Thursday, February 11, 2010 - County Mental Health Court Celebrates Graduation Feb. 23

The St. Lucie County Mental Health Court will hold its eighth graduation on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. in the St. Lucie County Courthouse in downtown Fort Pierce. Mental Health Court is proud to have David Sofferin, assistant secretary for Substance Abuse and Mental Health since his appointment in November, 2009, as its special guest speaker. Before coming to DCF, David served as the acting deputy commissioner for Mental Health for the newly created Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. He has previously served as the acting director of Regional Operations, regional coordinator for a large Behavioral Health Network and chief executive officer of Southwestern State Hospital for the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases, where he worked to enhance the continuity of care between state hospitals and community providers.   

Established in June 2006, St. Lucie County Mental Health Court is a community-based diversion court that provides court supervision and services to mentally ill and developmentally disabled   offenders through the cooperation of State Attorney, Public Defender, St. Lucie County and local non-profit agencies.  St. Lucie County was among one of the Florida counties chosen to receive the Florida Substance Abuse and Mental Health Reinvestment Grant last year. With tremendous support from the St. Lucie County Commissioners, as well as grant funding, the St. Lucie County Mental Health Court has provided services for more 650 mentally ill participants.  The public is invited to attend.