Press Release for 09/29/10
David D’Amora Named as New Justice Center Criminal Justice/Mental Health Project Director
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is pleased to announce that David D’Amora joined the organization on September 16, 2010, as the director of the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project.
In his new role, Mr. D’Amora will establish the policy framework and lead all active initiatives around issues of mental illness and the criminal justice system and work with legislators, consultants, researchers, analysts, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to help raise the level of public awareness about critical criminal justice/mental health issues.
Mr. D’Amora brings more than thirty years of experience to the position, drawing on leadership roles in human service and victim advocacy organizations in Connecticut. His criminal justice and human services experience includes extensive work with men and women, adults and juveniles, and individuals with developmental disabilities and/or mental illnesses. His expertise is reflected through authorship of scholarly articles, provision of training for criminal justice and mental health practitioners, and a long history of program implementation for persons with mental illness and behavioral health difficulties. In addition, he is an adjunct professor in the Department of Sociology at Quinnipiac University.
"We are fortunate to have someone with David’s breadth of expertise join the Justice Center. He is a highly respected member of the public safety community here in Connecticut and has intimate knowledge of the complex problems associated with improving responses to people with mental illnesses who become involved with the criminal justice system, as well as the need to increase attention on victims and evidence-based approaches," said CSG Justice Center Board Member and Connecticut State Representative Mike Lawlor (D).
Mr. D’Amora will be based in the organization’s New York City office and can be reached at ddamora@csg.org.