FY2021 Planning and Implementation Guide for the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program
This guide from The Council of State Governments Justice Center is intended to support recipients of Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grants administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The guide is not intended to serve as a step-by-step blueprint, but rather to foster discussion on best practices, identify considerations for your collaborative effort, and help you work through key decisions and implementation challenges.
The planning and implementation guide is tailored to support grantees in developing and refining their criminal justice and mental health initiatives to improve outcomes for people with mental health conditions and/or co-occurring substance use disorders.

The sharp rise in school shootings over the past 25 years has led school officials across the U.S. to take a closer look at ways to keep students safe. For Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, a tragic incident at a nearby university hit close to home and spurred campus leaders to revisit their own school’s threat assessments and crisis responses.
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A three-digit crisis line, 988, launched two years ago to supplement—not necessarily replace—911. Calling 988 simplifies access to services when people are seeking help for themselves or loved ones with suicidal thoughts, behavioral health concerns, or substance use-related crises.
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It would hardly be controversial to expect an ambulance to arrive if someone called 911 for a physical health emergency. And yet, for years, the default responders for a behavioral health emergency have been law enforcement officers, not behavioral health professionals.
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