ASHTABULA — Ashtabula County has needs, Supreme Court Justice Evelyn L. Stratton acknowledged Sunday, and she feels she has just the plan to fill them.
Touting a justice docket for the mentally ill and a new plan to help Ohioans access $84 billion in available state aid, Stratton campaigned at Walnut Beach Sunday afternoon following a fundraising event at the home of Ashtabula residents Ruth and John Austin.
Stratton is up for re-election in the fall.
“I feel I understand the needs of a large rural county like Ashtabula,” Stratton said.
Stratton promoted her work in mental health reform, which has helped establish mental health dockets in courts across the state. These dockets help mentally ill or mentally disabled offenders find help and treatment in lieu of incarceration.
“The prison system here has a high percentage of people with mental health issues. Six years ago I became very interested in changing that,” Stratton said. “I knew we had to find a way to keep people from recycling in and out of the prison system.”
Grant money is offered to counties that utilize these dockets, Stratton said.
Stratton said the program makes sense economically and ethically.
“It costs $30 a day for supportive housing for the mentally ill,” Stratton said. “And it costs $1,500 a day in the prison system. I feel thousands of dollars can be saved or pushed back into a more efficient and productive justice system that is better for the residents of Ohio.”
Included in that plan is law enforcement Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for police officers. Five Ashtabula County police officers have completed the CIT program, Stratton said.
“(CIT) is teaching officers to mitigate a problem with an offender before it escalates. Talking someone down instead of unwittingly hyping them up is safer for everyone,” Stratton said.
Stratton is also a supporter of the Ohio Benefit Bank, a program that began in January under the wing of Gov. Ted Strickland to help Ohioans access $89 billion in state aid including food stamps, tax returns and aid for dependent children.
The program is open in most public libraries, Stratton said, and residents can become certified to help others use the program.
“These are resources that can help families here in Ashtabula County and everywhere in Ohio,” Stratton said. “The help was there, but accessing it was a major issue. It is my dear hope that people and senior centers and food banks and other neighborhood programs will take this access and help the people of Ashtabula County.”
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