The following provide additional information about or related to the Mental Health Courts Program:
- see a listing of BJA-funded Mental Health Courts around the nation
- BJA Mental Health Initiatives
- Emerging Judicial Strategies for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Caseload: Mental Health Courts in Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, San Bernardino, and Anchorage
- A Guide to Collecting Mental Health Court Outcome Data
- A Guide to Mental Health Court Design and Implementation
- Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of a Mental Health Court
- Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team
- Mental Health Courts: A National Snapshot
- Mental Health Courts Program Fact Sheet
- Mental Health Courts Program: Learning Sites Initiative
- Navigating the Mental Health Maze: A Guide for Court Practitioners
- Strategies for Court Collaboration with Service Communities Program Brief
Publications
Mental Health Courts: A Primer for Policymakers and Practitioners, (NCJ 224316) Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2008. This publication provides the field with a comprehensive overview and history of mental health courts and describes mental health courts' goals and processes, how they differ from drug courts, research findings about their effectiveness, and resources for jurisdictions interested in starting a program.
Mental Health Courts: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice, (NCJ 228274), Bureau of Justice Assistance, September 2009. This guide helps policy makers and practitioners understand available research to better design, implement, and evaluate mental health courts.
Criminal Justice Interventions for Offenders with Mental Illness: Evaluation of Mental Health Courts in Bronx and Brooklyn, New York, (NCJ 238265) National Institute of Justice-Sponsored. This report presents the findings and methodology of the evaluation of mental health courts in Bronx and Brooklyn (New York City).
Announcements
Statewide Law Enforcement/Mental Health Efforts Publication Released
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has released Statewide Law Enforcement/Mental Health Efforts: Strategies to Support and Sustain Local Initiatives. This BJA-supported report examines how states have developed structures and standards to make police encounters with people with mental illnesses safer for all involved and to produce better mental health and criminal justice system outcomes. The report offers a starting point for policymakers, practitioners, and others interested in planning or enhancing a statewide initiative that will support such local-level specialized policing responses as crisis intervention and law enforcement/mental health co-response teams.
New Release: Improving Outcomes for People with Mental Illnesses
The Council of State Governments Justice Center, with support from BJA, has released Improving Outcomes for People with Mental Illnesses Involved with New York City’s Criminal Court and Correction Systems.
Developing a Mental Health Court
With support from BJA, the Council of State Governments Justice Center developed and released "Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum," a free online curriculum to assist jurisdictions interested in starting new mental health courts, as well as to help further the work of the 300 or so jurisdictions that have launched mental health courts since the early 2000s.
Madison, WI Law Enforcement–Mental Health Learning Site
Read about the Madison (WI) Police Department’s Mental Health Liaison Program—one of six Law Enforcement–Mental Health Learning Sites selected by the Council of State Governments Justice Center and BJA—which is a successful example of how community partners can collaborate to provide police services to people with mental illnesses. Learn more about the learning sites.
Funding
Mental Health Courts Program FY 2006 Call for Concept Papers
Application Deadline: 02/02/2006, 07:59 PM
This call for concept papers from state, local, or tribal governments, including courts, is to fund one additional mental health court demonstration project that reflects innovative and collaborative efforts for systemwide court improvements for offenders with mental disabilities or illnesses.