COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS

1. COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS NASMHPD Forensic Division 2005 Annual Meeting Presenter: Michael Thompson Council of State Governments

2. COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS What is the Council of State Governments? • Non-profit, non-partisan membership association of state government officials • Represents all three branches of state government: legislature, judiciary, and executive branch • Provides non-partisan setting to discuss controversial criminal justice topics outside of the public spotlight • Funded largely through state dues • Four regional offices

3. C R I M I N A L J U S T I C E / M E N T A L H E A L T H C O N S E N S U S P R O J E C T Advisory Boards and Coordinators Mental Health Law Enforcement National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Corrections Courts Association of State Correctional Administrators

4. CRIMINAL JUSTICE/ MENTAL HEALTH CONSENSUS PROJECT Outcomes The Report: • 46 Policy Statements • 100s of recommendations • Database of over 140 program profiles US Senate and US House Judiciary Hearings Press Coverage: Federal Law: Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act

5. CRIMINAL JUSTICE/ MENTAL HEALTH CONSENSUS PROJECT Current Resources Available to Policymakersand Practitioners • Mental Health Courts Program • Technical assistance to improve collaboration between corrections and mental health agencies • Federal benefits and re-entry • Fiscal issues (Pennsylvania Senate Resolution 125)    • Advocacy Handbook   • Crime victims • Women with mental illness

6. COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS OVERVIEW • Investing in programs and services • Getting data and measuring outcomes • Making the case for justice reinvestment • Stimulating local efforts and assuring quality • Looking for federal leadership

7. Investing in programs and services • Nevada • Idaho • California • Funding through Medicaid

8. Investing in programs and services Nevada AB 175 • Objective: alleviate emergency room overcrowding of people with mental illness • Grant recipients: various mental health courts and community-based triage and treatment facilities • Support for communities and mental health courts • Administered by NV DMHDS

9. Investing in programs and services Idaho HBs 301 and 334 Objective: expand funding for existing and developing mental health courts and treatment options for mental health court participants Grant recipients: mental health courts and Assertive Community Treatment teams Support for mental health courts and community service providers Administered by Idaho Supreme Court and DHW

10. Investing in programs and services California AB 2034 Objective: Reduce homelessness among individuals who have serious mental illness (including those at risk of incarceration) Grant recipients: community mental health programs Support for housing and housing staff Administered by CA DMH

11. Getting data and measuring performance • Pennsylvania • California • Connecticut

12. Getting data and measuring performance Pennsylvania SR 125 • Requests fiscal implication studies of three programs across the state • Simulation of a planned jail diversion initiative • Analysis of existing diversion program / MHC • Analysis of program for parolees

13. Getting data and measuring performance California AB 2034 "The Governor’s Budget continues funding of $54.9 million General Fund for the [AB 2034] program, which has a proven track record of successes in treating and providing services to the mentally ill. Additionally, evaluations have shown that this program leads to significant savings at the local level, and continuing this program provides essential fiscal relief to counties in these difficult times.“ - The Governor's Budget 2004-05 Budget Summary

14. Getting data and measuring performance Connecticut HB 6976 Legislature established a Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy and Management to: • Develop a plan to promote a more effective and cohesive state criminal justice system • Collect data from Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services & other state agencies • Define and report performance measures for major programs to the state legislature

15. Making the case for justice reinvestment • Connecticut • Kansas

16. Making the case for justice reinvestment Connecticut: Overview Predicament: • Mounting fiscal pressure on state budgets coupled with growing prison populations • Increasing numbers of admissions to prison are violators of probation / parole • Weakening community supervision and supports Concept: • Save money by managing growth of corrections system • Increase public safety by using a portion of the savings to strengthen community supervision and build community capacity to receive offenders released from prison

17. Making the case for justice reinvestment Connecticut: Probationers and TFA recipients: New Haven neighborhoods, 2002 Probationers TFA Recipients

18. Making the case for justice reinvestment Connecticut: Media Coverage Lawmakers approve plan to reduce prison populationMay 6, 2004 – Associated PressHARTFORD, Conn. --The state Senate passed a plan to reduce Connecticut's prison population Wednesday night, finishing a major legislative priority just an hour before the session's close. Senators praised the bill as an effort to reduce recidivism and a way to avoid building more prisons. The measure passed 36-0 and now heads to Gov. John G. Rowland's desk. "The nature of this is to address what we all understand to be an overwhelming problem," said Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee. "I think it also represents a recognition of the fact that we will never be able to build our way out of a criminal justice issue.“ The state's prison population - around 19,000 - is about 2,000 more than state facilities were built to handle, McDonald said. Advocates of the legislation said it could reduce the prison population by up to 2,000 inmates. …

19. Making the case for justice reinvestment Connecticut: The results • Inmates housed out of state housed returned to CT • $14 million reinvested in community supervision, community-based programs • Focus on inter-agency collaboration, improved outcomes, and increased accountability

20. Making the case for justice reinvestment Kansas: Prison population to exceed capacity

21. Making the case for justice reinvestment Kansas: Using prisons as intermediate sanction facilities for parolees July 1, 2003 to Dec. 30, 2004 Parole Revocations 3,603 (42% of Admissions) Conditions Violations 3,335 (92.6% of Parole Revocations) • Close to 88% of the parolees with conditions violations served 6 months or less • 26% were admitted more than once during the 18 month period studied • 49% were on parole for a non-person felony

22. 67%Returned for Condition Violation 40%Returned for Condition Violation 1/3 of all inmates are homelessand require pre-release connections to housing/DOC releases 40 to 67 condition violators every month Kansas: Mental health problems an issue Making the case for justice reinvestment Offenders Released from DOC 20% Diagnosis of Mental Illness 50% Meeting KD of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) Criteria for Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) 70% With NO Diagnosis of Mental Illness Source: CSG Technical Assistance Report to Kansas, November 30, 2004

23. Making the case for justice reinvestment Kansas strategy: Making revocation policies more effective Create interagency re-entry and reinvestment task force to: • Reduce revocations to prison by 300 individuals annually to save 100 prison beds • Invest in high stakes neighborhoods to reduce recidivism • Increase collaboration • Improve accountability

24. Stimulating Local Efforts and Assuring Quality • Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement (CABLE) • Ohio Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence

25. Stimulating Local Efforts and Assuring Quality Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement (CABLE) • Established by diverse group of stakeholders • Coordinates technical assistance for regionalized CIT trainings • $2 million over four years in state funding • CT DMHAS-supported program evaluations

26. Stimulating Local Efforts and Assuring Quality Ohio Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence • Established to promote jail diversion for people with mental illness • Joint venture among state, state university, and county stakeholders • Funded by Ohio DMH • Works at state and county level • Web site features

27. Looking for federal leadership • Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act • Second Chance Act

28. Looking for federal leadership Mentally Ill Offenders Crime Reduction Act • Authorizes $50M per year for grants to improve collaboration between criminal justice and mental health agencies • Broad bipartisan support in both houses

29. Looking for federal leadership Second Chance Act • $110 million grant program for state re-entry initiatives • Broad bipartisan support in both houses • National Resource Center • Federal Interagency Task Force • Amends some statutory roadblocks to re-entry

30. COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS OVERVIEW • Investing in programs and services • Getting the data and measuring outcomes • Making the case for justice reinvestment • Stimulating local efforts and assuring quality • Looking for federal leadership

31. COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS Michael Thompson Tel: (212) 482-2320Fax: (212) 482-2344mthompson@csg.org www.consensusproject.org