First Meeting of Judges' Criminal Justice / Mental Health Leadership Initiative Held in Los Angeles

On June 20, nearly 100 judges working to improve outcomes for people with mental illness in courts across the country assembled in Los Angeles for the first meeting of the Judges’ Criminal Justice / Mental Health Leadership Initiative. The day-long meeting exclusively for judges was held in conjuction with the Mental Health Courts and Beyond conference, which brought together judges, court coordinators, case managers, clinicians, defense counsel, prosecutors, and evaluators working in mental health courts and other court-based programs, as well as federal officials and representatives of national organizations. The Judges' Initiative seeks to provide judges an opportunity to share information about their roles in interacting with people with mental illness and the mental health system and about their efforts to champion initiatives, both within their court systems and in their states generally, to improve outcomes for these people. Central to the Judges’ Leadership Initiative is coordination with other judicial organizations to create a network of judges, including both judges who have already taken leadership roles on this issue and those judges not yet involved in efforts to address the overrepresentation of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

Click here to read the first newsletter of Judges' Criminal Justice / Mental Health Leadership Initiative, which provides an overview and additional resources.

The Initiative is coordinated by the Council of State Governments’ Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project and Policy Research Associates’ GAINS-TAPA Center for Jail Diversion. These organizations serve as technical assistance providers on criminal justice/mental health issues to the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/ Center for Mental Health Services, respectively. Justice Evelyn Stratton of the Ohio State Supreme Court, and Steve Leifman Associate Administrative Judge of the Miami-Dade County Criminal Court, co-chair the initiative.

The initial meeting of the Judges' Initiative, through a series of panels and discussion sessions, considered how judges can act as agents of change to improve outcomes for justice-involved people with mental illness. The meeting also reviewed the purpose and goals of the Initiative, offering participating judges an opportunity to suggest future projects. Click here to view the agenda for this meeting.