On March 8-9, 2012, Ann-Marie Louison, CASES’ Director of Adult Behavioral Health Programs, participated in a national conference aimed at improving responses to people with mental illness in the criminal justice system. Convened by the Council of State Governments Justice Center with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the conference brought together new Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) grantees in Washington, D.C., to learn about the keys to success in developing successful criminal justice and mental health collaborations. Nearly 120 participants representing 40 grantees from 35 different states and territories attended the event.
Ms. Louison was a speaker at a plenary and a break-out session. In the plenary, “Implementing Evidence-Based Practices,” she provided an overview of CASES’ experience implementing the Level of Service Case Management Inventory (LSCMI) risk and need assessment in the Criminal Court-based Transitional Case Management Program for chronic misdemeanants with mental illness and the Supreme Court-based Nathaniel Assertive Community Treatment for individuals with serious mental illness convicted of felonies. She discussed the value of the validated instrument supporting the CASES diversion programs to provide appropriate treatment responses based on participants risk levels for criminal recidivism. In the breakout session, “Moving Beyond Mental Health Courts: Introduction to the Range of Court-based Interventions,” she provided an overview of CASES’ more than ten years of experience operating successful diversion programs in courtrooms in Manhattan. Ms. Louison highlighted the differences and similarities between CASES’ Nathaniel ACT team and mental health court programs, in terms of target population, participant demographics, and services, to support program participants’ improved mental health, psychosocial, and public safety outcomes.
Please follow the links below to access PowerPoint presentations from these sessions:
Implementing Evidence-Based Practices
Moving Beyond Mental Health Courts: Introduction to the Range of Court-Based Initiatives