Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of Specialized Probation Initiatives

A new training program will help law enforcement agencies transform their juvenile probation programs to adopt more developmentally appropriate practices.

Last year, Massachusetts passed legislation representing the most significant changes to the state’s criminal justice system in decades. This legislation took concrete steps to incentivize good behavior in prison, divert people to treatment and programming as an alternative to incarceration, and strengthen community supervision.

A growing body of research has shown that cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBIs) can significantly reduce recidivism by helping people understand and change the thinking patterns that can lead to criminal behavior.

The Restitution Resource Center will help states improve the quality of their restitution systems by providing a central source for best practices and successful innovations in the field as well as facilitating peer networks and information exchange.

“Stepping Up was born out of conversations with community leaders, law enforcement officials, and behavioral health specialists, who told us that the number of people with mental illnesses coming into their jails was a top challenge for them,” said Megan Quattlebaum, director of the CSG Justice Center.