Forensic Collaborative Planning Group

The Bureau of Justice Assistances (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) is funded through the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-414), which was reauthorized in 2008 (Public Law 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. Jurisdictions are eligible to apply for planning, planning and implementation, or expansion funding through JMHCP.

The Jefferson Parish Human Services Authority is the fiscal agent for the JMHCP Category 1: Planning federal award of $48780 (which will augment a local match). JPHSA proposes to establish a Forensic Collaborative to develop a system-wide plan for addressing the needs of persons with behavioral health disorders who are involved with the criminal justice system. This Collaborative will prioritize the needs of behaviorally-disordered individuals and develop a plan to intercept and divert them from the criminal justice system at the earliest possible point.

CA/NCF