Implementation of the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts' Response to Mental Illness Report and Recommendations
The Task Force made a number of important findings with corresponding recommendations supported by over 100 resources for courts and our partner stakeholders. Each Behavioral Health Alerts revisits an original Task Force resource or a new resource that supports a Task Force recommendation.
Transition and Aftercare Plans Transitions from programs, treatment levels of care, and between systems are often the point when relapse or setbacks in recovery occur. When an individual with behavioral health needs is making progress and having success, courts should take every effort to ensure continuity of treatment such that progress can continue. To ensure successful transitions, transition and aftercare plans that promote recovery need to be developed that are based on the individual’s strengths and needs. Necessary services and supports must be in place and individuals should be actively involved in developing the plan. In addition, the transition planning process should start as early as possible and at least several months in advance to ensure a smooth transition.
Research and Resources
Upcoming Webinar: Improving Mental Health Outcomes: 59 Essential Evidence-Based Practices for Communities, Police, Courts, Jails, and Community Corrections Join Drs. Jennifer Johnson and Faye S. Taxman for a discussion on results from their study exploring evidence-based mental health practices for individuals involved in the justice system or at risk of becoming involved in the justice system. This webinar will cover findings from the study, which identified 59 evidence-based practices–ranging from trauma-informed care and diversion to mental health treatment to therapeutic or medication-based interventions—that could significantly improve support, treatment, recovery, and overall health outcomes and help prevent incarceration and re-incarceration.
Register for Co-Occurring SMI and SUD Learning Series | Session 1 The National Council for Mental Wellbeing is excited to share a four-part learning series on co-occurring SUDs and SMI from the Serious Mental Illness Training and Technical Assistance Center (SMI TTAC). Each session in this series will focus on a different aspect of co-occurring SMI and SUD, whether it’s a specific SUD or a particularly effective treatment and care approach. First up, Session 1: Pharmacological Management of Alcohol Use Disorder in Individuals with Bipolar and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) can have serious clinical consequences and present unique challenges for pharmacological management in people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In this session, we’ll discuss effective, evidence-based ways for clinicians to manage these co-occurring conditions and deliver quality care to their patients.
Updated Standards Now Available All Rise’s Adult Treatment Court Best Practice Standards represent decades of research on treatment courts, criminology, and behavioral health. The standards distill this research into actionable best practices, providing a comprehensive blueprint to enhance outcomes across all treatment court models. As a dynamic and evolving resource, the standards are updated on an ongoing basis. A new version of the standards is now available.
Supporting Young People’s Crisis Stabilization Needs During Reentry Young people with behavioral health needs can be overrepresented in the justice system. Given the unique developmental challenges this population faces compared to adults, effective reentry planning requires enhanced collaboration and cross-system partnerships to fully address their crisis stabilization needs. In this CSG webinar, participants will gain practical tools to improve their approach to reentry planning, ultimately supporting better outcomes for young people involved in the justice system. The session will feature a panel discussion with two Second Chance Act grantees, who will share insights on how they have developed comprehensive pre- and post-reentry processes for the young people in their care.
Dimensions of Prosecutor Decisions: Revealing Hidden Factors With Correspondence Analysis Our survey provided prosecutors with vignettes containing police reports, witness statements, a description of an offense, and a charging statute. Our survey then asked the prosecutors how they would charge the given case and what punishments, if any, they would recommend. We found that recommending alternative sentences like community service, drug courts, and mental health courts was associated with respondents working in a large jurisdiction (greater than 500,000 residents) as well as respondents who considered the offender’s mental health, discussed plea bargaining, and considered victim input.
Developmental Neurobiology and Miller v. Alabama: To What Extent Do Juvenile Brains Change? While the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama represents a significant advancement in recognizing the developmental differences between juvenile and adult offenders, it also necessitates a critical re-evaluation. The decision correctly acknowledges the potential for growth and change in adolescents, but emerging neurological evidence indicating that some juvenile violent offenders may possess enduring neurological traits challenges the notion that all young offenders may at some point naturally outgrow their criminal behavior once their brains fully develop. This nuanced understanding calls for a more individualized approach to juvenile sentencing that incorporates evidence drawn from neuroscience. By incorporating these scientific insights, we can better balance the ideals of compassion and justice, ensuring that our juvenile justice system not only protects society but also fairly addresses the diverse rehabilitation potentials among young offenders.
Individuals in U.S. More Likely to Be Referred to Psychiatric EDs by Police Than in Other Countries Nearly a quarter of referrals to psychiatric emergency departments (PEDs) in the United States are made by police, a rate dramatically higher than the global average, according to a report published today in Psychiatric Services. Patients referred to PEDs by police tended to be homeless males with a diagnosis of substance use and/or psychotic disorders and were more likely to display aggressive behavior, according to the report. “Because police-referred patients share many characteristics with incarcerated psychiatric patients, early psychiatric treatment may help reduce the risk for incarceration of police-referred patients,” wrote Thomas Goldschmidt, M.D., of the Frei Universität and Humboldt Universität, Berlin, and colleagues.
Transportation of Individuals Experiencing a Behavioral Health Crisis Historically, people experiencing a behavioral health (BH) crisis have been transported to an emergency room or psychiatric hospital by law enforcement officers, often while restrained (i.e., in handcuffs). Having law enforcement (LE) transport people to BH services is both stigmatizing for those being transported and burdensome/costly to LE systems. In 2023, 36 states allow Mobile Crisis Teams (MCTs) to transport individuals if they voluntarily agree to receive services (a voluntary legal status). Individuals who need to be transported for an involuntary treatment evaluation may be transported by MCTs in 12 states. In six states, MCTs are not allowed to transport individuals regardless of their voluntary/involuntary legal status. This report focuses on state initiatives and policies to enable Mobile Crisis Teams, Law Enforcement, and EMS providers to transport individuals in crisis directly to specialty behavioral health crisis services—while minimizing unnecessary use of restraints and Emergency Departments.
State Opioid Settlement Spending Decisions States are in the process of implementing structures and plans to distribute at least $50 billion awarded to states and localities from opioid-related lawsuits. Through each state’s unique settlement process, states are working to identify priorities for reducing opioid-related deaths and investing in SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery infrastructure. This tracker offers a snapshot of which states have announced awards from settlement funding or published priorities to guide settlement spending, as well as context for how each state has set up their decision making and spending processes. The state overviews provide additional details on state-level spending and include information on each state’s settlement-related laws, agreements, processes, reports, and spending dashboards. Updated 3/13/25.
Communities That HEAL (CTH) Intervention The Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention was created by a team of opioid-overdose reduction experts from academic and medical institutions in the four states where the HEALing Communities Study took place: Ohio, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and New York. The CTH is a step-by-step process that puts community members at the center of all decision making and action to reduce overdose deaths.
Cognitive Enhancement Therapy for Promoting Cognitive and Functional Recovery From Schizophrenia Join us for an insightful webinar presented by Dr. Shaun Eack, a leading expert in cognitive enhancement therapy (CET). In this session, Dr. Eack will explore how CET impacts the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders by improving cognitive functioning and enhancing Like any other health crisis, it’s important to act quickly and effectively in a mental health crisis. With mental health conditions, it can be difficult to predict a crisis. A crisis can occur even when treatment plans are followed and mental health professionals are involved. Unfortunately, everyday skills. He will discuss the latest research, clinical applications, and practical strategies for implementing CET, offering valuable insights into how this approach can help manage the negative symptoms of psychotic disorders such as issues with memory, problem solving, and attention.
Navigating a Mental Health Crisis Unpredictability is the nature of mental illness – and unlike other mental health emergencies, people experiencing a mental health crisis don’t always receive information about what to expect after the immediate crisis ends. That’s why NAMI created this guide, so people experiencing mental health emergencies and their loved ones have the information and answers they need – when they need it.
Where Housing Meets Mental Health Care To meet the needs of people with serious mental illness returning to their communities, we need solutions that offer affordable housing alongside supportive social services.
CSG Justice Briefing CSG Justice Center launches #ReentryMatters; Oregon State University expands emergency first response; Nebraska co-responder program shows early promise; and more.
In the News
The White House Announces Six Drug Policy Priorities The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced the Statement of Drug Policy Priorities, outlining key initiatives to address illicit drug use in America. The Administration highlighted six national priorities:
- Decrease Overdose Deaths, with an Emphasis on Fentanyl
- Strengthen the Global Supply Chain to Combat Drug Trafficking
- Halt the Influx of Drugs Across Borders and into Communities
- Prevent Substance Use Before It Begins
- Expand Access to Treatment for Lasting Recovery
- Advance Research and Data to Enhance Drug Control Strategies
NYC Keeping People With Mental Illness on Rikers Island Due to Hospital Bed Shortage Judges are finding a growing number of criminal defendants in New York City’s state courts mentally unfit to stand trial meaning their charges must either be dropped or they must be held in hospitals not in jail, according to city health data obtained by Gothamist. But the hospitals where the defendants are supposed to go for treatment can’t keep up with the increasing demand, mental health officials, researchers and legal experts said. Instead, the defendants are being held on Rikers Island, which faces the threat of a federal takeover amid high rates of violence.
Who’s Prodding the Homeless Mentally Ill Into Care Under New Law? It's not primarily social workers, police, or doctors. It's the heartbroken folks who once stood helpless on the sidelines. No, droves of mentally ill people haven’t been yanked off the streets, thrown into padded wagons and medicated against their will. Actually, the first year of California’s CARE Court action might be described as a deliberate, prudent, cautious foray into a fraught landscape where individual rights and societal responsibility meet, earnestly trying to avoid collision, carefully executing a delicate dance. Some data is in, and one thing is particularly striking: The great majority of petitions aren’t coming from police or doctors or social workers, but rather from family members—the very folks who’ve had to watch, utterly powerless, as their adult (but deeply troubled) children, parents, spouses and siblings descended to dangerous depths.
Wellbeing
Philadelphia Courts Offer Post-Trial Counseling to Help Jurors Cope With Secondary Trauma Jurors who serve at Philadelphia courts will soon be able to meet with counselors after doing their civic duty. Jury Commissioner Patrick Martin said he’s been working on the project for about a year. It’s modeled after similar programs offered in several other states. “While some jurors may feel little to no distress after a trial, some do experience symptoms of vicarious trauma, the emotional toll of being exposed to traumatic events,” Martin said. “The nature of a trial, including sensitive evidence, emotional testimony and the inability to discuss the case with others can contribute to this feeling of distress.”
Supreme Court Creates Ad Hoc Committee for Well-Being in Law The Kansas Supreme Court has created an ad hoc committee to focus on implementing recommendations from a national task force on lawyer well-being. “Promoting well-being in the legal profession contributes to positive outcomes and public confidence in the law and the courts,” Chief Justice Luckert said. “It increases job satisfaction and productivity, reduces turnover, and builds a stronger system of justice for all Kansans.”
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