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Sabrina
Rhinehart
Mental Health Advocate
Alicia Thomas
Senior Staff Attorney
Charles Hess
Staff Attorney
Susan
Myrick
Paralegal
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Office of the Mental
Health Advocate
225 Peachtree Street
Suite 900, South Tower
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 739-5151
(800) 676-4432
Fax: (404) 651-5706
Contact
Us
Site
Design by Arno
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| The
Office of the Mental Health Advocate (OMHA)
monitors cases in Georgia involving pleas of Not Guilty by
Reason of Insanity (NGRI) pursuant to O.C.G.A. §l7-l2-45.
We are notified of every case where an individual is found
NGRI and we contact the local attorney at that time. Depending
on the needs of the case and the local attorney, we will
monitor the defendant's progress at the state hospital and
maintain contact with the treating professionals and the
attorney. When possible, the original attorney should continue
representation. The statute does authorize us to directly
represent these individuals and we try to do so when the
local attorney is unable to.
The
statute also allows for our participation in cases prior
to the finding of NGRI. Our primary role in these cases
is as a resource. Some of our activities and resources
include:
- research
available on various issues relating to mental illness
- lists
of psychologists and psychiatrists who perform mental
health evaluations
- other
mental health information
- information
on community placements for residential and day treatment
programs
- other
placement options
- masters
level social work students available to help on these
issues
- a
sounding board
- speak
to groups of lawyers and mental health professionals
dealing with these issues
- sample
motions, orders and other pleadings
- mental
health bench book
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| Our
Mission
The Office of the Mental Health Advocate (OMHA)
was created by statute in 1996 to provide services
to attorneys representing criminal defendants with
mental health challenges. OMHA monitors cases in
Georgia involving pleas of Not Guilty by Reason
of Insanity (NGRI) and it directly represents a limited
number of insanity acquittees. We provide
services state-wide as a way of assisting attorneys,
the hospitals, and the courts in criminal cases involving
mentally ill defendants. |
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Announcements
and Articles
Thursday, February 25, 2010 2:36 PM
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Check
here frequently for OMHA news and articles about
mental health issues in the criminal justice system.
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NEW FACE IN THE OFFICE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE
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The Office of the Mental Health Advocate welcomes its’ 2008 Spring volunteer, Ms. Deborah Baldwin as she starts an internship.
Ms. Baldwin comes to OMHA with a great deal of experience, as well as a passion for upholding the rights of the mentally ill. She has worked in the legal profession since 1988. Having trained as a legal executive, she qualified as an attorney in England in July 1996 and her background has been primarily in criminal and mental health law. She obtained an LLM in Medical Law from the University of Northumbria in 2005.
click here to continue reading >>>
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Legislative Update - Changes in 17-7-130 Incompetent to Stand Trial (IST)
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Macon Gets New Mental Health Court
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Yvonne Sherrill Receives the Department of Human Resources Forensic Services’ 1st Annual Debra Blum Award
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Women at Risk:
Neonaticide, Infanticide and Filicide
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Clarifying the Process for Defendants Found Guilty but Mentally Ill or Guilty but Mentally Retarded
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Judge Winston P. Bethel Wins Debra J Blum Award
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Aspergers' Syndrome - The Odd, Eccentric, Socially Impaired Have Help
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Kenneth Shepherd Gets His
Day in Court
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Shock Therapy: It's Not a
Thing
of the Past
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Psychiatric Medications 101 has been updated.
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A
Victory for Competency in Simms Case
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The
Governor's Pilot Mental Health Diversion Program:
The HELP Program, A Hall County Inititative
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Dealing
with a Schizophrenic Client
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The Standard of Review for Competency Challenged
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Honoring
Debbie Blum, a Mental Health Pioneer |
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require the Adobe Acrobat Reader. You
may download the software, free of charge, by clicking
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