Mental Health Court encountered an unexpected roadblock at the end of 2025 when staff learned that Magellan Healthcare, Idaho's Medicaid mental health provider, would no longer fund peer support specialist positions.

Mary Wolfinger, coordinator of the Mental Health Court program for North Idaho, said she's concerned about future cuts to the program.

“At the end of the day, we’re also talking about human beings wanting to get well," Wolfinger said. "They are wanting to be employed, they are wanting to pay their own bills and be positive community members and the services to help them get there are being taken away."

Mental Health Court provides participants with tools to rewrite their daily lives for the better and to avoid returning to the familiar cycles that initially led them into the justice system.

When Governor Brad Little ordered specific agencies to cut their budgets by 3%, the Department of Health and Welfare decided to reduce peer support services.   

“The peer support specialists were cut Dec. 1, 2025. The letter went out right after Veterans Day, so we had about three weeks to prepare,” Wolfinger said.  

Mental Health Court staff moved quickly to figure out a way keep some semblance of that support in place.

“What we did is we immediately trained and got provisional licensing for our peer support specialists to become recovery support coaches," Wolffinger said. "While that sounds all fine and good, the people in mental health courts’ primary concern is severe and persistent mental illness."  

Now, all of the services for the new recovery support coaches must address addiction issues instead of the persistent mental health issues that landed individuals in the justice system.    

“It has limited what our boots on the ground people staff can do,” Wolfinger said. “We're making do, but it’s not great. I’m frankly concerned that it might be going away as well. If budgets continue to get cut, we can only do what the legislature gives us money to do.”

Three peer support specialists who serve as mentors, teaching coping skills and resilience to 40 participants across the five northern counties, cost $15,000 per month.    

“They provide boots on the ground assistance to our participants, to help them along, teach them skills, be the middle-of-the-night phone call when things are starting to fall apart,” Wolfinger said. “They are similar to a 911 call in the sense that before they’re starting to feel triggered, that’s who our participants call first.”   

Not all of the 40 individuals in Mental Health Court have addiction issues, which also causes issues with the recovery coaches, who are the only support system in place through the court program.

When guardrails like the peer support specialists aren't available for mental health issues, Wolfinger said, often the easiest thing for individuals is to return to the bad cycles that consumed their lives before. 

"We have people who put their lives back together and are stable with their mental health and are in recovery, serving others who are on that same path," Wolfinger said. "They’re paying taxes, they’re contributing to the community; if we pull that away from them, it’s already a vulnerable population to begin with."

Mental Health Court graduate, Brandi Clark, finally found the means to cope with her PTSD and anxiety after years of grappling with addiction as a way to self-medicate. 

“I struggled with addiction for about a decade," Clark said. "I started using when I was really young — I was 13. I went into Mental Health Court when I was 23." 

Clark underwent treatment in the rider system in prison in the Boise area. But nothing provided as much structure as she received through Mental Health Court. 

“They not only held you accountable, but they also helped you develop the tools you needed to just live a sober life,” Clark said. “They had a whole team around us and it was really, really amazing for me.” 

Her peer specialist helped her prevent another relapse when she hit her lowest point. 

“He told me, ‘This feeling isn’t going to last for you. I know it feels heavy, but I promise you, if you wait it out, it’s going to be worth it,” Clark said. 

She was overwhelmed by intense emotions she couldn't silence. 

“He took the time to just walk me through it — told me to ‘Just play the tape to the end. If you play the tape to the end and you do use, what’s that going to look like — and if you play the tape to the end and you don’t use, what’s that going to look like?”' Clark recalled. 

She internalized his words, found the strength not to use, and graduated from the Mental Health Court in 2017. 

“My sobriety date is Dec. 14, 2015. It’s been 10 years and I’ve been able to hold a job steadily,” Clark said. “I was able to graduate with my associate’s and then my bachelor’s and got my master's degree in 2023.” 

Now she’s happily married with two boys and is living her life in a way she never imagined. 

“I have what people who struggle most of their lives want," Clark said. "I couldn’t have gotten to this place with the guidance and support I received when I was in Mental Health Court."