• $9 million for MIOTCRA grant programs;
• $63 million for Second Chance Act grant programs;
• $470 million for Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants;
• $6 million for comprehensive criminal justice reform and recidivism reduction efforts by states, also known as “justice reinvestment;”
• $35 million for drug courts;
• $10 million for residential substance abuse treatment programs;
• $20 million for Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act grant programs; and
• $12.5 million for prison rape prevention and prosecution and other programs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded Policy Research Associates a five-year contract to operate “SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation.” Formerly known as the National GAINS Center, SAMHSA's GAINS Center will provide technical assistance to the field and to SAMHSA grant programs. The center will provide the field guidance on integrating best practices in mental health and substance use treatment for justice-involved persons, with a specific eye on the impact of the Affordable Care Act.

The recently published book, Using Social Science to Reduce Violent Offending, consists of a series of essays by leading scholars and practitioners on how social science can inform more effective criminal and juvenile justice policies. The book can help both policymakers and practitioners apply the findings of recent social science scholarship when working with people in the criminal justice system--including individuals with mental illnesses. Contributors include experts in the fields of social science, forensic psychology, and criminal justice. It was edited by Dr. Joel Dvoskin, Dr. Jennifer Skeem, Dr. Raymond W. Novaco, and Dr. Kevin S. Douglas

To learn more about this book and to purchase a copy, visit http://www.reducingviolence.com/.

The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has named its 2011 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).

The 2011 grantees represent 40 jurisdictions from 35 states and territories. Of these, nine communities received planning grants with a maximum award of $50,000 for 12 months. 27 received planning and implementation grants, with a maximum award of $250,000 for 30 months. Six communities received expansion grants, with a maximum award of $200,000 for 24 months. All grants required a joint application from a mental health agency and the unit of government responsible for criminal and/or juvenile justice activities.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center's Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project will provide technical assistance to the new grantees.

This is the seventh round of grantees funded through MIOTCRA. Through funds appropriated in FY2010, BJA awarded 62 grants in 39 states. Through funds appropriated in FY2009, BJA awarded 43 JMHCP grants in 30 states, and with FY 2008 funds, BJA awarded 23 JMHCP grants in 18 states (and Guam). Read more about previous JMHCP grantees on the Consensus Project’s local programs database.

The Adolescent Substance Abuse Skills Effectiveness Training (ASSET) is a cognitive behavioral intervention delivered to groups of adolescents twice a week for ten weeks. It derives from motivational enhancement therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as other research-based strategies for substance abusing and delinquent youth.

On December 8-9, 2011, Weber (UT) Human Services will host an intensive training on how to administer ASSET in Ogden, Utah. The training will be conducted by Darin Carver, LCSW, an experienced therapist and trainer with extensive background working with delinquent and substance-abusing teens. The registration fee is $235.

To download a brochure and registration form, click here.

For more information about this training, call (801) 778-6860 or email rondad@weberhs.org.

The Consensus Project recently hosted a webinar on the prevalence, impact, and treatment of trauma for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The recorded webinar is now available online. You are also invited to participate in an online discussion forum on this important topic. There, you can post any of your unanswered questions from the webinar, or share the lessons learned within your own jurisdiction about implementing treatment responses for juvenile justice-involved youth who have experienced trauma. We look forward to hearing from you on the forum!

With the establishment of the newly formed Police-Mental Health Crisis Intervention Network (PMHCIN), New York State has joined the list of states with an agency or organization devoted to promoting development and improvement of specialized policing responses to individuals with mental illnesses. The group is currently seeking input and collaboration with all interested stakeholders including those who are affiliated with (or hope to develop) a crisis intervention team (CIT), a law enforcement-mental health co-response program, and/or other police-involved jail diversion approaches.

For more information, contact Don Kamin, Ph.D., Chief, Clinical & Forensic Services at the Monroe County Office of Mental Health, in Rochester via e-mail (dkamin@monroecounty.gov).

More than 23 million Americans are veterans. Many service members returning from deployment are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, traumatic brain injury, and substance use disorders and may come into contact with justice system. This webinar will examine strategies for identifying, engaging, and treating veterans with behavioral health needs who have come in contact with the criminal justice system.

The webinar will be held on September 1, 2011, 2:00-3:15 pm ET.

Presenters include

• Larke N. Huang, Ph.D., Senior Advisor in the Administrator's Office of Policy Planning and Innovation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• David Morrissette, Ph.D., Social Science Analyst, SAMHSA and Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service
• Henry J. Steadman, Ph.D., President, Policy Research Associates, Inc.
• Jim Tackett, B.A., Director of Veterans Services, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
• Nicholas Meyer, B.A., Project Assistant, Policy Research Associates, Inc.

To register, click here.

In an unprecedented study of nearly one million Texas public secondary school students followed for more than six years, nearly 60 percent were suspended or expelled, according to a report released last week by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute of Texas A&M University.

Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement features this and other key findings:

• Of the nearly 1 million public secondary school students studied, about 15 percent were suspended or expelled 11 times or more; nearly half of these students with 11 or more disciplinary actions were involved in the juvenile justice system.
• Only three percent of the disciplinary actions were for conduct in which state law mandated suspensions and expulsions; the rest were made at the discretion of school officials primarily in response to violations of local schools’ conduct codes.
• African-American students and those with particular educational disabilities were disproportionately disciplined for discretionary actions.
• Repeated suspensions and expulsions predicted poor academic outcomes. Only 40 percent of students disciplined 11 times or more graduated from high school during the study period, and 31 percent of students disciplined one or more times repeated their grade at least once.
• Schools that had similar characteristics, including the racial composition and economic status of the student body, varied greatly in how frequently they suspended or expelled students.

The full report and an FAQ about the study findings can be downloaded here.

An evidence-based cognitive behavioral curriculum from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Thinking for a Change (T4C) has broadly influenced the correctional field and the way correctional facilitators work with offenders and inmates. Studies show that T4C, which can be delivered to correctional clients by trained facilitators, can reduce recidivism among offenders.

To download the recently released third version of T4C, click here.

The National Reentry Resource Center, which, like the Consensus Project, is coordinated by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, recently published a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers on juvenile justice and reentry. To view the NRRC’s juvenile justice FAQ, click here.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center invites you to send photos from your mental health court, which will be used in the Bureau of Justice Assistance-supported Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum. Photos can be of program participants, a program event (e.g., graduation ceremony), a courthouse, members of the court/treatment team, or something else that reflects your efforts and good work. Please send your photos to Alex Blandford at ablandford@csg.org.

The Consensus Project is eager to learn how your program has improved the lives of the individuals it serves. We’re currently collecting “success stories” from mental health courts, crisis intervention teams, specialized probation programs, and other types of criminal justice/mental health collaborations. We encourage you to contribute a story about how your program has had a positive impact — either in the life of one client, or more generally in how the criminal justice system functions. These success stories will be used to promote the value of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program in various forums. All names and other identifying information will be omitted.

To contribute a success story, contact Matt Schwarzfeld (mschwarzfeld@csg.org / 646-383-5715).

The Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities has now opened online registration for its Second International Research Conference on Community Inclusion Of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities (September 18 – 21, 2011 – Doubletree Hotel – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

For more information on the conference, click here, and to register online for the conference, click here.