Georigia Justice and Mental Health Collaborative Project

The Bureau of Justice Assistance's (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 were eligible to apply for planning, planning and implementation, or expansion funding through JMHCP.

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice will use the planning grant funds to design a strategic, collaborative plan to initiate systemic change for the identification and treatment of system-involved individuals with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Key to the planning grant is the development of an effective collaboration representing support from all levels of government, justice, mental health and substance abuse treatment services, transportation, housing, advocates, consumers, victims, and family members. This collaboration will form the basis for a problem-solving model, or strategic plan, to intercept individuals in the system while promoting public safety.

CA/NCF