AUGUSTA – Last week’s graduation of five more people from the intensive supervision of a special court program proved bittersweet to the judge who has presided over it.

Justice Nancy Mills helped craft the Co-occurring Disorders Court, a program that admits defendants who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and substance abuse problems.

Mills said the court was founded almost six years ago to “think differently, to be innovative, to try a new approach.”

But time is now running out for the court. The $1.4 million in federal grants that pays for the program runs out this fall.

“Without funding from the state of Maine, it is likely that this court … will close,” she told a courtroom full of people — including other judges, legislators, defendants, caseworkers and family members — who had gathered to watch last week’s graduation ceremony.

Evert Fowle, district attorney in Kennebec and Somerset counties, was one of the original steering committee members and still serves occasionally in the court.

“It costs upwards of $55,000 to house an inmate in our jails, according to the Department of Corrections,” Fowle told attendees. “It costs about $6,000 to give one of our clients a full range of services for mental illness, substance abuse and full accountability.”

He wrote to the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee last month asking that $200,000 be allocated in the budget to continue the court, saying that amount would save money in such areas as jails, emergency rooms and crime victimization.

“Just imagine how traumatized one person is when they are assaulted, robbed or burglarized, not to mention their material losses, physical suffering and the impact on society at large,” he wrote.

Mary Ann Lynch, director of court information for the Maine Judicial Branch, said Wednesday there was currently no proposed legislation to fund the court.

“We will look hard for other sources to support Co-occurring Disorders Court,” Lynch said. “We will be looking every place we can.”

At the graduation ceremony, Mills offered some statistics on the court’s work: 388 referrals, mostly from Kennebec and Cumberland counties, with 75 people admitted, 27 discharged and 23 graduated. Thirty-three adults are currently enrolled.

Defendants have an incentive to succeed, “The five graduates today faced a combined 174 months incarceration if they had failed,” Mills said.

“The Co-occurring Disorders Court shows what can be accomplished by commitment to do a better job for people who need our help,” Mills said. “It requires defendants to take responsibility for their conduct, to help them in their recovery and to break the cycle of repeated involvement in the criminal justice system.”

The judge noted that the national recidivism rate is 80 percent for inmates with mental illness.

“If we continue to incarcerate defendants with mental illness and substance abuse problems and give them inadequate treatment and medicine and release them with little support, Maine cannot build enough prisons to house them when the almost inevitable criminal conduct occurs.

“That’s just the dollars-and-cents argument. It does not address our obligation to treat our most vulnerable citizens with humanity and compassion and to have a process in place to protect the people of Maine from further criminal conduct.”