Diagnosed with manic depression as a child, a runaway at age 17, Jon Hinkle says he has been in and out of jail and on and off medication for years, repeatedly "flipping out."

But since he was charged with assault about 15 months ago, "I have not hurt myself or tried to hurt somebody else," he said. Hinkle credits Salt Lake County's mental health court, which diverts the mentally ill from jail for medication and counseling.

"They've treated me as a human being, not as a criminal like everybody else ever has," said Hinkle, 40.

After seeing the alternative to traditional court succeed in Salt Lake County, Davis County officials want to start their own mental health court this summer.

"We're seeing people all the time with serious mental health issues [who] we think need the services of a mental health professional," said Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, whose office received more than 6,700 new cases for prosecution in 2009.

Davis Behavioral Health, the Davis County Attorney Office and the 2nd District Court in Farmington would partner to develop the program.

Rawlings, who is seeking a $250,000 federal grant to help fund the program, said it would follow Salt Lake County's model by not admitting violent or sex offenders but focusing on people whose needs can be adequately met with medication, counseling and monitoring.

When defendants' mental health issues aren't addressed, Rawlings said, some become repeat offenders because "they end up committing these stupid and petty crimes."

He said a mental health court works similarly to drug courts, recognizing an offender's needs while requiring accountability. Defendants must stay on their medication, attend therapy and counseling for addictions, complete community service requirements and have a weekly hearing at mental health court.

"It's a huge amount of structure," said Allan Rice, of Valley Mental Health, the Salt Lake County mental health court's clinical director and one of its founders. The court, which launched in 2001 and generally oversees about 120 defendants, is a collaboration between his agency and 3rd District Court, the Salt Lake County Attorney and Salt Lake City Prosecutor and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Rice said mental health court helps teach and counsel offenders on how to manage their conditions. For most participants, Rice said, "the criminal activity is actually a result of their mental illness."

Another founder, Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill, said surveys show that only 2 percent of the general population is mentally ill, but even conservative estimates show 17 to 21 percent of jail populations are mentally ill.

Mental health court is not only socially responsible, it's also the fiscally conservative thing to do, Gill said, "instead of using our jails to simply warehouse people who are mentally ill."

Since many participants are homeless when booked, the program aims to get them into transitional housing, but it is one of the hardest resources to find, Rice said.

After nine years, Gill said, mental health court has shown it reduces jail sentences and repeat offenses. With courts now under way in Cache, Utah and Box Elder counties and interest in Washington and Davis counties, Gill said he wants to take the system to the state prison next. That program would give mentally ill parolees monitoring and structure similar to mental health court.

Sharon Machado said the guidelines and direction provided by mental health court were what she needed. Booked repeatedly for drug possession and other crimes, Machado said her court case workers have helped her start to get rid of old habits and learn new ones to improve her life.

"I feel like they're my big brothers, big sisters, mothers and fathers," she said.