Criminal Justice Reform
The RI Department of Corrections invited the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island to participate in a stakeholder focus group to provide input on criminal justice reforms. Each year, hundreds of Rhode Islanders with untreated mental illness, including substance use disorders, enter the criminal justice system because they lack treatment and supportive housing. Because of their illnesses, these individuals commit minor offenses or violate probation and land in jail or prison. The focus group was led by a consulting firm, Policy Research Associates, and explored ways to address the problem from every point of interception: from community services pre-arrest to reentry post-incarceration. Policy Research Associates will use the information we and other stakeholders provided to create a map of services and programs throughout all intercepts, identify where deficiencies in the system(s) are, and provide high-level recommendations to the stakeholders moving forward. We thank the Department of Corrections and Governor Raimondo for embarking on this important work, which will certainly have a profound impact on many people’s lives.
