University and Public Behavioral Health Organization Collaboration in Justice Contexts

Abstract

This book provides detailed information about successful collaborations between universities and public behavioral health organizations in criminal justice contexts. The authors begin by introducing the relevant purpose and definitions and then describe each of the nine contributed chapters to follow. Each of these chapters describes a particular collaboration between a university and a public behavioral health organization. Each chapter is structured around a description of the collaboration’s purposes, beginning, leadership, who is served, services, operations, effectiveness measurement, financial arrangements, and lessons learned. Collaborative projects were selected because they were long-standing and successful. The descriptions provided by each project are then aggregated into a larger model for success. This is detailed in the final chapter with a distillation of “lessons learned” in building, operating, and sustaining a successful collaboration. These lessons are provided in particular areas: planning, working together, training, consultation, financial considerations, personnel, and research. By considering these nine exemplary projects and the final “lessons learned,” this book has implications for comparable collaborations between universities and public behavioral health organizations in a criminal justice context.