Council of State Governments adopts resolution promoting access to federal benefits by eligible offenders with mental illness
Download the complete text of the resolution (PDF file).
On October 25, 2003, at the Annual Meeting of the Council of State Governments in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, CSG's Governing Board adopted a resolution promoting access to federal benefits by eligible offenders with mental illness who are leaving prison and jail and re-entering the community.
The resolution was introduced to the Public Safety and Justice Task Force and the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee by Senator Robert Thompson, Chair of the Pennsylvania Appropriations Committee, and Immediate Past Chair of the Criminal Justice Board of Directors of the Council of State Governments' Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC).
CSG/ERC, coordinator of the Consensus Project, has become aware that state and local jurisdictions are struggling to ensure that offenders with mental illness who are eligible for federal benefits such as Medicaid and SSI / SSDI receive those benefits promptly after their release. Without these benefits, many offenders have significant difficulties accessing treatment, and may be at greater risk of decompensation and re-offending.
Accordingly, the CSG resolution urges federal agency officials to work with Congress and state and local government officials to clarify and disseminate rules and regulations regarding offendersÂ’ eligibility for, and enrollment in, SSI, SSDI and Medicaid benefits.
The resolution also urges federal agency officials to work with Congress and state and local government officials to promote successful efforts by states and counties that ensure offenders with mental illness who are eligible to participate in SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid upon their return to the community, are enrolled promptly in such programs.
In an indication of the importance of this issue, Congress recently passed legislation requiring the U.S. Department of Justice to determine the extent to which participation in benefit and entitlement programs correlates with successful re-entry to the community including reduced recidivism for offenders with mental illness. View the federal legislation, H.R. 2215 of 2001-2002, here.
Read about this issue as it was documented in Appendix C: An Explanation of Federal Medicaid and Disability Program Rules of the Consensus Project Report.
