Jails & Prisons - Behavioral Health Issues
ADVICE for MH/BH Boards & Commissions
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SPEAKERS: Invite the following speakers to address Mental Health services/programs, "warm hand-offs" and access to Mental Health services in preparation and upon release: Jail Warden/staff, BH Director/staff, related Contractors/staff, Probation Director/staff.
PATIENTS RIGHTS ADVOCATES: are authorized to review the mental health programs in jails. They are a good source of information and they are advocates. Invite them to participate regularly at your monthly meetings. Listing of local Patients Rights Advocates (Disability Rights California) SITE VISITS (access varies by jurisdiction). BOARD LIAISON - Ask one of your local board/commission members to attend the local Community Corrections Partnership (AB 109) Committee meetings and report back to your local board/commission. CALBHB/C PowerPoint Dec. 2019 MHSOAC PowerPoint Dec. 2019 |
GRAND JURY Annual Reports - The local grand jury is required to look into the quality and management of the county's jails and prisons. Links to reports:
Alameda Alpine Amador Butte Calaveras Colusa Contra Costa Del Norte El Dorado Fresno Glenn Humboldt Imperial Inyo Kern Kings Lake Lassen Los Angeles Madera Marin Mariposa Mendocino Merced Modoc Mono Monterey Napa Nevada Orange Placer Plumas Riverside Sacramento San Benito San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Joaquin San Luis Obispo San Mateo Santa Barbara Santa Clara Santa Cruz Shasta Sierra Siskiyou Solano Sonoma Stanislaus Sutter Tehama Trinity Tulare Tuolumne Ventura Yolo Yuba |
ALTERNATIVES
to Jails/Prisons
Incompetent to Stand Trial (IST) Infrastructure Examples:
DSH Diversion Pilot Program, CA Department of State Hospitals, May 2023
Crisis Care Continuum - CALBHB/C Web Page
Mental Health Diversion Summary (AB 1810, Penal Code §§ 1001.35-1001.36), J. Richard Couzens Judge of the Placer County Superior Court (Ret.) Memorandum
SB 389 (Hertzberg) Amends the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) to clarify that MHSA funds can be used for services for individuals who are participating in a pre-sentencing or post-sentencing diversion program or community supervision, most notably parole - in short it repeals the parolee MHSA exclusion.
Behavioral Health Court(BHC) - San Francisco incorporates Evidence-Based Practices, Supported Employment and a Continuum of Care. In 2008, BHC received the Council on Mentally Ill Offenders (COMIO) Best Practices Award.
Stepping Up Toolkit Can Help Counties Address People with Mental Illnesses In Jails, CA State Association of Counties
Jail Closed in Miami-Dade County, Saving Taxpayers $12 Million per year: In 2000, Florida’s 11th Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County established a program that diverts people who have serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders, but who don’t pose a threat to public safety, into community-based care instead of jail. As a result of the program, the county has been able to close an entire jail, saving taxpayers $12 million per year. The recidivism rate has dropped from 75 to 20 percent. Miami Herald, 2016
LA Task Force Suggests ways to divert Mentally Ill from Jails, 2015: LA Times
Principles of Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Criminal Justice-Involved Individuals: A Research-Based Guide, SAMHSA 2019
Criminal Justice MH: Medi-Cal, Realignment and MHSA Explained DHCS 2019
Criminal Justice and Mental Health Project Report, MHSOAC, Dec. 2017
- Golden Legacy Care Center - The Los Angeles County-based CIF exemplifies alternative living — a step down from a state hospital. 2024
- Christ-Centered Ministries shares best practices and success stories of the Los Angeles CBR program. 2024
DSH Diversion Pilot Program, CA Department of State Hospitals, May 2023
Crisis Care Continuum - CALBHB/C Web Page
Mental Health Diversion Summary (AB 1810, Penal Code §§ 1001.35-1001.36), J. Richard Couzens Judge of the Placer County Superior Court (Ret.) Memorandum
SB 389 (Hertzberg) Amends the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) to clarify that MHSA funds can be used for services for individuals who are participating in a pre-sentencing or post-sentencing diversion program or community supervision, most notably parole - in short it repeals the parolee MHSA exclusion.
Behavioral Health Court(BHC) - San Francisco incorporates Evidence-Based Practices, Supported Employment and a Continuum of Care. In 2008, BHC received the Council on Mentally Ill Offenders (COMIO) Best Practices Award.
Stepping Up Toolkit Can Help Counties Address People with Mental Illnesses In Jails, CA State Association of Counties
Jail Closed in Miami-Dade County, Saving Taxpayers $12 Million per year: In 2000, Florida’s 11th Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County established a program that diverts people who have serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders, but who don’t pose a threat to public safety, into community-based care instead of jail. As a result of the program, the county has been able to close an entire jail, saving taxpayers $12 million per year. The recidivism rate has dropped from 75 to 20 percent. Miami Herald, 2016
LA Task Force Suggests ways to divert Mentally Ill from Jails, 2015: LA Times
Principles of Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Criminal Justice-Involved Individuals: A Research-Based Guide, SAMHSA 2019
Criminal Justice MH: Medi-Cal, Realignment and MHSA Explained DHCS 2019
Criminal Justice and Mental Health Project Report, MHSOAC, Dec. 2017
Articles/Papers
Animated figure behind prison bars
Overdose Prevention & Response for community corrections, Course Series (free), National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 2023
Embedding Mental Health Clinicians in Public Defender’s Offices:
A Potential CalAIM Strategy for Reducing the Mentally Ill Inmate
Population in Jails, CA Health Policy Strategies, LLC, June 2022
Reducing Homelessness for People with Behavioral Health Needs Leaving Prisons and Jails, CCJBH, 2021
Behavioral Health:
Community Care Demonstration Project, CA Legislative Analysts Office
Jail-Based Competency Treatment Program, Shasta County
Jail Mental Health Services in Sonoma County Executive Summary, 9/2020
MHSA Fact Sheet - Supporting Individuals in the Criminal Justice System, DHCS
Set, Measure, Achieve to establish and reach measurable goals that demonstrate reduced prevalence of mental illness in jails. The Stepping Up Initiative
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation It Has Poorly Administered the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees Program, and With Current Funding Cuts, It Must Find Ways to Transition Parolees to County Services, August 2020 Auditor's Report
Conducting Timely Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Jails Recorded Webinar:
From the Stepping Up Initiative, April 2017
How Southern California Jails Are Changing The Way They Treat The Mentally Ill The Orange County Register, August 2019
Criminal Justice Mental Health Project MHSOAC, 2007 - 2016
Disabled Behind Bars, The Mass Incarceration of People With Disabilities in America’s Jails and Prisons, July 2016, July 2016
Despite Millions More in Funds, Quality of Prison Rehab Programs Questionable, Audit Finds Cal Health Report 2019
Los Angeles County is breaking the cycle of homelessness through the Office of Diversion and Reentry Housing Program, YouTube
Recent rulings for Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) for those with Opioid Use Disorder in Jails, National Council for Behavioral Health, May 2019
All too often, California’s default mental institutions are now jails and prisons, Cal Matters 2019
L.A. County agrees to new policies to end the jail-to-skid row cycle for mentally ill people, Los Angeles Times, December 2018
Prison psychiatry chief’s report accuses state of misleading court on mental health care, Sacramento Bee October 2018
Behind Bars, Mentally Ill Inmates Are Often Punished for their Symptoms, National Public Radio July 2018
CSAC Helps Kick Off "Stepping Up for Mental Health Initiative California State Association of Counties
Big Jump Seen In Number Of Inmates Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs In California National Public Radio, May 2018
Psychotropic Drug Use Up Sharply As Jails House More People With Mental Illness, CA Healthline / KQED May 2018
Health Care Revamp at The L.A. County Jails, California Healthline, 2018 The effort, overseen by the county's health services department, aims to imrove care for a population with high rates of chronic disease, mental illness and drug addiction.
Napa County breaks ground on $17 Million Correctional Re-Entry facility - "There will be classrooms and program space available to meet the needs for mental health counseling, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and job training and employment services, among others, that help offenders become self-sufficient productive members of society once they’re released."
Judge Threatens $1,000-A-Day California Mental Health Fines, April, 2017 US News & World Report
Spike in LA Jail inmates with mental illness leads to new policies, April, 2017 ABC News
Stanislaus County opens a new criminal detention center with mental health and rehabilitation space, March 2017: LA Times
SLO Man Dies Awaiting Mental Health Transfer, January 2017: New Times SLO
California County Settles Joint Action Lawsuit over Jail Medical and Mental Health Care, January 2017: Prison Legal News
Data Driven Justice and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Frequently Asked Questions, U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
When did prisons become acceptable mental healthcare facilities?,
Stanford Law School Three Strikes Project
Position Statement 56: Mental Health Treatment in Correctional Facilities,
Mental Health America (MHA)
Mentally Ill Persons in Corrections, National Institute of Corrections
Processing & Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons in the Criminal Justice System: A Scan of Practice and Background Analysis, (2015) Urban Institute
Impact of Disproportionate Incarceration and Violence Against Black People with Mental Health Conditions In the World's Largest Jail System, (2014) Dignity and Power Now