Advisory

SAMHSA Awards $7.2 million for Jail Diversion Grant Programs

Charles Curie, Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced $7.2 million over three years in new grants to divert individuals 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, often with co-occurring substance abuse, are incarcerated instead of receiving treatment for their disorders,” said SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie. “These grants offer an alternative. By providing treatment and support services, we can avoid the unnecessary criminalization and incarceration of non-violent adult offenders with mental illnesses.”

Treatment services must be based on the best known practices and include case management, Assertive Community Treatment, medication management, integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment, psychiatric rehabilitation, and gender based trauma services. Grantees will coordinate with social service agencies to ensure that life skills training, housing placement, vocational training, job placement, and health care are available to diverted persons.

Six grants were awarded in five states as follows:

California

San Francisco Sheriff’s Department-- $311,603 in the first year and similar amounts in subsequent years, to support the Women’s Integrated Skills and Health (WISH) project. The program targets incarcerated women through two tracks. The Behavioral Health Court will divert women to treatment services with evidenced-based practices. Walden House, a transitional housing program, will serve as an alternative to women who have already been sentenced.

Yolo County, Woodland-- $400,000 per year for three years, will enable Project AIM (Alternatives to Incarceration for the Mentally Ill) to provide intensive treatment and support services through an ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) team model to 85 persons with mental illness per year through a post- booking jail diversion program.

Illinois

State of Illinois, Chicago -- $394,994 in the first year and similar amounts in subsequent years, to enable Cook County to expand services through its Mental Health Court to provide trauma informed services including ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) and IDDT (Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment) to 185 non-violent offenders with mental illness.

Louisiana

State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge-- $400,000 per year for three years, to support the planning and implementation of a post-booking jail diversion program in New Orleans. It will employ comprehensive evidenced based practices in treating 50 persons with mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse yearly.

New York

New York City-- $400,000 per year for three years, to enable the Bronx Borough to expand its mental health court to serve 180 misdemeanants with mental illness. Services will include ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) and Wellness Self-Management practices and utilize culturally and linguistically competent resources.

Virginia

SAMHSA, is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions, treatment, and mental health services delivery system.

SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service