Justice Center Holds Congressional Staff Briefing on the Criminal Justice System and People with Mental Illnesses

On March 5, 2007 the Council of State Governments Justice Center held a briefing in Washington, D.C. on improving responses to people with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system. The event was co-sponsored by the National Alliance for Mental Illness, the National Sheriffs Association, the National Association of Counties, and many other national organizations that work on this issue.

Click here to view the briefing invitation, which provides the complete list of co-sponsors.

Speakers at the briefing included Judge Steven Leifman, Chair, Miami-Dade County Mayor's Mental Health Task Force; Linda Gregory, spouse of a deputy sheriff slain by a person with schizophrenia; and Alice Petree, sister of deceased person with schizophrenia who killed Linda Gregory's husband.

Linda Gregory (left) and Alice Petree address a group of Congressional staff and others at a briefing on criminal justice/mental health issues.

Speakers discussed the prevalence of people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system, the need for specialized resources within courts, corrections, and law enforcement settings for responding to people with mental illnesses, and efforts in Florida that offer alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illnesses.

"Without access to treatment, support services, and housing, people with mental illness will continue to show up in our prisons and jails," said Judge Leifman. "That is why pre-release planning and cross-agency collaboration is vital to the successful re-entry of these individuals into the community."

Speakers also emphasized the importance of federal support in this area through legislation like the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA), which passed in 2004 with unanimous bi-partisan support in both chambers of Congress. This legislation authorized the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program which provides grants to states to plan, implement, and expand collaborations between mental health, criminal justice, juvenile justice, and corrections systems.

The program, administered through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Department of Justice, received $5 million in FY '06 and FY'07. The FY '08 appropriations process has just begun and Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA), Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), are championing the efforts to secure funding. At the briefing, Elizabeth Griffith, Associate Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance provided an update on the implementation of the grants in response to inquiries from Congressional staff.

To learn more about ongoing appropriations or about MIOTCRA, please contact Sara Paterni. To learn more about the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration program and the Justice Center's work with program grantees, please contact Nesa Wasarhaley.