BEAUMONT — Jefferson County juvenile courts formerly put all their eggs in one basket in juvenile drug court. They discovered, however, that approach was lacking.

Judge Randy Shelton of the 279^th District Court met with representatives for the continuing formation of a juvenile mental health court Tuesday at the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Center in Beaumont.

“Ten years ago we started the juvenile drug court for therapeutic jurisprudence,” Shelton said. “Until recently, funding for substance abuse started disappearing. They discovered over the course of time there were many mental health issues along with the substance abuse.

“We could remove the kids and focus on the substance abuse, but couldn’t separate or ignore (the mental health issues).”

Shelton said all comers were welcome under the juvenile drug program. Under the mental health program, the court is now more selective and it uses family support, too. Needs are assessed and services adjusted to meet needs.

Another big problem, Shelton said, is education. Accordingly, Beaumont Independent School District and Community In Schools have stepped in along with the Spindletop Center and Legacy Community Health for easier access to medical and psychiatric needs.

Currently there are two juveniles in the program: a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old. The two juveniles keep the court “pretty darn busy,” Shelton said.

Children with intellectual and development disabilities also meet program requirements.

Statewide, there’s not many juvenile mental health courts to model Jefferson County’s after with the exception of Austin.

“For therapeutic courts it’s probably the newest. We can research and develop other courts outside the state, too,” he said. “We’ve been so involved with substance abuse but we thought there must be a better direction to go.

Catherine Bruney is legal counsel for the children in court while Phillip Dowden is legal counsel for parents because parents could be held in contempt of court or have issues themselves.

“I was hoping the drug treatment would be a wrap-around program, but it’s easier to do with the mental health,” Shelton said.

Amber Woods and Jessica Boudreaux, with Spindletop, said some of the casework consists of anger management, working on social and communication skills. There’s also more extensive therapy for parents and family.

Shelton said there’s all kinds of resources that can be linked.

There’s also a proactive component to the juvenile mental health court. Shelton said they would like to catch the children and address their needs before they have to go to court and use it as a diversion program.

All of the team agreed this program is cutting edge and more people will come to know about the new court.

“A sibling of a higher-risk kid (another sibling) can go along as can parents. All the bases are covered with this. It’s a team effort,” Shelton said.