In early May, the Office of the Probate Court Administrator issued a press release describing the expected completion by August of a new electronic database for state and federal authorities to check certain mental health information of people seeking to buy or possess firearms.
The Mental Health Adjudication Repository will include the names of people whose firearms eligibility rights were terminated due to mental health adjudications in the probate or Superior Court. According to the press release, the database will be updated daily and will be available to relevant state and federal agencies.
According to Anne C. McKinney, a former probate judge overseeing the project for the probate court, “the new electronic record system will provide more accurate and timely data to support enforcement efforts.”
The project began in 2011 and is funded by a federal grant, as part of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program. In addition to the probate court and other judicial branch officials, various state agencies have played a role in the project, including the Office of Policy and Management, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
