Law Enforcement Response to Special Populations Training and Technical Assistance Project

The National Initiatives: Justice System Response to Special Populations program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP's), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), aims to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, by assisting state, local, and tribal jurisdictions to develop appropriate responses to persons with mental illness who come into contact with the criminal justice system, including opportunities to divert persons with mental illness into a system of case management and treatment. The FY 2010 National Initiatives: Justice System Response to Special Populations program will provide funding to (category 1) link information systems to improve outcomes for offenders with mental illnesses, (category 2) develop a mental health court curriculum, (category 3) create a training and technical assistance program for the law enforcement response to individuals with mental illness, (category 4) and assess the pathways of women with mental illness to jails.

The University of Memphis will use the federal funds to (category 3) create a training and technical assistance program for the law enforcement response to individuals with mental illness. The university will convene a national steering committee to inform and guide the process of developing core elements curricula which will include not only law enforcement response training and train-the-trainers, but also a curriculum for community engagement, assessment, and implementation. Additionally, the university will develop a strategy for participants and trainers to evaluate the curriculum by creating a national template for curriculum evaluation using state and local programs to assist in the identification of evaluation tools. They will create a marketing plan using materials and web-based learning opportunities that will be implemented using a grassroots networking strategy for face-to-face contacts. Partner organizations will provide on-going technical assistance with the goal of creating programs that are permanent and self-sustaining.

CA/NCF