INSIDE: Spanish-Language Community Response Resources, Crisis Response Collaboration Profile, and More
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The latest news, events, and resources detailing the intersection between the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. | |
In response to continued public calls for alternatives to officer-led responses when people are experiencing a behavioral health crisis, community responder programs are becoming increasingly popular as a way to provide immediate assistance for someone in need. The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s groundbreaking toolkit to support these efforts has led the way with resources and model examples that communities can use to build or scale up their efforts. The updated toolkit has brand-new, one-page overviews that are easily downloaded to share with others. The overviews explain how community response can be used to provide the care and services needed to reduce overreliance on police to handle behavioral health crises and social disturbances. They also highlight how the CSG Justice Center can help as communities look to start a program of their own. | |
FEATURED RESOURCES AND NEWS | |
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Transforming Mental Health Crisis Response in Bexar County, TX
Bexar County, TX, officials took a major step in mental health crisis intervention in October 2020 by creating the Specialized Multidisciplinary Alternate Response Team (SMART). This team, composed of law enforcement officers, social workers, and paramedics, provides immediate, compassionate care to people in crisis. Using interviews and on-the-ground footage, our latest video shows how SMART is changing the way police departments approach mental health response, emphasizing empathy, de-escalation, and personalized care.
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📍 National Map of Grantees | |
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New Interactive Map Spotlights 200+ JMHCP Grantee Sites
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to strengthen connections among criminal justice agencies and behavioral health organizations, has released a new interactive map featuring active grantee sites—now up to 215!—across the nation. The map highlights partnerships among criminal justice and behavioral health providers, all working together to improve public safety and support people with behavioral health needs. It can be used to explore the high-impact work happening in communities across the country.
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Franklin County, OH, Tackles Justice System’s Racial Disparities
As a Stepping Up Innovator county and Safety and Justice Challenge site, Franklin County, OH, is tackling racial disparities in the justice system through data-driven decision-making and community engagement. Learn how county initiatives like Stepping Towards Justice and their local Reentry Advisory Board are working to reduce racial disparities and improve reentry outcomes in a new web article featuring the director of the county’s Office of Justice Policy and Programs.
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Better Services for “Familiar Faces”
The latest edition of Judicature, from the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law, features an opinion piece from Chief Justice Michel P. Boggs of the Supreme Court of Georgia and Justice Briana Zamora of the New Mexico Supreme Court. These judicial leaders have taken primary roles in expanding necessary supports in their states for people with the highest rates of justice involvement and emergency service usage and who often experience untreated behavioral health issues. This article describes work done in Georgia and New Mexico by the CSG Justice Center’s States Supporting Familiar Faces project, which released a report of their work in Georgia and New Mexico last year.
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Unlocking the Potential: Understanding How Adults Learn for Public Safety Trainers | |
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📅 September 10, 2024
⏰ 1:00–2:15 p.m. ET
Justice Clearinghouse
This webinar will explore the unique characteristics of adult learners and how they differ from traditional students. Attendees will gain valuable insights into adult learning theories and discover practical strategies to engage, motivate, and empower adult learners effectively. Additionally, this webinar will share best practices for designing learner-centric training programs that address diverse audiences and learning needs.
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Building a Case for an In-House Therapist | |
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📅 September 10, 2024
⏰ 3:00–4:15 p.m. ET
Justice Clearinghouse
With mental health a nationwide concern, many organizations are responding by supporting employees with additional resources. Options include mental health days, additional mental health visits through an EAP, contracts with local mental health professionals, and for some, an in-house therapist. In this webinar, the health and wellness manager for the Sedgwick County (KS) sheriff’s office will discuss the many ways organizations can provide better access to culturally competent mental health services, the benefits and challenges of having a therapist in-house, and how to address leadership to implement creative solutions.
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Centering Lived Expertise: Elevating People Affected by the Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Systems | |
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📅 September 11, 2024
⏰ 1:30–3:00 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center and BJA
Drawing on the firsthand perspectives of people with lived expertise in the criminal justice and behavioral health systems can help counties respond more effectively to people with behavioral health needs in the justice system. This webinar serves as a companion to the brief, “Centering Lived Expertise: How to Meaningfully Elevate the Voices of People Directly Impacted by the Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Systems.” It will cover the continuum of different types of engagement, outline steps for how counties can set the stage for meaningful engagement, and provide a brief look at how the CSG Justice Center put these principles into action forming a lived experience advisory panel (LEAP).
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NIJ 2024 Research Conference | |
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📅 September 16, 2024–September 18, 2024
📍 Pittsburgh, PA
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice
Building on the success of the 2023 conference, the theme of the 2024 research conference is “advancing justice through science.” The 2024 National Research Conference will bring researchers, practitioners, and policymakers together to discuss the latest research evidence and how it can be implemented to promote safety, equity, and justice for all. The convening will also offer guidance on equitable and community-engaged research design.
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Better Together: The Power of Mothers and Families to Improve Reentry Outcomes | |
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📅 September 17, 2024
⏰ 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center and BJA
This interactive webinar, featuring representatives from the Center for Children and Family Futures, will give attendees an overview of data and research about mothers who experience incarceration—and incarceration’s effects on children and family members. Presenters will share policy and practice strategies to meet the needs of children, parents, and family members to overcome barriers to family engagement in reentry processes. Attendees will also learn about gender-responsive, evidence-based programming and family therapy modalities that address women’s substance use and/or mental health needs during reentry and the support they need for family healing and well-being.
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Using Data to Analyze Overtime Use and Optimize Staffing: D.C. DOC’s Approach to Continuous Learning | |
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📅 September 18, 2024
⏰ 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center and BJA
Ensuring effective data analysis in corrections is crucial for operational efficiency and informed decision-making. The Washington, DC, Department of Corrections (DC DOC) has adopted a continuous learning approach to better understand and use data for overtime analysis. By involving operational experts knowledgeable about business processes and practices, the analysis team improved data interpretation, minimized errors, and provided insights that decision-makers valued. This virtual seminar will showcase how DC DOC analysts learned and applied these strategies. It aims to inspire novice and advanced practitioners alike to create and implement data-informed approaches in their own organizations.
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An Innovative, Multidisciplinary Approach Addressing the Intersection of the Criminal Justice System and Behavioral Health | |
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📅 September 19, 2024
⏰ 1:00–2:15 p.m. ET
Justice Clearinghouse
This webinar will provides an overview of the Northwest Florida Health Network’s partnerships with law enforcement and community service providers to address behavioral health needs at different points in the criminal justice system. The network’s goal is to use a multidisciplinary approach to the community’s behavioral health needs to reduce recidivism and involvement with the criminal justice system.
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Ask the Expert: Family-Centered Reentry Programming | |
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📅 September 25, 2024
⏰ 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
CSG Justice Center and BJA
September’s Ask the Expert session will highlight the FAITHS Throughcare Program in San Bernardino, CA, and their approach to reentry programming. Representatives from FAITHS will discuss the program’s origins , structure, and services, and will answer questions from attendees about their work. FAITHS is a partnership between California State University San Bernardino and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department that offers comprehensive assistance to all justice-involved participants, their families, and the whole of San Bernardino County using an augmented “throughcare” model of rehabilitation.
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FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY | |
FOCUS ON: THE STRATEGY LAB | |
The Justice and Behavioral Health Strategy Lab, formerly known as the Stepping Up Strategy Lab, is an interactive repository that features innovative approaches at the intersection of the justice system and behavioral health. It presents local programs and policies from across the country, demonstrating their effectiveness in addressing community needs. This platform invites submissions of successful strategies, offering visibility and fostering a collaborative environment for changemakers. Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, the Strategy Lab stands as an exemplary database for original solutions, empowering stakeholders to contribute to and learn from the collective wisdom in the field.
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ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS, ARTICLES, AND SUPPORT | |
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This project was supported by Grant No. 15PBJA-22-GK-03568-MENT awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the 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 Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. 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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