In the Spotlight: National Conference on Court-Based Initiatives Held in LA; Conference Resources Available Online
Approximately 400 criminal justice and mental health professionals from across the country met on June 21-22, in Los Angeles for the conference, Mental Health Courts and Beyond: Improving the Response to People with Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System. The conference was coordinated by the Council of State GovernmentsÂ’ Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project, in its capacity as technical assistance provider for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Mental Health Courts Program (MHCP).
Hosted by BJA, the conference was co-sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Institute of Corrections. The National GAINS Center also played a key role in helping to plan the conference and coordinate conference sessions.
Conference materials, including handouts, presentations, and supplemental resources, are now available on the web. Read more...
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First Meeting of Judges' Criminal Justice / Mental Health Leadership Initiative Held
On June 20, nearly 100 judges working to improve outcomes for people with mental illness assembled for the first meeting of the JudgesÂ’ 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.
The Judges' Initiative, coordinated by the Consensus Project and the National GAINS Center, seeks to provide judges an opportunity to share information about their roles in interacting with people with mental illness and their efforts to champion initiatives, both within their court systems and in their states generally, to improve outcomes for these people.
For more information, including the first edition of the Judges Initiative newsletter, click here.
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Updates from the Field
Summaries of major news and events occurring in the past month related to people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system are posted below.
GAINS Center Makes Brief Jail Mental Health Screen Available
The National GAINS Center, a division of Policy Research Associates, Inc., recently released a Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS), a booking tool to screen incoming detainees in jails and detention centers for the need for further mental health assessment. The screen, designed for quick administration and easy incorporation into the booking process by corrections officers, is available for free download on the GAINS Center's web site. Read more...
MHC Essential Elements: Comments From Web Forum Now Available, Meeting Held to Review Document
Three months of comments from the field on what makes a mental health court successful, collected by the Council of State Governments (CSG) through an interactive web forum, are now available. Intended to gather feedback on the draft document "Essential Elements of a Mental Health Court," participants' responses were reviewed by a panel of practitioners and experts in order to revise the most recent draft of the document. Read more...
Funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act
The appropriations bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives for the Department of Justice (HR 2862) provides for the possibility of funding for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, which authorized a $50 million grant program to help state and local governments improve collaboration between criminal justice and mental health organizations. Rep. Wolf, Chairman of the House Science-State-Justice-Commerce (SSJC) Appropriations Subcommittee, created a number of "soft earmarks" for hundreds of programs / projects, of which the Mentally Ill Offender Act is one. The Senate appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Justice (HR 2862) has been reported out of committee. Currently, the bill does not include funding for this program but there is support from Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Chairman Wolf to get funding for the bill while in conference.
Whether funds are indeed appropriated (and how much money is set aside for this program) depends on what the House and Senate agree to during the conference process. Senator DeWine, lead sponsor of the legislation, and other key lawmakers have indicated on multiple occasions that they will push hard for some funding for the initiative.
Hill-watchers currently do not foresee Congress approving a budget for the Department of Justice before October, and some are projecting that it may be as late as December before anything is finalized. Many advocates and leaders in the criminal justice and mental health systems have planned meetings with their Congressional delegations during the August recess to underscore the importance of funding for this particular program.
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Mental Illness and the Justice System in the News
Articles from newspapers around the country covering issues at the intersection of mental health and criminal justice are posted below. To access a complete list of media coverage, visit the media coverage page.
It's no crime: Diversion Program aims to keep mentally ill out of jail
By Lisa Sorg, San Antonio Current, July 14, 2005.
Mentally ill care worsens
By James O'Neill, Dallas Morning News, July 17, 2005.
Gunman Attacks Statue Near Queens Church, Then Critically Wounds 2 Officers
By Andrea Elliot, New York Times, July 18, 2005.
Mental health needs viewed from two angles
Lawrence Journal-World, July 11, 2005.
County jails' booking fees cause clamor
By Manny Gonzales, Denver Post, July 12, 2005.
When the accused are ill
Albany Times Union, June 19, 2005.
State prisons aim to fix health care
By Mark Gladstone, Mercury News (CA), June 8, 2005.
Report critical of prison treatment
By Elizabeth Benjamin, Albany Times Union, June 9, 2005.
Mental health squad gets kudos
By Jeffrey Blackwell, Rochester News and Democrat, June 9, 2005.
Study: U.S. Leads In Mental Illness, Lags in Treatment
By Rick Weiss, Washington Post, June 7, 2005.
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