Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2007, $200,000)
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), seeks to increase public safety through innovative cross-system collaboration for individuals with mental illness who come into contact with the criminal or juvenile justice systems. This program is funded through the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 (MIOTCRA) (Public Law 108-414). The program is designed to increase public safety by facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health and substance abuse treatment systems to increase access to services for offenders with mental illness. Activities under this initiative encourage early intervention for 'system-involved' individuals with mental illness; provides new and existing mental health courts with various treatment options; maximizes diversion opportunities for nonviolent offenders with mental illness and co-occurring disorders; promotes training for justice and treatment professionals on criminal justice processes and mental health and substance abuse issues; and facilitates communication, collaboration, and the delivery of support services among justice professionals, treatment and related service providers, and governmental partners.
Bexar County will use Justice Mental Health Collaboration grant funds to implement a mental health court. The court will focus on treating the needs of 80 non-violent misdemeanor offenders whose offenses are related to mental illness. Clients will be serviced by the Mental Health Court Team, which consists of a county court judge, probation officer, and a licensed clinician. The mental health court will involve intense judicial supervision with a specialized mental health docket. An individual treatment plan will be developed for the clients to address each of their psychiatric, mental health, and social service needs. Upon graduation, clients will receive long-term aftercare services to prevent recidivism. Diverting mentally ill offenders away from incarceration and towards community-based treatment will reduce jail costs, reduce recidivism; and improve each client's quality of life.
CA/NCF