Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2008, $249,415)
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) seeks to increase public safety through an innovative, cross-system collaborative response for individuals with mental illness who come in contact with the criminal or juvenile justice systems. This program is funded through the Public Law 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008) and is authorized through Public Law 108-414 (Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, 2004). 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 will encourage early intervention for 'system-involved' individuals with mental illness; provide new and existing mental health courts with various treatment options; maximize diversion opportunities for non-violent offenders with mental illness and co-occurring disorders; promote training for justice and treatment professionals on criminal justice processes and mental health and substance abuse issues; and facilitate communication, collaboration, and the delivery of support services among justice professionals, treatment and related service providers, and governmental partners.
The Billings Municipal Court of Montana, in cooperation with the Rimrock Foundation, Community Crisis Center, the Billings Mental Health Center, the Montana Board of Crime Control, and the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, will establish the Billings Adult Mental Health Court (BAMHC). The 2008 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program funds will be used to develop the BAMHC in response to the needs of persons with a mental illness and/or co-occurring disorders within the criminal justice system.
BAMHC will partner with community mental health and law enforcement agencies to develop a system that will screen adult misdemeanor offenders with serious mental illness for eligibility into the mental health court, and provide diversion and treatment programs that address the specific needs of the participants.
Additionally, the team and the community crisis center will work with local law enforcement to provide crisis intervention training for officers, develop a law enforcement liaison program, and train mental health and substance abuse providers in specialty courts diversion, which will support community public safety.
CA/NCF