CASES LEADS MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT TO IMPROVE RESPONSE TO MENTALLY ILL PERSONS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

In partnership with the New York City Departments of Correction (DOC) and Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), CASES has brought together high level officials and service providers in the criminal justice and mental health communities to identify ways to address the ongoing treatment and diversion needs of court-involved individuals suffering from mental illness. Representatives from agencies including the New York State Office of Court Administration, the Bronx Mental Health Court, the Center for Court Innovation, the New York County Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program, the Legal Aid Society, and the New York County District Attorney's Office are collaborating to develop a multi-system perspective on the barriers and practices that impede the delivery of mental health services to this population. This effort is a crucial step in slowing the revolving door that keeps low-level offenders caught in a cycle of arrest, short-term incarceration, homelessness, and hospitalization. As Gerald Foley from the Mayor's Office remarked, the group is learning to think "across universes" to recommend a collective response to this problem.

Over the past eighteen months, the group has identified best practices to improve access and delivery of services to people with mental illness in the New York County Criminal Court system. CASES has secured the services of Dr. Henry Steadman, Ph.D., the director of the National GAINS Center, and an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of the criminal justice and mental health systems to guide the group's work. Dr. Steadman has helped stakeholders develop an understanding of current research in mental health diversion programs and the need for a coordinated multi-agency response to the treatment needs of mentally ill court-involved individuals.

In January 2009, Dan Abreu, Associate Director of the National GAINS Center, guided a subgroup that included representatives from DOC, the Legal Aid Society, CASES, DOHMH, the NYPD, and the Criminal Justice Agency in an all-day systems mapping exercise to identify gaps in the existing system for mentally ill court-involved people. The map, which depicts how the mentally ill interact with the legal, behavioral health and emergency services system during the arrest and pre-arraignment process, will be an essential tool in future program design. The group is now drawing on this work to draft a final report recommending changes to current policies and systems.