Building Capacity to Advance Local System Change for People with Behavioral Health Needs: A Snapshot of State-Led Solutions
State and local jurisdictions are taking new approaches to reduce the numbers of people with mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders in the local criminal justice system. But these efforts often run up against barriers and gaps that require state leadership, coordination, or funding support to overcome. Drawing on lessons learned through initiatives funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, this brief presents four ways that states can direct their efforts to support local communities: (1) strengthen and formalize cross-system collaboration; (2) improve local capacity to collect and share data; (3) reduce avoidable contact with the criminal justice system; and (4) build community care and services.
Alex Blandford and Emily Morgan | September 2020 | The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
Alex
Blandford
oversaw
and
executed
the
CSG
Justice
Center's
health
policy
portfolio
and
worked
to
improve
access
to
health
care
for
people
in
the
criminal
justice
system
through
federal,
state,
and
local
policy.
Prior
to
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
...
Alex
was
a
project
coordinator
for
the
Institute
for
Evaluation
Science
in
Community
Health,
which
is
housed
in
the
Graduate
School
of
Public
Health
at
the
University
of
Pittsburgh.
As
a
project
coordinator,
she
oversaw
a
variety
of
research
projects,
including
one
examining
the
Pittsburgh
region’s
emergency
response
to
mental
health
crises,
and
another
evaluating
the
region’s
Crisis
Intervention
Team
training
for
police
officers.
She
earned
her
BS
in
psychology
and
BA
in
French
from
the
Pennsylvania
State
University
and
her
MPH
at
the
Graduate
School
of
Public
Health
at
the
University
of
Pittsburgh.
Former Director of Content Development, Communications and External Affairs
Emily
Morgan
provided
strategic
guidance
and
oversight
for
the
conceptualization
and
production
of
the
organization’s
content,
including
publications,
media
relations
materials,
and
web
content.
Previously,
she
directed
a
portfolio
of
special
projects
for
the
CSG
Justice
Center
to
support
state
...
and
local
officials
in
advancing
school
discipline
reforms
and
improving
outcomes
for
youth
and
young
adults
in
the
justice
system.
Emily
has
more
than
15
years
of
experience
in
justice,
education,
and
youth
development
policy
and
practice,
having
authored
a
number
of
publications
on
these
subjects.
Prior
to
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
she
served
as
national
policy
analyst
for
Every
Hour
Counts,
a
coalition
of
citywide
afterschool
organizations,
where
she
conducted
federal
advocacy
and
managed
national
grant
initiatives
to
increase
access
to
quality
learning
opportunities,
particularly
for
underserved
students.
She
also
served
as
a
program
officer
at
the
Institute
of
International
Education.
A
former
elementary
school
teacher,
Emily
received
a
BS
in
education
from
Vanderbilt
University
and
an
EdM
in
education
policy
from
Columbia
University.
