February 2011 e-newsletter
FEATURES:Materials from the Justice Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance 2011 Technical Assistance and Training Event Now Available
The Justice Center, in conjunction with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, hosted a national technical assistance and training event February 9-11, 2011, in Baltimore, Md. Materials from the event are now available at http://consensusproject.org/jmhcp-training-ta-event-feb-2011.
Spotlight on JMHCP: How Johnson County, Kansas, Used Data to Plan and Map a Systemwide Response
Once officials in Johnson County, Kan., recognized that they faced a major problem with the growing number of people with mental illnesses in the justice system, they were presented with a significant dilemma: How do you design a systemwide response in the absence of reliable data that demonstrates what type of intervention will have the greatest impact?
Different stakeholders had divergent feelings about what was most appropriate. Some advocated for starting a mental health court. (Officials in Wichita had just started the state’s first mental health court through a JMHCP grant.) Others pushed for opening crisis stabilization drop-off sites for police to transfer custody of people with mental illnesses more quickly than current protocols allowed.
"We knew we were facing some serious problems with the growing number of people with mental illnesses in our system. What we didn’t know was what the numbers really were," said Risë Haneberg, the county’s criminal justice coordinator. "We did not want to risk making bad decisions based on war stories or anecdotal evidence rather than hard data."
Webinar: Responding to a High-Profile Tragic Incident Involving a Person with a Serious Mental Illness
The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and the Council of State Governments Justice Center have released a toolkit to help policymakers better anticipate and respond to high-profile tragic incidents involving people with serious mental illnesses. In this webinar presenters discuss the toolkit's origins and applications. Watch the Webinar
CIT International Conference: Call for Presenters
The deadline for presentation proposals for this year's Crisis Intervention Team International Conference — to be held September 12–14 in Virginia Beach, Va. — has been been extended to Friday, April 15. To submit your presentation proposal, click here.
New Report Identifies Strategies to Reduce Crime, Recidivism, and Corrections Costs
The CSG Justice Center recently released a report detailing strategies for developing cost-effective corrections policies that can reduce crime and recidivism. The National Summit on Justice Reinvestment and Public Safety provides recommendations that can help coordinators of criminal justice/mental health collaborations focus resources most effectively and ensure programs are of the highest quality. To access the report and to order single copies, click here.
Excerpts from the Consensus Project Online Discussion Forum
In August, the Justice Center launched a new online discussion forum, where policymakers and practitioners from across the country can exchange ideas, ask questions of each other and national experts, offer comments and suggestions, and network around their collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives. The forum, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U. S. Department of Justice, can be accessed here.
Take a look at what’s currently being discussed on the forum:
Question: "Does anyone have ideas for gathering consumer input concerning consumer experiences with the civil commitment process? We are researching possible alternatives to our current system. So far, we have collected input from healthcare/behavioral providers and law enforcement, but are having a difficult time gathering consumer input. Any ideas?"
Response: "That your project is seeking consumer input is to be commended. In my work as a consultant I see entirely too many projects proceed without making consumers part of the process.
IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER INPUT
Consumer involvement in planning, implementation and evaluation of mental health service programs (including intervention) is essential for success. Who else knows what’s needed and will work than consumers in recovery who have experienced the system and know its strengths and weaknesses? Additionally, consumers, rather than mental health professionals, find some activities (meditation, massage, mentoring, etc.) effective and valuable, but that are not yet part of the current menu of services.
IDENTIFYING CONSUMERS LOCALLY
If you have a consumer-run agency (more than 50 percent of the board of directors and staff are consumers) and/or a peer specialist agency, then they will likely have a way of identifying consumers for your project. Plus, if they do the selection with you it adds [an] air [of] authenticity and objectivity to the selection process…"
To read more of this thread, or post a response, please click here.
To start your own discussion, click here.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE / MENTAL HEALTH IN THE NEWS:
Articles from newspapers around the country covering issues at the intersection of mental health and criminal justice can be found on the Consensus Project website. Some recent headlines from the homepage are posted below: