Did You Know . . .

National Leadership Forum on Behavioral Health/Criminal Justice Services

The National Leadership Forum on Behavioral Health/Criminal Justice Services (NLF) was established in 2008 to address common barriers to successful diversion and reentry - the lack of accessible, quality and appropriate services that help individuals remain and succeed in the community. The group is co-chaired by Dr. Henry Steadman, Director of the CMHS National GAINS Center and Linda Rosenberg, President and CEO of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Forum members represent consumers, directors and CEOs of national consumer organizations, judges and public defenders, mental health practitioners, state mental health agency representatives, state department of corrections directors, and other national leaders in the field.

The goal of the NLF is to go beyond previous efforts to address diversion and reentry for persons with mental illness that become justice involved. The first report, Ending an American Tragedy: Addressing the Needs of Justice-Involved People with Mental Illnesses and Co-Occurring Disorders, provides four recommendations for immediate action.

• The President should appoint a Special Advisor for Mental Health/Criminal Justice Collaboration;

• Federal Medicaid policies that limit or discourage access to more effective and cost-efficient health care services for individuals with serious mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders should be reviewed and action taken to create more efficient programs;

• All States should create cross-system agencies, commissions, or positions charged with removing barriers and creating incentives for cross-agency activity at the State and local level; and

• Localities must develop and implement core services that comprise an Essential System of Care.

Click the following link to download a copy of Ending an American Tragedy.
http://www.gainscenter.samhsa.gov/html/nlf/pdfs/AmericanTragedy.pdf

What's Happening in Your Community

The 2010 Oak Fellowship: Incarceration and Human Rights

ColbyCollege in Waterville, Maine is now accepting applications for their 2010 Oak Human Rights Fellowship. This fellowship is a one-semester appointment as an activist-in-residence and is designed to provide human rights practitioners a respite from front-line duties. The college is seeking applications from those advocating for prisoner rights. The college provides a $32,000 stipend plus transportation, housing, health care coverage, and other fringe benefits. To read more about the Oak Human Rights Fellowship or to download an application, visit http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/goldfarb/oak/index.cfm.

Announcements

New NIH RFA Building Sustainable Community-Linked Infrastructure to Enable Health Science Research
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OD-09-010.html

NCSTAC awarding 3 mini-grants in the areas of Recovery, Organizational Establishment, and Capacity Building
http://www.ncstac.org/content/RFP_2009-09.htm

Wraparound Milwalkee wins Harvard's 2009 Annie E. Casey Innovations Award http://ashinstitute.harvard.edu/corporate_site/innovations/innovations_news/
wraparound_milwaukee_wins_innovations_in_american_government_award

SAMHSA Releases New RFAs for Consumer and Family Networks
http://www.samhsa.gov/grants/

More Resources from GAINS

GAINS 2010 Conference Exhibit Hall and Resource Center

The 2010 CMHS National GAINS Center Conference represents a unique opportunity for practitioners and researchers working at the interfaces of the criminal justice and mental health systems to network, learn, and share knowledge on creating effective services for justice-involved individuals with mental illness. 

Take advantage of this forum to promote your organization, develop awareness and distribute information to mental health and criminal justice professionals, policymakers, consumers, family members, administrators and researchers. For more information on exhibiting at the 2010 conference contact Latrease Moore at lmoore@prainc.com.

What's Upcoming

Conferences

10/8-11 - American Psychiatric Association - 61st Institute on Psychiatric Services, New York, NY
http://www.psych.org/ips

10/17-21 - National Commission on Correctional Health Care - Building Health Care Systems that Work, Orlando, FL
http://www.ncchc.org/education/national2009.html

10/22-23 - Royal Ottawa Health Care Group - Comprehensive Approaches to Forensic Rehabilitation, Ottawa, ON
http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=712871

10/28-11/1 - Alternatives Conference - 23rd Annual Conference, Omaha, NE
http://www.mhselfhelp.org/resources/view.php?resource_id=608

Webinars/Teleconferences

National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, October Webinars on
Healthcare Reform
http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/cs/national_council_live/upcoming_webinar