THE LATEST / FEATURED STORY

Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office Uses Pretrial Support Program to Connect People with Mental Health Needs to Services and Support

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 built a pretrial support program to increase defendants’ access to case planning and community services, reduce the jail population, and increase community safety. The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center interviewed Sacramento County Defense Attorney Tiffanie Synnott to better understand their efforts.

FEATURED RESOURCE

🗣 Call to Action

All Rise Call for Proposals: Best Practices in Treatment Courts

All Rise is seeking session proposals for RISE24, the world’s largest conference on addiction, mental health, and criminal justice reform. Sessions should lift up best practices in service delivery, collaboration, and justice programming to enhance outcomes in treatment courts. Proposals for sessions that present research findings and their impact on practice, feature data analysis, and highlight evidence-based practice implementation are encouraged. The deadline to submit is Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

📝 Training

Photo credit: National Center for State Courts

Judges and Psychiatrists Convene for the JPLI Train-the-Trainer Event

Teams of judges and psychiatrists from 13 states participated in a train-the-trainer event in Washington, DC, earlier this month. JPLI offers training for judges, titled Judicial Work at the Interface of Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health, to any interested state or territory in the United States.

📄 Resource

Resource Revisited: A Look into Court-Based Behavioral Health Diversion Interventions

As communities look to develop diversion opportunities for people with behavioral health needs, court-based interventions can be a great model to explore. This brief, published by the CSG Justice Center with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance, answers common questions about implementation, best practices, and where and what people can be diverted to.

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS, RESOURCES, AND SUPPORT

Report

Culturally Competent Care for Black American Adults with Serious Mental Illness: Addressing Barriers and Enhancing Clinical Practice

SMI Advisor

TRENDING NEWS AND OPINIONS

Brooklyn Mental Health Court Addressing Mental Illness in Criminal Justice System

—CBS New York

Editor’s note: This article highlights the Honorable Matthew D’Emic, recipient of the Judge Stephen S. Goss Memorial Award that was presented during the Third Annual JPLI Leadership Summit.