Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
September 19, 2006, Vol. 07-142

SAMHSA Awards Jail Diversion Grant in Monroe County

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced almost .1 million over three years for a new grant to the Monroe County Office of Mental Health in Rochester, New York. The grant will be used to divert people with mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into community-based mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

"All too often individuals with mental illness, especially those who have a co-occurring substance use disorder, are incarcerated instead of receiving treatment for their disorder," said SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline, Ph.D. "By diverting non-violent adult offenders with mental illnesses from jail to community-based mental health services, individuals and the criminal justice system in Monroe County will benefit."

These three-year grants require that mental health services be based on evidence-based practices and include case management, treatment using assertive community treatment, integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment, and psychiatric and gender-based trauma services.

The first year of funding--$361,500--will be used by the Monroe County Office of Mental Health for pre-trial jail diversion for women with co-occurring disorders. In particular, the SAMHSA grant, supplemented with local matching funds, will be used to expand community resources to divert women with mental illnesses and substance use disorders from jail to appropriate, evidence-based treatment in the community. The project will focus on women held in jail after arraignment and provide evaluation and services, including integrated dual diagnosis treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy, medication management, psychiatric rehabilitation-supported employment, and trauma-specific groups.

For further information, visit www.samhsa.gov.

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.