Forensic Evaluation Service Center

Who we are and what we are about

We are a group of mental health experts who provide court-ordered mental health-related evaluations and court-related education services for Ohio’s southwestern counties. We are a team of approximately 15 professionals most each with over 15 years of experience in our respective fields of psychology, psychiatry, counseling, social work, and coaching. We pride ourselves in our expert knowledge in the intersection between mental health and the law and our dedication to providing expert evidence-based professional opinions to assist the court to reach a decision about issues such as Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and Competency to Stand Trial.

We are also educators. We offer educational programs to those individuals who are involved in the courts. We are the only approved provider of Mandatory Parenting Education classes for the Butler County (Ohio) Domestic Relations court. We are also the provider for Outpatient Competency Restoration classes for individuals who are not competent to stand trial and need specific education and skill-building to become capable of working in their own defense.

We do not provide counseling or treatment services, only assessment, and education, but in our role as information providers to the court and the individuals that we assess and educate, we use our expertise to help facilitate access to the services that a given individual or family might need.

Where we came from

The Center for Forensic Psychiatry/Forensic and Mental Health Services, Inc. (FMHS) was established in 1974. In 1975, FMHS formally became a Not-For-Profit Corporation in Ohio as it began offering community mental health services and forensic assessments specifically to the local population of individuals with mental health needs and criminal justice involvement. At that time, no other agency was willing to provide mental health treatment to someone who was known to have a criminal history. FMHS continued as stand-alone agency for another 30+ years but as funding sources diminished, requirements increased, and reimbursement rates stagnated for mental health services the agency began to suffer financial hardship. FMHS then became affiliated with St. Aloysius Orphanage from about 2006-2016, but that too was not a good match, particularly given the nature of the population that FMHS continued to serve.

In March 2016, the forensic assessment service separated from St. Aloysius Orphanage and became its own stand-alone 501-C-3 non-profit agency and was renamed Forensic Evaluation Service Center (FESC). The primary mission of FESC is to provide objective, efficient, and expert forensic mental health-related assessments, and education services to all aspects of the criminal justice and court-related community.

The agency serves the criminal, civil, juvenile, probate, and domestic relations courts, at both the common pleas and municipal levels, as well as the judges, attorneys, law enforcement, probation, parole, and other associated agencies that comprise the legal systems of Butler, Warren, Clinton, Highland, Pike, and Preble Counties. This service is accomplished primarily by the provision of psychological and psychiatric evaluation of court-referred or government-involved individuals, reports, consultation, and expert testimony as needed or required by various sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

Funding for services provided by FESC comes from Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services (OHIOMHAS) with support from the Mental Health and Recovery Services for Warren and Clinton Counties, and Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board through grants and fee-for-service contracts. We also offer our fee-for-service referrals to courts and other agencies (like Adult Protective Services) from all over Ohio. We also provide consultation for agencies and boards practicing in the criminal justice and mental health ecosystem. FESC is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and managed by the Chief Executive Officer with our Forensic Director both of whom are licensed psychologists and forensic evaluation experts.

Where we are now

FESC recently moved from the historic courthouse in downtown Hamilton, Ohio to our new location in Fairfield. You can take a virtual tour of the marvelous old courthouse built in 1889. But to find us, now, you must come to our new location in Fairfield.