Center for Justice and Mental Health Partnerships

The goal of the center is to connect jurisdictions with the resources, knowledge, and skills necessary to improve responses to people at the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health systems. Support is designed to meet your needs and can range from reviewing training protocols to sharing information on best practices and advising on program design, among other types of support.

Any state, locality, or federally recognized tribal government, as well as organizations such as non-profit behavioral health organizations, criminal justice agencies, and service providers, can request assistance from the Center for Justice and Mental Health Partnerships. Once you submit the request form, a staff member from the CSG Justice Center will contact you within two business days.

The center offers no-cost assistance that is tailored to meet your needs through a variety of formats, including responding to questions via e-mail, virtual and in-person consultations, connections with subject matter experts, connections to other jurisdictions for peer learning, and webinars or other virtual events.

Training and support resources focus on designing and implementing collaborative strategies that enhance policies and practices intended to increase access to treatment and improve safety.

Through the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), which is a Department of Justice grant program dedicated to providing resources to implement programs, BJA and the CSG Justice Center have provided specialized support to a multitude of jurisdictions, including more than 500 grantees over the past decade. Below are a few examples:

San Luis Obispo, California

The County Board of Supervisors wanted to reduce the number of people with serious mental illnesses in their jail.

The CSG Justice Center provided training and support to help the county open a behavioral health unit inside the local jail, provide Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to deputies who work in the jail, and launch a jail-based competency program to provide intensive services to anyone deemed “incompetent to stand trial” to more quickly resolve cases.

Read more: “JMHCP Grant Helps San Luis Obispo ‘Step Up’ to Improve Lives of People With Mental Illnesses in Jail”

Outagamie County, Wisconsin

Officials wanted to create a collaborative program that offered behavioral health support, employment, and housing for people in the criminal justice system with a diagnosed mental illness.

Through training and support from the CSG Justice Center, the county established the Outagamie County Mental Health Court program. After implementation, the program helped to drastically reduce the number of days program participants spent in jail.

Read more: “Outagamie Mental Health Court Celebrates Six Years of Cross-System Collaboration Benefitting Participants, Community”

Washtenaw, Michigan

The Justice Project Outreach Team wished to enhance their trauma-informed care offered to clients in the jail and prior to reentry.

With support from the CSG Justice Center, the Justice Project Outreach Team expanded their trauma services to include both people within the jail and those under community supervision. They also received training for clinicians and administrators to work with women and girls in private, public, and criminal justice settings.

Read more: “Washtenaw, Mich., Grantee Uses JMHCP Expansion Funds to Improve Trauma Service”

To learn more about our free assistance, training, and resources, please contact the CSG Justice Center by phone (1-888-920-0782) or email (justicepartnerships@csg.org).