Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus: Improving Responses to People With Mental Illness

Abstract

This article summarizes the impetus for and findings of the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project. This project has been a 2-year effort to develop recommendations, which reflect a bipartisan agreement among the stakeholders in the criminal justice and mental health systems to improve the response to people with mental illness who are involved with—or are at risk of involvement with—the criminal justice system. Stakeholders involved in consultations for the project included state lawmakers, police chiefs, officers, sheriffs, district attorneys, public defenders, judges, court administrators, state corrections directors, community corrections officials, victim advocates, consumers of mental health services, family members and other mental health advocates, county commissioners, state mental health directors, behavioral health care providers, and substance abuse experts. The success of the project will hinge largely on how effectively these flexible guidelines are shaped and molded to meet the particular needs within various jurisdictions throughout the country.