Information Sharing in Criminal Justice-Mental Health Collaborations: Working with HIPAA and Other Privacy Laws

The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance with technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center, facilitates collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health and substance use treatment systems to better serve people with mental illnesses and increase public safety.

The affordable housing crisis has increased the need for new housing developments in communities across the U.S., particularly for people leaving prison and jail who have behavioral health needs. To support these efforts, some local leaders have started developing supportive housing, which is an evidence-based intervention that combines affordable housing with wraparound services and has no residency time limit. 

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is seeking applicants to join the nationwide Criminal Justice-Mental Health Learning Sites Program, which will highlight effective approaches from crisis response through courts, jails, probation, and community-based programs.  

With unanimous consent, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act of 2022 yesterday, officially approving the legislation sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Tom Emmer (R-MN). The bill will expand and improve upon the success of the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) to give the country’s criminal justice and mental health systems the tools they need to serve some of their most vulnerable individuals. It will also provide the resources to help communities divert people from the criminal justice system when appropriate.

On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2023. Among other administration priorities, the omnibus spending bill funds various state and local justice system grant programs within the U.S. Department of Justice.