decreased psychiatric hospitalizations and crisis interventions, demonstrating that mental health treatment effectively prevents the psychiatric crises that often precipitate criminal behavior.
Housing stability and community tenure improve markedly for program participants. Individuals who previously cycled between homelessness, hospitalization, and incarceration achieve stable housing and maintain community living for extended periods. Treatment engagement and medication compliance increase significantly, as participants develop insight into their conditions and experience the benefits of consistent treatment. Family relationships and social support networks strengthen as mental health symptoms stabilize and individuals demonstrate positive changes, rebuilding bridges that substance use and poor choices may have damaged.
Community Safety and Public Health
By addressing underlying mental health conditions that contribute to criminal behavior, our forensic services enhance public safety while supporting individual recovery and community reintegration. This represents a public health approach to criminal justice, recognizing that many individuals cycling through courts and jails have undiagnosed or untreated mental illness that drives problematic behavior. Treatment proves more effective than incarceration in preventing future offenses while simultaneously improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness and justice involvement.
Getting Connected with Our Services
Whether you're an individual ready to engage in recovery, a family member advocating for appropriate treatment instead of jail, or a legal professional seeking expert consultation, our Tampa mental health court and jail diversion team is here to help.
Contact Information:
Phone: 813-239-857
We welcome consultations with attorneys, court personnel, probation officers, and other justice system professionals. Our clinical team can provide expert guidance on appropriate treatment options, assess individual cases, and develop recommendations that balance treatment needs with public safety considerations.
If you or someone you love is facing criminal charges and struggling with mental illness, our team can help navigate alternatives to jail. Contact us to discuss how mental health court services and jail diversion programs might provide a better path forward—one focused on treatment, recovery, and successful community living rather than incarceration alone.
Our team is available to present on mental health court, jail diversion, and forensic mental health topics for professional organizations, community groups, and educational institutions. These presentations cover topics including the intersection of mental illness and criminal behavior, effective interventions for justice-involved populations, trauma-informed approaches to criminal justice, and the role of treatment in reducing recidivism. Please contact our Communications Department at speaker@ibishc.org to arrange a speaking engagement.
