October 2009 e-newsletter
Justice Center Invites Content Submissions for Updated Consensus Project Website
The Justice Center formally unveiled this month substantial improvements to its Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project website, which were supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections. Visitors to the site can now create, share, update, and search online profiles of collaborative criminal justice/mental health programs. These program profiles are an important networking resource for program planners and administrators who want to promote their work and reach out to colleagues tackling similar issues across the country.
BJA Announces 2009 JMHCP Grantees
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has named its 2009 grantees under the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP ), which was authorized by the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 (MIOTCRA ).
Justice Center to Work with Ohio Courts on Mental Health Court Data Collection
The Justice Center is proud to announce its partnership with the Specialized Docket Section of the Supreme Court of Ohio to pilot test a new mental health court data collection tool in four Ohio mental health courts. The courts participating in this project are Columbiana County Municipal Court, Delaware County Mental Health Court Programs, Fairfield Municipal Court, and the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
Oct 29 10/29 Webinar: Ensuring Access to Medicaid for Individuals with Mental Illnesses Reentering Their Communities
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is pleased to announce its sixth webinar in the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program Series, sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance: Ensuring Access to Medicaid for Individuals with Mental Illnesses Reentering Their Communities from Prison: A Program Model from Oklahoma.
National Reentry Resource Center
On October 6, the Justice Center launched the National Reentry Resource Center, an unprecedented initiative to advance the safe and successful return of individuals from prisons and jails to their communities. Among those served by the resource center will be states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and adult and juvenile corrections institutions.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND 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 web site. Some recent headlines from the homepage are posted below.
Fox13now.com (UT): Police Get Specialized Training On Mental Illness Issues
10/10/09 "Increasingly, UT police are finding themselves in a situation involving someone who is diagnosed with a mental illness. Handling these potential confrontations often takes specialized training and responses."
ExploreHoward.com (MD): Police to boost training on mental health
10/9/09 "Howard County Police Department wants to set up a new program in the spring that will involve in-house training on mental health issues for officers, one which will be part of the officers' regular training. The new program is not expected to increase costs for the police department."
Connect Savannah (GA): Curing criminality
10/6/09 "A new program in the County's Juvenile Court system could provide young people with mental health issues a better option than probation."
WTOC11 (GA): New juvenile court will help special needs children
10/6/09 "According to national statistics, 20 to 25 percent of all cases involved with the juvenile justice system have mental health needs. Unlike traditional probation, the Juvenile Mental Health Court will attempt to provide children with special supervision by partnering with dozens of community agencies."
GazetteXtra.com (WI): Rock County Veterans Treatment Court first in the state
9/20/09 "Rock County is starting the first court program in Wisconsin to help veterans who break the law after returning from war and suffer from alcohol or drug use problems, mental illnesses or post-traumatic stress disorder."
Traverse City Record-Eagle (MI): Cutting terms saves money, says report
9/18/09 "In terms of cost and benefits, imprisonment isn't the best way to reduce crime, based on a report by the Michigan Department of Corrections."
KYW News Radio (PA): Behavioral Health Court Opens in Montgomery County
9/18/09 "Montgomery County, Pa. is launching a behavioral health court designed to better address the needs of criminal defendants with serious mental illness who are moving through the justice system."
Bucks County Courier Times (PA):Court opens for mentally ill defendants
9/18/09 "Individuals with mental illnesses who commit crimes now have an alternative to long, unhelpful stays behind bars. The new mental health courts aim to provide the services that individuals with mental illnesses need."
The Mercury (PA): New court program focuses on mentally ill
9/18/09 "Hoping to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism rates among criminals with mental illnesses, Montgomery County officials have launched an innovative mental health court program."
TCPalm.com (FL): Indian River meeting focuses on mental health services
9/17/09 "Corrections leaders, Justice system leaders, and mental health professionals convene to discuss the services provided by state corrections facilities. Attendees to the meeting conclude that the current criminal justice system does not provide the care and services to individuals with mental illnesses that it should."