Consensus Project August Newsletter
The Justice Center is excited to announce the launch of 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.
A new study by the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense (TFID), Representing the Mentally Ill Offender , found positive criminal justice and treatment outcomes for participants in mental health courts (MHCs) and defendants served by mental health public defender’s offices (MHPDs).
On Thursday, July 22, 2010, the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee (CJS) approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2011 that includes $11 million for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act.
NEW RESOURCE from NACo: Crisis Care Services for Counties: Preventing Individuals with Mental Illnesses from Entering Local Corrections Systems: Crisis care centers offer alternatives for law enforcement to divert individuals with mental illnesses from the criminal justice system. This publication discusses the benefits of crisis care services and features county examples of effective crisis care services.
8/7/10 — "At least 16 percent of Texas inmates have a mental illness and some counties in the state don't follow a law passed last year requiring a swift psychiatric evaluation of those suspected to be mentally ill, according to a newspaper investigation."
8/6/10 — "The progress and potential of the Marion County Mental Health Court, where participants who successfully complete the diversionary program earn a brief graduation ceremony unto themselveswhich is modeled after similar programs established around the state, are widely embraced among advocates."
8/5/10 — "Shelby County’s Mental Health Court, one of the first of its kind in the state, will take its first case Aug. 10."
8/2/10 — "Proponents of a Manhattan mental court hope to help mentally ill individuals before they become repeat offenders."
7/31/10 — "Next month, a newly organized team of law enforcement officials, mental health advocates and others will start offering free, intensive training for police officers in Lackawanna County to help them intervene effectively when they encounter a mentally ill individual in their work."
7/30/10 — "One of the first of its kind, the Hennepin County Mental Health court has garnered national attention for its success"
7/26/10 — "In U.S. cities with a population of more than 100,000, police contacts with the mentally ill are about 7 percent of all contacts. In Durango, three to five CIT-trained officers are available per shift, and it is almost certain that one will respond to a mental-health-related problem."
7/20/10 — "Montgomery County Council members want to set up an alternate court for people with nonviolent convictions and mental illnesses, saying those people don't receive enough treatment behind bars and drain the cash-strapped county with each trip back to jail."
7/19/10 — "The Thomas Jefferson Area Crisis Intervention Team is set to develop a data evaluation tool to see what effects the program has had.The local CIT program has received a four-year, $71,200 grant through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services to create a statewide CIT data evaluation tool."
7/18/10 — "The benefits of specialized courts go beyond the borders of the communities where people work on their issues outside a jail cell."
