May 2010 CP Newsletter

Spotlight on JMHCP: Fayette County, Texas

Each month the Justice Center spotlights collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives that have received funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP). Justice Center staff members ask the practitioners in these programs to discuss some successes and challenges they have encountered in the planning and implementation process. This month's profile is from Fayette County, Texas, a 2009 Planning grantee. Brief background on the jurisdiction Fayette County, Texas, is a rural community roughly halfway between Austin and Houston. It encompasses 950 square miles of land area, with a total population of 22,521. The collaborating entities on this grant are Bluebonnet Trails Community Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR) Center (the local mental health authority) and the 155th District Criminal Court. Our proposal centered on the development of a mental health court initiative at the county level, but we were cognizant at the beginning that the strategies we implement will likely go beyond the court level, which has proven to be the case. This area has virtually no history of mental health and criminal justice collaboration, but team members were eager for solutions.

Jun 15 Webinar: Working with Data for Mental Health Court Practitioners, Part Two:
Data Analysis and Communication

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is pleased to announce its fourth webinar in the 2010 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program Webinar Series, sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance: Working with Data for Mental Health Court Practitioners, Part Two: Data Analysis and Communication.

Illinois Supreme Court Names Justice Kathryn Zenoff Chair of New Special Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning

In April, the Illinois Supreme Court created a Special Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning. Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald named Appellate Justice Kathryn Zenoff, co-chair of the Judges’ Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative (JLI), chair of this new committee. This committee builds on other state efforts in this area and adds Illinois to an increasing number of states where supreme courts are directly addressing the issue of mental illness in the criminal justice system.

Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) — Special team on front lines of mental-health crises

5/14/10 — "According the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriff's Association, nationwide, seriously mentally ill people are three times more likely to go to jail than to be treated in hospitals. In Ohio, the mentally ill are four times more likely to be incarcerated. The Mobile Crisis Team works to prevent such jail stays."

The Crime Report— Hattiesburg to get Mississippi's First Mental Health Court

5/13/10 — "Hattiesburg, Miss., will get that state’s first mental health court under a $228,000 federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant, reports the Hattiesburg American."

The American Prospect— Keeping the Mentally Ill Out of Prison.

5/13/10 — "Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice have found that seriously mentally ill people are more likely to end up in jail or prison than in a treatment center. This is true across all states, but in some this was much more likely to happen."

KFBB news (MT) — Proposed Specialty Court for Drug/Alcohol Abuse and Mental Health

5/12/10 — "Montana has 22 specialty drug abuse courts in the state, and now some in Helena are looking to start a similar system there. The proposed specialty court would cater to offenders with drug and alcohol issues as well as mental health problems."

VPR News (VT) — New Minn. Court Handles Vets Accused Of Crimes

5/12/10 — "The Pentagon estimates that as many as 1 in 5 of the more than 1.6 million veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from mental health problems. As some of these vets get in trouble with the law and become entwined in the criminal justice system, states are looking for new ways to help."

News Journal (OH) — Mansfield's Mental Health Court graduates 7

5/11/10 — The Mansfield mental health court is one of five specialized dockets in the county's court system that have cropped up in the past two decades. They don't yet handle a majority of the county's caseload, but their increasing numbers.

My San Antonio (TX) — SAPD crisis team helps vulnerable population

5/11/10 — San Antonio's Crisis Intervention Team has seen lots of success with their program - only seven arrests and no use of force out of nearly 500 calls.

Philly.com (NJ) — Incidents Show the Police Need Training to Deal with the Mentally Ill

5/8/10 — A series of recent incidents indicate that police would benefit from receiving training on how to appropriately respond to people with mental health needs. Police who have received such training have seen success in addressing the needs of people with mental illnesses.

Beacon Journal— Sheriff seeks other options for mentally ill

5/7/10 — Summit County Sheriff's office is considering no longer accepting people with mental illnesses, citing that jail is not a place for people with severe mental illnesses.

KSAX.com (MN) — Local Police Train for Crisis Situations

5/5/10 — "Members of the Alexandria Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff's office and other local law enforcement learned what to do in high stress situations."
Explore the Justice Center’s Websites
CSG Justice Center Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project Justice Reinvestment National Reentry Resource Center Reentry Policy Council