Treatment Advocacy Center:  1/3 of States Get Failing Grades for Jail Diversion of People with Mental Illness

[Of course, some of the  People in the Criminal Justice System have Brain Injury, ADHD, Autism, Substance Issues, Trauma, Etc.  We are just beginning to look @ the Full Range of What is Impacting the Executive Functioning Abilities in People Cycling Through the Criminal Justice System]

 Jail Diversion Programs



The Nathaniel Project
http://cases.org/programs/mh/act.php

The Nathaniel Project was NYC's first alternative-to-incarceration program for felony offenders with serious and persistent mental illness. The program was named for a homeless man whose mental illness went untreated for fifteen years as he cycled in and out of the criminal justice system.

The program has won three national awards and a significant award from a peer advocacy center:
  • From psychiatrists (2002 Significant Achievement Award from the American Psychiatric Association),
  • From criminal justice stakeholders (2002 American Probation and Parole Association's President's Award) and 
  • county mental health directors (2002 Thomas M. Wernert Award for Innovation in Community Behavioral Healthcare). 
  • In 2006, CASES received the Harp Commitment Award from the Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy Center for adopting the use of peer specialists  to better serve ACT clients.
Also see at CASES -- The Exit Program
http://www.cases.org/programs/abh/tcm.php

               In response to the fact that people with mental illness who are sentenced to very short jail stays in New York City may not receive any mental health or discharge planning services, CASES launched the EXIT program in 2004.

                This federally-funded demonstration project provided voluntary case management services to low-level offenders with mental illness. The program showed that judges sentenced 88% of mentally ill defendants to case management services, that 69% of this population engaged in voluntary case management services, and that there was a corresponding reduction in recidivism for this group.
See generally:

SAMHSA's GAINS CENTER for Behavioral Health & Justice Transformation
http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/topical_resources/jail.asp

Evidenced Based Practices
http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/topical_resources/ebps.asp


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