Michael P. Boggs, a Georgia Supreme Court justice, has been appointed chair of The Council of State Governments Justice Center’s Advisory Board.
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WATCH: Opioid Addiction Screening and Assessment for People in the Criminal Justice System
This webinar focusses on best practices for screening and assessment of people in the criminal justice system who have opioid addictions. -
Collaborative Comprehensive Case Plans
This webpage provides tools and resources to assist in developing and implementing collaborative case plans, including the "Developing Collaborative Comprehensive Case Plans" webinar, which offers tips on how to get the most out the webpage. -
Learning Communities: Interface Process Measures
Over the course of four discussions, CSG Justice Center staff and Dr. Taxman describe the shared principles and process measures that can help coordinate service delivery between the criminal justice and behavioral health systems.
WATCH: Opioid Addiction Screening and Assessment for People in the Criminal Justice System
This webinar focusses on best practices for screening and assessment of people in the criminal justice system who have opioid addictions.
The majority of people in prison and jail have a substance use disorder. Despite the promise demonstrated by some treatment programs for people who are incarcerated, just a fraction of the people who need services for substance abuse receive it. Connecting people incarcerated to treatment programs proven to be effective, prioritizing resources for those nearing release, and encouraging community-based aftercare will ensure better outcomes for people released from prisons and jails, and the communities to which they return.
Substance Abuse FAQs
Providing answers on relevant topics concerning Mental Health, Health and Substance Abuse topics.
Recent Posts
A Message from the Director: Highlights from 2018
I arrived at the CSG Justice Center aware that the field of criminal justice has changed dramatically since our inception in 2007, presenting our organization and others with new challenges and exciting opportunities. As we entered our second decade, I felt that we first needed to be sure we understand who we are, what we stand for, and how we fit into this growing field.
WATCH: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum Joins Face to Face Initiative to Highlight Substance Addiction Treatment Needs in Criminal Justice System
Gov. Doug Burgum became the latest governor to join the Face to Face initiative, a national call to action encouraging policymakers to personally engage with the people who are closest to the correctional system.
Reentry Essentials: Prioritizing Treatment for Substance Addictions
A large proportion of people in the criminal justice system have substance addictions. While there is an overwhelming need to provide effective treatment, challenges exist in quantifying the extent of that need, providing appropriate treatment programming, and taking a strategic approach across systems.
The Guidance Center Releases Free Roll Call Mental Health Training Series for Police Departments Across the Country
A new series of free web-based training modules that provide officers with effective tools for readily recognizing signs of mental illness and interacting with people who may be in crisis has been produced through a partnership between The Guidance Center (a nonprofit child and family mental health service provider) and the Los Angeles Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
New Web Tool Provides Look at Often-Overlooked Legal, Regulatory Restrictions Against People who have Criminal Convictions
The new National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction resource compiles thousands of state and federal statutes into a searchable database, making it easier to identify these obscure regulations that can be triggered by a particular conviction.
Announcements
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[Apply Now] Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims
The program aims to address an urgent gap in crime victim services related to the opioid epidemic and to expand upon existing or establish new programs to provide services to children and youth who are victimized as the result of the opioid crisis.
All Rise 19: National Association of Drug Court Professionals Annual Training Conference
The 2019 National Association of Drug Court Professionals conference will offer training on critical topics for working with dually diagnosed clients, race and recidivism, violence risk screening and assessments, therapeutic alliance, and mental health courts.
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[Request for Proposals] The Bernard and Audre Rapaport Foundation
This request for proposals from the Rapoport Foundation seeks hands-on projects that experiment with new approaches to improving the lives of men and women leaving incarceration and rejoining the community, as well as projects that examine practices currently in use.
National Association of Counties Annual Conference and Exposition
The annual conference will bring together participants from counties of all sizes to shape NACo’s federal policy agenda, share proven practices, and strengthen knowledge networks to help improve residents’ lives and the efficiency of county government.
Webinars
Innovative Programming for Veterans in the Criminal Justice System
This webinar focusses on the programming developed specifically for veterans in two jurisdictions—the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office in Massachusetts and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department in California—and explains how these jurisdictions developed partnerships with their Veterans Affairs resources and other entities in their criminal justice systems.
2018 Second Chance Act Orientation for Reentry for Adults with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Grant Program
In this webinar, representatives from the NRRC, along with staff from BJA, provide an overview of the Second Chance Act’s Reentry for Adults with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Illness (CSAMI) grant program and explain the training and technical assistance opportunities that are available to grantees, including the Planning & Implementation Guide, and other resources available to grantees.
Best Practices for Successful Reentry for People with an Opioid Addiction
This webinar includes information on planning and coordination, behavioral health treatment, cognitive interventions, and community supervision practices as well as community resources such as housing and recovery support services.
Opioid Addiction Screening and Assessment for People in the Criminal Justice System
This webinar focusses on best practices for screening and assessment of people in the criminal justice system who have opioid addictions.
Understanding Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in People Involved with the Criminal Justice System
In this webinar, Leigh Ann Davis, director of the National Center on Criminal Justice & Disability, discusses differences and similarities between various kinds of behavioral health diagnoses and I/DD, how to identify someone with I/DD, and tips for to work more effectively with people with I/DD in correctional settings.
Responding to the 2018 Second Chance Act Improving Reentry for Adults with Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Solicitation
In this webinar, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Reentry Resource Center review the FY18 Improving Reentry for Adults with Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Illness application process.
Responding to the 2018 Solicitation for the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program
In this webinar, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and the CSG Justice Center review the FY2018 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grant application process.
Addressing the Needs of Veterans in the Criminal Justice System
This webinar provides an overview of national estimates of incarcerated veterans; explains components of the Veterans Health Administration’s veterans justice programs; expands awareness of the needs of veterans in the justice system; and discusses new developments in the Veterans Administration and community interventions to provide services to veterans in the justice system.
Best Practices in Screening and Assessment for People with Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System
This webinar features Roger Peters, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida. The webinar discusses the prevalence of co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders among people involved in the criminal justice system, as well as effective screening and assessment instruments to use with this population.
Practical Considerations Related to Release and Sentencing for Defendants Who Have Behavioral Health Needs
During this webinar, judges and other court personnel learn about the tips for recognizing indications of a mental illness and/or substance use disorder in the courtroom, the process for treatment recommendation and referral for defendants with behavioral health needs, and how to collaborate with behavioral health care providers in their communities
Publications
In Focus: Conducting a Comprehensive Process Analysis
This brief from the Stepping Up partners presents counties with steps for examining how people who have serious mental illnesses move through a county’s criminal justice and behavioral health systems, it is one of a series of companion products designed to provide counties with further guidance on how to apply the Stepping Up framework “Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask.”
Does Our County Really Need a Bigger Jail? A Guide for Avoiding Unnecessary Jail Expansion
This new report gives cities and counties a tool for fighting mass incarceration by providing a guide to preventing unnecessary jail expansion, laying out 33 questions that local decision-makers should ask when evaluating proposals for new or bigger jails.
Getting Out & Staying Out: San Francisco Resources for People Leaving Jails and Prisons
The resource is an online searchable directory that provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on topics that cover housing, education, employment, family support, mental health, and other topics related to reentry.
Prosecutors and Frequent Utilizers: How Can Prosecutors Better Address the Needs of People Who Frequently Interact with the Criminal Justice and Other Social Systems?
This publication from the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution outlines how prosecutors can better serve the needs of those who frequently interact with the criminal justice and other social systems by implementing collaborative and community-centered solutions.
Helping Recovery Residences Adapt to Support People with Medication-Assisted Recovery
This brief provides basic guidance, key considerations, and tips and tools for recovery residence operators that are supporting or want to support individuals who choose medication-assisted treatment.
Promoting a New Direction for Youth Justice: Strategies to Fund a Community-Based Continuum of Care and Opportunity
This publication details how jurisdictions across the country are working to improve outcomes for youth and families, and explores how states and localities can help to ensure that their communities are able to fund programs, supports, and opportunities for residents that promote healthy development and strengthen neighborhoods.
The Council of Accountability Court Judges: Processes and Outcomes
This report highlights the role that accountability courts—such as drug, mental health, veterans treatment, and other courts—play in reducing recidivism in Georgia.
Principles of Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Criminal Justice Involved Individuals
This guide is intended to assist community-based behavioral health providers in their clinical and case management practice when working with people with mental illnesses and substance addictions who are currently involved with or have a history of involvement in the adult criminal justice system.
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Save Lives
This report examines the evidence base for medications to treat opioid addictions and to identify barriers that prevent people from accessing safe, effective, medication-based treatment.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the Criminal Justice System: Brief Guidance to the States
In this brief, states are provided an overview of increasing the availability of evidence-based MAT, the challenges to incorporating MAT, key considerations for establishing MAT in criminal justice settings, and existing standards/guidelines.
Recent headlines
Study: Link between Treatment Programs and Reduced Jail, Recidivism
A five-year study by the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at Wayne State University’s School of Social Work found that diverting individuals with mental health disorders into treatment programs rather than simply jailing them significantly reduces the jail population and reduces the chances of recidivism.
Appalachian Regional Commission Announces Plan to Build ‘Recovery Ecosystem’
In 2000, the opioid-overdose death rate in Appalachia was roughly equal to that of the rest of the country, according to a study from the National Association of Counties and the ARC. By 2017, the rate in Appalachia was 72 percent higher.
Mental Health in the Justice System
A large number of people in the jail system struggle with mental health, Potter County commissioner Paul Heimel said. Some addicts or those with mental illnesses have received help, but once they become confined they don’t continue to get the help they need.
How States Address Opioid Use Disorder in Prisons
At a Council of State Governments national conference The Pew Charitable Trusts hosted a session that brought together policymakers from across the country to share approaches for addressing the treatment needs of the criminal justice population and increasing their access to MAT.
County Commits to Reducing Mental Illness in Jail
The resolution commits the county, led by the County Administrative Office, Sheriff’s Office, and the Probation and Health Departments, to a “call to action” that includes “sharing lessons” learned from other counties in the state and nationally.
$600 Million Available for Rural Broadband
According to the USDA, funds will be awarded to projects that have financially sustainable business models that will bring high-speed broadband to rural homes, businesses, farms, ranches and community facilities such as first responders, health care sites and schools.
Navigating the Healthcare Coverage and SSA Disability Benefits Systems While Incarcerated and upon Release
Whether working inside a correctional facility or coordinating a transition for an individual on release, understanding the basics around benefits is the first step to ensuring continuity of care for individuals with a serious mental illness or medical impairment.
New Program Helps Former Inmates Stay out of Jail
One key partner is the Integrated Support and Recovery Services. Christin Skolnik, the interim manager, says, “We’re beginning to see really nice outcomes.” They help participants in a number of areas including therapy, both during and after jail.
How One Agency Is Decriminalizing Mental Illness, Saving Money and Bettering Lives
The County Attorney kicked in $224,290 from its pre-trial diversion funds saying that, “Reach Out is the most visionary program I have seen in my 35 years working in the criminal justice system in Arizona.”
New Program to Help Recidivism Rate and Help Inmates
The Montgomery County Jail’s new program to help reduce recidivism is well underway and jail administrators like what they see so far. “We’ve seen some good results,” Jail Commander Lonnie Jones said. “The men have good attitudes and have been real anxious to be involved in this program.”