Administrative Judge Amy Corrigall Jones of Summit County Court of Common Pleas is pleased to announce the recertification of the Psycho Diagnostic Clinic. The clinic, located in the Summit County Courthouse, is one of 10 community forensic evaluation centers in the state of Ohio that provides forensic evaluation services for five Common Pleas Courts and several municipal courts.

The purpose of the clinic is to complete evaluations on an outpatient basis to reduce cost and delays in court proceedings. The clinic is staffed by independently licensed mental health professionals, such as psychiatrists (MD) and psychologists (Ph.D./Psy.D), who are experts in conducting mental health evaluations for court related questions. Specifically, competency to stand trial; mental condition at the time of the offense charged (not guilty by reason of insanity NGRI); rendering opinions about the least restrictive setting for those found NGRI; as well as non-secured status or termination of commitment evaluations for those adjudicated as incompetent to stand trial unrestorable or NGRI. Other services provided by the clinic include clinical opinions impacting sentencing, courtroom testimony, and consultation and training to local criminal justice systems.

In 2016, the clinic received 1,105 referrals. Referrals from Summit County Common Pleas Court, General Division (Criminal) accounted for 912 of those evaluations. The clinic has seen a steady increase in referrals and evaluations completed in recent years, demonstrating the on-going demand for the clinic’s services. The clinic expects that total to rise in 2017 as well.

“The re-certification allows the clinic to continue to provide quality forensic evaluation services, courtroom testimony and consultation to the Common Pleas (Criminal) Courts of Summit, Stark, Portage, Medina and Geauga, as well as to other courts,” said Dr. Arcangela Wood, the director of the clinic since 2010.

The clinic is certified by Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services as a forensic evaluation center and must recertify every three years. The recertification will be effective through June 30, 2020.