INSIDE: Criminal Justice-Mental Health Learning Sites, Local Racial Equity Efforts, and more
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The latest news, events, and resources detailing the intersection between the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. | |
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) under the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, recently launched a second learning site program to assist communities as they work to improve outcomes for people with behavioral health needs in the criminal justice system. The Criminal Justice-Mental Health Learning site program includes a select set of 10 communities who are using innovative practices that span the criminal justice system, including with court-based, jail-based, reentry, and probation models. These programs will now provide peer-to-peer learning and mentoring opportunities to programs nationwide. | |
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How Five Communities Are Working to Advance Racial Equity
Across the U.S., many cities and counties have committed to advancing racial equity in their justice, crisis, and behavioral health systems. This web article from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center highlights five counties engaging in this work by investing in efforts such as enhanced pretrial services and alternatives to incarceration to reduce system inequities.
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Improving Outcomes for People Who Are “Familiar Faces” in Georgia and New Mexico
Nationally, a small population of individuals frequently come into contact with law enforcement, jails, courts, crisis response, emergency departments, homeless services, and other behavioral health systems. These individuals, referred to as “familiar faces,” often have complex behavioral health needs that no single local system or program adequately addresses. From 2021 to 2023, the States Supporting Familiar Faces Project supported two states, Georgia and New Mexico, in reorienting funding and policies to strengthen local data-driven efforts to improve outcomes for familiar faces. This report synthesizes findings from the efforts in both states, while two case studies explore the work in New Mexico and Georgia separately.
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Building Successful Partnerships with Peer-Run Organizations
A new brief from the CSG Justice Center and BJA details how behavioral health-criminal justice programs can significantly benefit from partnering with peer-run organizations. Learn how these collaborations can leverage the lived experiences of peers to enhance recovery pathways, promote systemic change, and strengthen the workforce dedicated to supporting justice-involved individuals and their behavioral health needs.
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Photo Credit: Sarah Kelley/CSG Justice Center | |
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Federal, State, and Local Leaders Gather for First-Ever National Reentry Housing Symposium
Last year, the CSG Justice Center partnered with BJA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to host the first-ever national reentry housing symposium in Washington, DC. The event was focused on a bold, new vision of zero returns to homelessness as people reenter communities from incarceration. This web article highlights three themes that emerged to help officials take immediate steps toward this goal.
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Identifying Roles and Responsibilities of Victim Services | |
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📅 February 29, 2024
⏰ 3:00–4:15 p.m. ET
Office for Victims of Crime
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Verbal De-Escalation and Conflict Resolution | |
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📅 March 6–7, 2024
⏰ 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. ET
National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College
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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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This project was supported by Grants No. 15PBJA-22-GK-03568-MENT 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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