Building State-Based Capacity to Respond to People with Mental Illnesses in the Criminal Justice Syste Technical Assistance Project

The Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration State-Based Capacity Building Program (CBP) supports BJA's Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) to deliver resources and services to unfunded, eligible JMHCP applicants. This program is funded through the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 (MIOTCRA) (Pub. L. 108-414) and the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-416). The primary purpose of JMHCP is 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 mental health and other treatment services for those individuals with mental illness or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center (Justice Center) will use these funds to build state-based capacity for improved responses to people with mental illnesses involved in the criminal justice system. The number of people with mental illnesses under local, state, and federal correctional supervision has reached unprecedented levels. For criminal justice system officials, responding appropriately to the complex needs of this population requires significant resources and can challenge efforts to maintain public safety. The Justice Center, in collaboration with national partners, has, to date, supported innovative responses associated with both positive public safety and public health outcomes for these individuals. The purpose of this project is to assist eligible but unfunded FY 2009 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) applicants in developing and supporting criminal justice/mental health initiatives. The activities described in this section are designed to be responsive to the objectives and fall into six focus areas: (A) online resource center; (B) learning sites; (C) distance learning opportunities; (D) state strategic plans; (E) targeted dissemination; and (F) training and federal partner collaboration.

CA/NCF