Jan. 8, 2009
11 States Now Have Mental Health Programs Modeled on Ohio’s
Four more states have joined a national initiative on mental illness and the courts modeled on Ohio’s program started by Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton.
The four states were introduced at a two-day policy forum in Philadelphia this week that Justice Stratton attended with chief justices and other judicial leaders from around the country.
“With the addition of Delaware, Indiana, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, there are now 11 states operating their own mental illness and the courts committees,” Justice Stratton said. “Through extensive collaboration we are improving the outcomes of mentally ill persons in our justice system, and we continue to expand partnerships among branches of government and governmental agencies. I'm confident that this broadened initiative will result in a stronger system with fewer individuals with mental illness falling through the cracks.”
The initiative awards grant dollars for the states to create statewide task forces led by their chief justices to develop and implement policy solutions to issues involving individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system. The program started in 2007 with California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, Texas and Vermont. The task forces are modeled after Ohio’s Advisory Committee on Mental Illness and the Courts. Taking it nationwide began with the Judges’ Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative, a national organization of judges under the Council of State Governments Justice Center, that was originally co-chaired by Justice Stratton and Judge Steven Leifman of the Miami-Dade County Court in Florida.
The forum included sessions on how to develop strategic plans for the programs and how courts interface with the behavioral health system, among other topics.
“Increasingly, people with mental illnesses are becoming familiar faces in courtrooms and filling prisons and jails,” Justice Stratton said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly a quarter of both state prisoners and jail inmates who reported they had a mental health problem, had served three or more prior sentences.
A total of 23 states applied for the one-year grant through a competitive application process. The grants are supported by the JEHT Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. As recipients of the grants, states receive funding support, access to leading experts, and technical assistance from the Council of State Governments and the National GAINS/TAPA Center.
Like Ohio’s advisory committee, the state task forces will be composed of judges, law enforcement, mediation experts, housing and treatment providers, consumer advocacy groups, and other officials with an interest in mental health and the courts. Justice Stratton created Ohio's advisory committee nearly six years ago out of the observation that more jails and prisons are housing individuals with mental illness, and a desire to collaborate to find better ways to serve them and the taxpayers.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.