Transforming Lives with Access to Needed Mental Health Care: Q&A with New CSG Justice Center Advisory Board Member Dr. Courtney Harvey

The CSG Justice Center Advisory Board establishes the policy and project priorities of the organization. The board features a cross-section of leaders who shape criminal justice policy in various parts of the country.  

Dr. Courtney Harvey currently serves as associate commissioner for the Office of Mental Health Coordination at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and chair of the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council. She built her career through working in different capacities in a community mental health center, a private psychiatric hospital, juvenile detention, adult probation, and other environments. These experiences have resulted in deep knowledge and expertise in the state mental health care system.

Editor’s note: Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.    

Dr. Courtney Harvey

What inspired you to join the CSG Justice Center Advisory Board? What unique perspective do you feel you bring to the board?  

The opportunity to provide mental health and substance use services to people who are or have been involved in the justice system has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. This work is about advancing public safety and building healthier communities by providing people with second chances to discover their purpose, recover, and lead full lives with the right supports. It can be done, and the outcomes of initiatives led or supported by the CSG Justice Center, such as Stepping Up, Reentry 2030, and the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, are evidence of this possibility.  

My contribution to this work is being able to share my knowledge of behavioral health policies and services as implemented in Texas, a state with 254 counties. Implementing services in a state with Texas’s geography is difficult and only possible through the kinds of multisector partnerships the CSG Justice Center promotes.

What was a defining moment that solidified your commitment to improving the criminal justice system?

My first position in behavioral health involved providing case management and psychosocial rehabilitation services to people on adult probation and parole. That program contracted with community mental health centers to provide continuity of care for people in county jails identified to have mental health needs. The mental health centers also provided behavioral health services and supports for people on probation or parole.  

What I learned firsthand is that this model of care is predicated on working relationships between behavioral health providers and juvenile and adult probation and parole. Together, we’re able to promote public safety and access to behavioral health services and other supports that assist in reducing recidivism. This job solidified my commitment to improving the lives of people who are justice involved.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the criminal justice system today, and how can the CSG Justice Center help solve them?

Two of the biggest challenges include (a) unmet behavioral health needs, which may be a factor in why people commit criminal acts that lead to arrest, detention/jail, community supervision, or other outcomes, and (b) crimes committed by youth. The CSG Justice Center has several initiatives that seek to prevent youth from ending up in the juvenile justice system and facilitate multisector partnerships that include behavioral health and justice experts. The continuation and expansion of these initiatives is critical.

What are some innovations happening in your state or field that you think could be successfully replicated across the country?

 Below are a few examples: 

Data Exchange 

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) partners with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to exchange data to ensure that people booked into county jails have continuity of services. This exchange also involves engagement with the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, the Clinical Management for Behavioral Health Services System, local mental and behavioral health authorities, state hospitals, and more. County jails use this information to conduct crisis screenings and assessments and recommend treatment for someone in need. It’s also used for engaging the person in post-booking jail diversion activities.  

This data exchange is statutorily required, though there is no dedicated funding to support the initiative. DPS and HHSC used existing information technology resources and funding to set up the data exchange.  

Grants to Reduce Recidivism, Arrests, and Incarceration

The Texas legislature allocates $80 million to the HHSC to implement the Mental Health Grant Program for Justice-Involved Individuals. This grant is intended to reduce recidivism rates, arrests, and incarceration among people with mental illness and reduce the total waiting time for an inpatient forensic commitment for people who are deemed incompetent to stand trial. Funds have been used to: 

• Establish or expand a mental health jail diversion program; 

• Establish alternatives to competency restoration in a state hospital; 

• Provide assertive community treatment or forensic assertive community treatment with an outreach component; 

• Provide intensive mental health services and substance use treatment not readily available in the county; 

• Provide continuity of care services for people being released from a state hospital; 

• Develop interdisciplinary rapid response teams that reduce law enforcement’s involvement with mental health emergencies; and 

• Increase local community hospital, crisis, respite, or residential beds. 

Judicial Commission on Mental Health 

The Judicial Commission on Mental Health (JCMH) was  created by a joint order of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on February 13, 2018. Its purpose is to develop, implement, and coordinate policy initiatives designed to improve courts’ interaction with, and the administration of justice for, children, adults, and families with mental health needs. The JCMH has dedicated staff who provide Sequential Intercept Mapping, host an annual mental health summit, provide training and technical assistance, and operate a host of other initiatives.  

Learn more about the CSG Justice Center’s Advisory Board and its five newest members. 

Credits: Photo by Chermiti Mohamed via Pexels