Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: Tailoring Law Enforcement Initiatives to Jurisdictions explores the program design process, including detailed examples from several communities from across the country. It is meant to assist initiative leaders and agents of change who want to select or adapt program features from models that will be most effective in their communities. This project was coordinated by the Council of State Governments Justice Center with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.

Identifies 10 key components found in successful initiatives to improve outcomes for people with mental illnesses under probation supervision. This first-of-its-kind report provides specific recommendations to probation and mental health policymakers and practitioners for effectively responding to this population's complex treatment and service needs while improving public safety and health.

Reviews the design and function of mental health courts, outcomes of mental health court participation, and questions and implications for policy and practice. This guide is intended to assist policymakers and practitioners in assessing the utility of mental health courts.

A how-to guide for advocates who want to improve the response to people with mental illnesses who are in contact with the criminal justice system. The Advocacy Handbook reflects a shared effort among NAMI (the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill), the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and the Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project.