FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Yesterday, Affiliate Lawyer Common Vanita Gupta and Director Karhlton F. Moore of the Bureau of Justice Help (BJA) met with judicial leaders and felony justice professionals in Miami to debate responses to psychological well being points within the justice system. Affiliate Lawyer Common Gupta and Director Moore heard from Choose Steven Leifman of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit concerning the Prison Psychological Well being Challenge, a program he created in 2000 to divert folks with psychological diseases away from jail and into community-based therapy. The shows included judges, prosecutors, public defenders, peer restoration specialists and representatives from native police departments discussing the success of this system. 1000’s of individuals have been saved out of jail underneath the Miami mannequin, and solely a fraction of graduates re-offend. Estimates counsel that nationwide about 15% of males and greater than 30% of ladies in jails have a critical psychological sickness, in comparison with about 4% of individuals within the normal inhabitants.

BJA Director Moore and the BJA management staff supplied an outline of the BJA Justice and Psychological Well being Collaboration Program, which has awarded 679 state, native and Tribal grants to assist responses to folks with psychological diseases who come into contact with the felony justice system. Two years in the past, BJA additionally launched Join and Shield, designed to strengthen partnerships between regulation enforcement and behavioral well being businesses. Miami-Dade County is a nationwide Legislation Enforcement-Psychological Well being Studying Web site and is acknowledged as a mannequin for its method to diverting folks with psychological well being and co-occurring substance use problems.

Up to date November 17, 2022