Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2009, $228,300)
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 City of Hattiesburg will utilize its FY 2009 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration award funds in the amount of $228,300 to fund a Category 2 Planning and Implementation Grant. The goal of the project is to improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system and mental health responses to individuals with mental illness/co-occuring disorders (MI/COD) who become involved with law enforcement. The proposed program will provide systemic responses to offenders with MI/COD from further penetration into the criminal justice system and assist targeted individuals with recovery and meaningful reintegration into the community.
The City of Hattiesburg will oversee planning and implementation activities that will include using the conceptual model by Munetz and Griffin with objectives of: 1) decreasing admissions of individuals with MI/COD into jail; 2)engaging the targeted individuals into treatment as quickly as possible; 3)minimizing process time spent moving through the justice system; and 4)decreasing the recidivism rate of the targeted offenders.
CA/NCF