{{Orphan|date=May 2021}}

The Honorable '''Stephanie Rhoades''' served as a District Court Judge in Anchorage, Alaska, from 1992 to 2017.<ref name="refname3">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</ref> Judge Stephanie Rhoades founded the Anchorage Coordinated Resources Project (ACRP), better known as the Anchorage Mental Health Court (AMHC).<ref name="refname3" /> AMHC was the first mental health court established in Alaska and the fourth mental health court established in the United States.<ref name="refname5" /><ref name="refname3" /> Legal scholars suggest in the Alaska Law Review that mental health courts are to be considered therapeutic jurisprudence and define crime that deserves therapeutic justice as “a manifestation of illness of the offender’s body or character.”<ref name="refname9">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</ref> They follow that crime that falls under this definition “should be addressed through treatment by professionals.”<ref name="refname9" /> thumb|State of Alaska Official Election Pamphlet: Region II: Municipality of Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Division of Elections. p. 180 Rhoades saw how a jail sentence can be 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.<ref name="refname7">Trawver, K. R., & Rhoades, S. L. (2013). Homesteading a pioneer mental health court: A judicial perspective from the last frontier. The American Behavioral Scientist (Beverly Hills), 57(2), 174-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764212465417</ref> She also argued that extended stays in prison can increase suicidal tendencies in people with mental illness.<ref name="refname7" /> Her vision was to decriminalize mental illness and reduce incarceration levels of those living with mental illness.<ref name="refname7" /> Research shows that in 1998, 238,000 offenders serving time were living with mental illness.<ref name="refname9" /> Judge Stephanie Rhoades founded AMHC armed with “a committee of court staff, attorneys, treatment providers, corrections personnel and other individuals."<ref name="refname9" /> In order to alleviate the strain of the criminal justice system on people with mental illness, she incorporated (1) education or employment counseling; (2) benefit application assistance for the unemployable; (3) safe and supportive housing; (4) routine check ins for substance abuse; and (5) scheduled productive socially integrative activities.<ref name="refname7" />

== Early life and education == District Court Judge Stephanie Rhoades was born in Newton, Massachusetts, where she attended Needham High School.<ref name="refname3" /> She graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts, with a bachelor’s degree in Legal Services in 1983.<ref name="refname3" /> In 1986, she then earned her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref name="refname3" /> At the start of her career, Rhoades served on the Alaska Supreme Court from 1986 to 1987.<ref name="refname3" /> Following, she served as a law clerk to the District Attorney’s Office in Anchorage from 1988 to 1992.<ref name="refname3" /> She would then serve as a District Court Judge from 1992 to 2017.<ref name="refname3" /> Rhoades is the spouse to Russel Webb.<ref name="refname3" /> She relocated from Massachusetts to Alaska in 1986; she has lived in Anchorage, Alaska, for thirty-four years.<ref name="refname3" />

== Anchorage Coordinated Resources Project == The Honorable Stephanie Rhoades founded the Anchorage Coordinated Resources Project (ACRP), otherwise known as the Anchorage Mental Health Court (AMHC) in 1998.<ref name="refname10">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</ref> AMHC was the first mental health court established in Alaska and the fourth mental health court established in the United States.<ref name="refname1">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</ref><ref name="refname5">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</ref> 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.<ref name="refname10" /> Andrews appointed Judges Stephanie Rhoades and John Lohff to build the foundation of CCRP, then AMHC.<ref name="refname10" /> 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.<ref name="refname10" /> During her role in the AMHC, Rhoades also ensured that judges receive concentrated mental health training.<ref name="refname10" /> Rhoades attests that "judges with personal and professional interests in improving criminal justice . . . have been key leaders in court development, expansion, and innovation."<ref name="refname7" /> It is expected of the judges of the mental health courts to de-stigmatize mental illness in their courtroom.<ref name="refname8">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</ref> She calls for “a situation that is sympathetic and helpful and motivating and engaging for everyone.”<ref name="refname8" /> The jurisdiction of AMHC is in Anchorage’s District Court, where state and municipal misdemeanor and felony offenses are heard.<ref name="refname10" /> 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.<ref name="refname1" /> It serves as a diversion from the criminalization of individuals living with mental illness.<ref name="refname1" /> In the early days of AMHC, only misdemeanor cases were heard.<ref name="refname7" /> The Alaska Court System has allowed the AMHC to grow in that it now hears both misdemeanor and felony cases.<ref name="refname3" /> The program's development to reach more participants in the mental health court includes the following criteria for eligibility, “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.”<ref name="refname1" /> 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.<ref name="refname1" />

=== Funding === Rhoades first set forth a proposal for a Bureau of Justice assistance grant, but the proposal was denied.<ref name="refname7" /> Soon after, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority distributed funds to AMHC.<ref name="refname7" /> These initial funds enabled the program to hire its first case coordinator and project manager, officiating AMHC.<ref name="refname7" /> The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority serves Alaskans who experience mental illness through financing programs that benefit mentally disabled individuals.<ref name="refname14">Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. (2021). About. Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. https://alaskamentalhealthtrust.org/about/</ref> The Trust supplies over $20 million in grants for relevant causes per year.<ref name="refname14" /> Representatives of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority had close ties with Rhoades' CCRP subcommittee.<ref name="refname7" /> Today, funding for AMHC comes from legislative financial aid, state and federal grants, and donations, both community-based and private.<ref name="refname3" /> One cost break for AMHC includes selecting interns from the University of Alaska Anchorage.<ref name="refname9" />

== Retirement == Judge Stephanie Rhoades retired from the bench on Friday, September 1, 2017 after 25 years of serving as a state judge.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2017-09-04|title=Anchorage judge resigns from mental health court she created, with succession plan in place|url=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/|access-date=2021-04-03|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref> Superior Court Judge Jennifer Henderson took over the mental health court operations in 2017.<ref name=":0" />

== Other activities ==

=== Project Homeless Connect === Rhoades is an active volunteer for Anchorage’s Project Homeless Connect (PHC).<ref name="refname13">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</ref> PHC is a local event for homeless people in Anchorage. The event provides housing opportunities, amongst other services for the homeless community.<ref name="refname12">Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness. (2021). Project Homeless Connect. https://aceh.org/get-involved/project-homeless-connect/</ref> Its goal is to create a collaborative of service providers, government agencies, and volunteers.<ref name="refname12" /> Additionally, PHC collects data on the homelessness epidemic that is used to supply local, state, and federal databases.<ref name="refname12" /> She is the Lead Food Coordinator for this Anchorage event.<ref name="refname13" />

=== Anchorage Assembly's Committee on Homelessness === Stephanie Rhoades and her husband Russ Webb are active members of the Anchorage Assembly's Committee on Homelessness.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Hughes|first=Zachariah|last2=Media|first2=Alaska Public|date=2018-09-14|title=Meet the married retirees pushing Anchorage to change homeless policy|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/09/14/meet-the-married-retirees-pushing-anchorage-to-change-homeless-policy/|access-date=2021-04-03|website=Alaska Public Media|language=en-US}}</ref> Russ formulated a 12-point plan for resolving Anchorage's homeless camps issue.<ref name=":1" /> Rhoades and Webb work on locating camps where they get campers involved.<ref name=":1" /> The pair focus on moving campers from the street to shelters.<ref name=":1" /> They also advocate for the prohibitions against naming camps public nuisances.<ref name=":1" />

==References== <references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhoades, Stephanie}} Category:Living people Category:American judges Category:Mental health law in the United States Category:Disability in Alaska Category:People from Newton, Massachusetts Category:University of Massachusetts Boston alumni Category:Northeastern University School of Law alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people)