User:Sevanzandt/Judge Stephanie Rhoades/Bibliography

Armstrong, Barbara. (2016). "Therapeutic Courts in the Alaska Court System." Alaska Justice Forum 33(2–3): 2–6 (Summer/Fall2016). https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/bitstream/handle/11122/7339/ajf.332c.thereapeutic-courts.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

The first mental health court in Alaska was AMHC. The Alaska Court System has allowed AMHC to grow in that it now hears both misdemeanor and felony cases. “Legislative appropriation, federal and state agency grants, and community and private entity donations” fund AMHC.

Carns, T. W., Hotchkin, M. G., & Andrews, E. M. (2002). Therapeutic justice in Alaska's courts. Alaska Law Review, 19(1), 1-56. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/allr19&i=11

Carns, et al, suggest that mental health courts are to be considered therapeutic justice and define crime that deserves therapeutic justice as “a manifestation of illness of the offender’s body or character.” They follow that crime that falls under this definition “should be addressed through treatment by professionals.” Cost breaks for AMHC include selecting interns from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Judge Stephanie Rhoades founded CCRP, alongside “a committee of court staff, attorneys, treatment providers, corrections personnel and other individuals.”

Cooper, C. L. (2014). Women innovate to deliver alternatives for mentally ill offenders. Perspectives, 23(2), 12-14. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/prspctiv23&i=28

Alaska Mental Health Court was the fourth mental health court established in the United States. Rhoades reflects, “it’s a voluntary court. It leverages the treatment. Rather than a steady stream of plea bargains, it relies on relationships.”

Fisler, C. (2015). When research challenges policy and practice: Toward new understanding of mental health courts. Judges' Journal, 54(2), 8-13. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/judgej54&i=53

Trawver, K. R., & Rhoades, S. L. (2013). Homesteading a Pioneer Mental Health Court: A Judicial Perspective From the Last Frontier. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(2), 174–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764212465417.

Rhoades strongly believed that jail was immensely detrimental to the quality of life of incarcerated individuals with mental illness. She noted that jail time often resulted in medication disruptions and placed these individuals at high risk for victimization. She also argues that living in prison can increase suicidal tendencies in people with mental illness. Judge Rhoades exposes the steps for funding AMHC. First, a proposal set forth by Rhoades for a Bureau of Justice assistance grant was denied. Soon after, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority distributed funds to AMHC. These initial funds enabled the program to hire its first case coordinator and project manager, officiating AMHC. Representatives of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority had close ties with Rhoades CCRP subcommittee.

The Crime and Justice Research Institute. (2000). Emerging Judicial Strategies for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Caseload: Mental Health Courts In Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, San Bernardino, and Anchorage. U.S. Department of Justice. p. 35-47. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/bja/182504.pdf

The Court Coordinated Resources Project (CCRP) was officially established in April 1999 through an administrative order signed by the Honorable Elaine Andrews, the at time Circuit Court Presiding Judge. Andrews appointed Judges Stephanie Rhoades and John Lohff to build the foundation of CCRP, or the Anchorage Mental Health Court (AMHC). AMHC provides “therapeutic intervention” for individuals with mental illness who are likely to serve jail time where they may not be given the appropriate medical care. The jurisdiction of CCRP is in Anchorage’s District Court where state and municipal misdemeanor offenses are heard. During her role in the AMHC, Rhoades ensured that judges receive concentrated mental health training. During the first year of AMHC’s presence in Anchorage, roughly 129 people with mental illness were penalized with probation rather than a lengthy jail sentence.

Center for Court Innovation. (2006, September). Stephanie Rhoades, Judge, Anchorage Mental Health Court. Center for Court Innovation. https://www.courtinnovation.org/publications/stephanie-rhoades-judge-anchorage-mental-health-court

Rhoades speaks on the expectation of judges of the mental health courts to destigmatize mental illness in their courtroom. She calls for “a situation that is sympathetic and helpful and motivating and engaging for everyone.”

Shedlock, J. (2017, September). Anchorage judge resigns from mental health court she created, with succession plan in place. Anchorage Daily News. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2017/09/03/anchorage-judge-resigns-from-mental-health-court-she-created-with-a-succession-plan-in-place/

Judge Stephanie Rhoades retired from the bench on Friday, September 1st, 2017 after 25 years of serving as a state judge. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Henderson took over the mental health court operations in 2017.

Division of Elections. (2014). State of Alaska Official Election Pamphlet: Region II: Municipality of Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Division of Elections. p. 180. https://www.elections.alaska.gov/doc/oep/2014/AK-Region-II-book.pdf

District Court Judge Stephanie Rhoades was born in Newton, Massachusetts where she attended Needham High School. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in Legal Services in 1983. In 1986, Judge Rhoades earned her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law. She served on the Alaska Supreme Court from 1986 to 1987. She served as a law clerk to the District Attorney’s Office in Anchorage from 1988 to 1992. She would then serve as a District Court Judge from 1992 to 2017.

Alaska Court System. (2021). Alaska Therapeutic Courts, Anchorage Coordinated Resources Project, Anchorage Mental Health Court. The Alaska Court System. https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/pub-100.pdf

The Honorable Stephanie Rhoades founded the Anchorage Coordinated Resources Project (ACRP), better known as the Anchorage Mental Health Court (AMHC) in 1998. AMHC is a diversion program that works to shift the presence of individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system to the mental health system. It serves to defeat the criminalization of individuals living with mental illness. To be eligible for participation in the Mental Health Court, “a defendant must be: (1) [c]harged with a misdemeanor crime or class C felony, (2) [d]iagnosed with a mental illness, (3) [r]esiding in the Municipality of Anchorage, (4) [w]illing to voluntarily participate in an individualized case plan in lieu of traditional bail or sentencing conditions, (5) [e]ligible to receive community behavioral service.”

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, & UAA-Center for Human Development. (2017). Reducing Recidivism Through Successful Reentry. University of Alaska Anchorage. https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-health/departments/center-for-human-development/Reducing-Recidivism-Conference/_documents/AdultFY17RRRconf_program.pdf

Rhoades is an active volunteer for Anchorage’s Project Homeless Connect (PHC).

Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. (2021). Project Homeless Connect. https://aceh.org/get-involved/project-homeless-connect/

PHC is a local event for homeless people in Anchorage. The event provides housing opportunities, amongst other services for the homeless community. Its goal is to create a collaborative of service providers, government agencies, and volunteers. Additionally, PHC collects data on the homelessness epidemic that is used to supply local, state, and federal databases.

Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. (2021). About. Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. https://alaskamentalhealthtrust.org/about/

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority serves Alaskans who experience mental illness through financing programs that benefit mentally disabled individuals. The Trust supplies over $20 million in grants for relevant causes per year.

Hughes, Z. (2018, September). Meet the married retirees pushing Anchorage to change homelessness policy. Alaska Public Media. https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/09/14/meet-the-married-retirees-pushing-anchorage-to-change-homeless-policy/

Stephanie Rhoades and her husband Russ Wess are active members of the Anchorage Assembly's Committee on Homelessness. Russ formulated a 12-point plan for resolving Anchorage's homeless camps issue. Rhoades and Wess work on locating camps where they get campers involved. The pair focus on moving campers from the street to shelters. They also advocate for the prohibitions against naming camps public nuisances.