INSIDE: Alternative Response Models for Youth, Pretrial Support for Mental Health, and more
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August 2023 | Edited by Kevin Dugan
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The latest news, events, and resources detailing the intersection between the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. | |
Experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Emergency Physicians, have called for state and local policymakers to increase the availability of a continuum of crisis and behavioral health services for young people. Studies have shown that alternative first response options have been able to reduce emergency department visits while keeping youth in school and the community and out of the justice system for low-level offenses rooted in behavioral health needs. This new brief from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center examines some already-existing alternative responder models and diversion efforts at the state and local level for youth in crisis. | |
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Sacramento Public Defender’s Pretrial Support Program Helps Divert People with Mental Health Needs
Facing increasing numbers of people with mental health needs and co-occurring substance use disorders in the Sacramento County (CA) Jail, the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office received Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program funding to embed social workers in their office, build a pretrial support program, and screen defendants for eligibility. This Q&A with Sacramento County Defense Attorney Tiffanie Synnott covers some of the efforts that have aided in the program’s success.
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Public Health Meets Public Safety is a collaboration between the CSG Justice Center and the California Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health. Researchers and data scientists created a framework that overlays community-based factors, including educational attainment, food insecurity rates, and access to community health care facilities, with criminal justice outcomes. This framework was then used to build a data visualization tool that allows California policymakers to see the correlations between these datasets at the statewide, regional, and county levels and pinpoint how to improve public health and public safety outcomes for Californians.
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Employing Peer Workers: An Organization’s Perspective | |
Data Connections to Support Alternative Crisis Response Methods | |
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📅 August 29, 2023
⏰ 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Homeless and Housing Resource Center
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📅 August 29, 2023
⏰ 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center & the Center for Policing Equity (CPE)
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Establishing Community Response Models for College Campuses | |
Restorative Justice for Judges | |
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📅 August 30, 2023
⏰ 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center & CPE
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📅 August 30, 2023
⏰ 3:00–4:30 p.m ET
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
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Medication-Assisted Treatment Services and Community Reentry | |
Alternative First Responder Models Can Support Youth in Crisis | |
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📅 August 31, 2023
⏰ 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
BJA & CSG Justice Center
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📅 September 7, 2023
⏰ 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center & CPE
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The Magic Decoder Ring: How Criminal Justice Can Work Better with Therapists and Psychologists in Youth and Family Cases | |
Enhancing Law Enforcement Response to Victims Learning Collaborations | |
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📅 September 12, 2023
⏰ 1:00–2:15 p.m. ET
Office for Victims of Crime
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📅 September 12, 2023
⏰ 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET
Office for Victims of Crime
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Law Enforcement-Based Victim Services Learning Collaborations | |
Celebrate 50 Years of the National Crime Victimization Survey | |
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📅 September 13, 2023
⏰ 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET
Office for Victims of Crime
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📅 September 27, 2023
⏰ 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. ET
📍Washington, DC, or Virtual
Bureau of Justice Statistics
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Medina County Commissioners Pass Resolution Regarding ‘Stepping Up’ Initiative
The Gazette—Ohio
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St. Petersburg Social Workers Go to 911 Calls. What’s the Program’s Future?
Tampa Bay Times—Florida
Editor’s note: The St. Petersburg Police Department, whose efforts are profiled in this article, is represented on the CSG Justice Center’s Expanding First Response Commission by Chief Anthony Holloway.
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988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Adds Spanish Text and Chat Service Ahead of One-Year Anniversary
SAMHSA Newsroom—National
Read more >>
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Third of Teens in Colorado Juvenile Corrections Held for an Average of 20 Extra Days Because There’s No Place to Go
The Colorado Sun—Colorado
Read more >>
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CMS Approves California & Kentucky Requests to Provide Essential Behavioral Health Services through Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams
CMS.gov Press Release—California and Kentucky
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A Mental Health Crisis. An Officer’s Gun. A Too-Common Tragedy.
The New York Times—Texas
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Judge Holds Washington State in Contempt for Not Providing Services to Mentally Ill People in Jails
AP News—Washington
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Forensic Peer Mentor Training in Georgia: Supporting the Transition from Incarceration to the Community
SAMHSA’s GAINS Center—Georgia
Read more >>
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The Never-Ending Murder Case: How Mental Competency Laws Can Trap People With Dementia
The Marshall Project—National
Read more >>
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FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY | |
FOCUS ON: THE STRATEGY LAB | |
The Stepping Up Strategy Lab is an interactive library of programs, policies, and practices that jurisdictions across the country have implemented to help reduce the prevalence of people with mental illnesses in their jails. With these interventions in one place, Stepping Up planning teams can explore, identify, and pursue the strategies that are most likely to address local drivers of the problem. There are more than 100 site examples of interventions in the Strategy Lab, and the Stepping Up initiative is always looking for more examples.
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ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS, ARTICLES, AND SUPPORT | |
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Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Action Plan
Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services
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Messaging to Support a Behavioral Health Continuum of Care: Elected County Officials
National Association of Counties
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The Alternative Responder Project Final Report
UNC School of Government Criminal Justice Innovation Lab
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Unlocking Futures: Youth with Learning Disabilities & the Juvenile Justice System
National Center for Learning Disabilities
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Follow us on social media | |
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This project was supported by Grants No. 2019-MO-BX-K002 and 2019-MO-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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