Oriana House Inc. recently announced that Amy Corrigall Jones is joining Oriana House as Vice President of Behavioral Health.

Corrigall Jones most recently served as a Summit County Common Pleas Judge, a position she held since 2012. She served as Presiding Judge in 2016 and as Administrative Judge from January 2017 through Aug. 5.

Oriana House is a private, nonprofit behavioral health and community corrections agency with programs in Summit, Stark, Cuyahoga, Seneca, Sandusky, Huron, and Washington counties and has been providing services since 1981.

During her tenure as judge, Corrigall Jones saw firsthand the devastating effects the opioid epidemic had on the local, state, and national level.

“Every day our court system along with many throughout the state sees the sad realities of what happens to people struggling with untreated substance use disorders and mental health disorders. Many criminal offenses are linked to one or both,” Corrigall Jones said. “Many of these people would not be facing criminal charges if their behavioral health needs were diagnosed and treated,” she added.

Oriana House President and CEO James Lawrence says the number of people in need of or seeking behavioral health services continues to grow due to several factors including the opiate epidemic, the COVID pandemic, and also because the stigma surrounding behavioral health is changing and more people are turning to treatment. Oriana House provides behavioral health services to its community corrections clients and also to the public independent of the criminal justice system.

Lawrence says as the need for treatment services grew, it became evident that the agency could benefit by having a Vice President of Behavioral Health.

“Amy Corrigall Jones has overseen the cases of thousands of people throughout the last decade. She understands the impact treatment has on people’s lives and that early intervention can save lives,” says Lawrence. “She is an expert in the criminal justice system and is keenly aware of Ohio’s behavioral health landscape. Her administrative experience will help ensure that Oriana House’s substance use and mental health treatment services continue to be accessible to everyone who needs them,” Lawrence added.

As Vice President of Behavioral Health for Oriana House, Corrigall Jones will oversee the agency’s substance use and mental health treatment known as Rigel Recovery Services. Approximately 150 of Oriana House’s 750 employees provide behavioral health services throughout the agency. Rigel Recovery Services offers assessments, inpatient detoxification, residential treatment, medication assisted treatment, outpatient treatment, aftercare, treatment for co-occurring disorders, anger management, adolescent services, mental health services, peer support, and educational programming for loved ones to learn about the disease of addiction. All of Oriana House’s residential and nonresidential behavioral health treatment programs are certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

As a judge, Corrigall Jones was instrumental in starting both Summit County Valor Court and the Summit County Offender Recidivism Reduction Project (SCORR). Through Valor Court, veterans involved in the criminal justice system are provided access to programs and resources that help them address any physical and mental trauma needs they have upon returning to civilian life. SCORR aims to reduce recidivism, drug use, and increase compliance with the terms of probation among high-risk/high-need probationers to enhance their chances at successful completion of community control supervision.

Prior to her judgeship, Corrigall Jones was in private practice involving criminal defense matters and personal injury litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels. She handled cases throughout the State of Ohio and across the country in both state and federal courts, and has represented individuals in domestic relations court and probate court. Some of her most rewarding work was spent serving as a Guardian Ad Litem for children, an advocate for the mentally ill, and as a guardian for incompetent adults.

Corrigall Jones graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She received her Juris Doctorate Degree from The University of Akron School of Law and was thereafter admitted to the Ohio Bar and the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

Corrigall Jones joins the Executive Staff of Oriana House comprised of the following individuals: James Lawrence, President/CEO; Michael Randle, Executive Vice President of Operations; Bernard Rochford, Esq., Executive Vice President of Administrative Services and Business Relations; Carl Ebner, Vice President of Finance/CFO; Mary Jones, Esq., Vice President of Administration and Legal Counsel; Lori Lawrence, Vice President of Correctional Programs in Summit County; Christine Savage, Vice President of Services, and Jason Varney, Vice President, Correctional Programs in North Central and Southeast Ohio.