Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $49,977)
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) seeks to increase public safety through an innovative, cross-system, collaborative response to individuals with mental illness who come in contact with the criminal or juvenile justice systems. This program is funded through Public Law 111-8 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009). 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 processed 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 Gila River Indian Community Justice and Mental Health Collaboration ('JAMHC') Program is a Phase I planning grant. The Community Court and Behavioral Health Services will jointly administer the Community's JAMHC Program. The Community JAMHC Program will include multi-agency partnerships and collaborations, encompassing tribal administration and departments, state agencies, private agencies, community consumers, and families.
The Community JAMHC Program will develop a strategic plan to address and resolve fragmented services, educational needs, and other unmet needs of system-involved adults with an emphasis on females with mental illness (MI) and co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders (COD). The program will develop early intervention strategies based on the Sequential Intercept Model for system-involved adults with MI/COD who come into contact with, or who are at risk of coming into contact with, the criminal justice system (with an emphasis on intervention and services for females with MI/COD). The community currently lacks collaboration and coordinated infrastructure of planning and services for community members with MI/COD.
The Community JAMHC Program will create awareness about MI/COD and services that are sensitive to the culture and needs of the community. The collaboration and coordination between community stakeholders and outside service providers will lead to a process and ultimately result in early interception and reduced recidivism for system-involved female adults.
CA/NCF