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  • September 29, 2010

    Task force identifies ways to improve the criminal justice system's response to mental illness

    Wisconsin was selected to participate in the Criminal Justice Mental Health Leadership Initiative, a national project designed to address the issues that surround mental illness and the criminal justice system. A recent report highlights Wisconsin's effort to respond.
    Task force identifies ways to improve the criminal justice   system’s response to mental illnessBy Joe Forward, Legal Writer, State Bar of Wisconsin

    Oct. 6, 2010 – Community partnerships, information sharing, training, and education are the key components to improving the Wisconsin criminal justice system’s response to individuals with mental illness, according to a recent report.

    Under the leadership of Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the 80-member statewide Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Health (Task Force) recently completed a report that highlights current efforts, challenges, and future initiatives to address mental illness and the justice system.

    The Council of State Governments Justice Center selected Wisconsin to participate in the Criminal Justice Mental Health Leadership Initiative, a national project that helps the chief justices in selected states guide efforts to address mental illness and the justice system. Chief Justice Abrahamson appointed the Task Force members.

    Attorney Thomas Reed, a state public defender in the Milwaukee Trial Office who served as a member of the Task Force, sees firsthand some of the challenges discussed in the report.

    “National statistics tell us there’s a high population struggling with mental illness,” said Reed. “Any public defender can give you examples of clients struggling with mental illness. It’s something we observe on a daily basis.”

    “We also see that when clients have good access to services that can help them, they do much better,” Reed said. “When access isn’t there, they may engage in more negative behaviors.”

    Reed said initiatives like the Task Force spearheaded by Chief Justice Abrahamson and the resulting report, give local communities better tools to assess and implement programs that will allow individuals with mental health issues to live better and more productive lives.

    Specifically, the report examines ways to “intercept” individuals as they move through the criminal justice system to ensure they have prompt access to treatment, opportunities for diversion, and links to community resources.

    Current resources

    Counties and local communities around the state already maintain programs and initiatives to better address mental illness in the criminal justice system. One of the most recent initiatives is the state’s first mental health court in Eau Claire.

    In 2008, Eau Claire County established the Mental Health Treatment Court to address the mental health needs of the county jail population. The mission of the court is to “increase community safety and restore productive and law abiding citizens to the community by breaking the cycle of criminal behavior through effective, long-term behavioral health treatment and intensive court supervision.”

    The court provides a two-year program for eligible participants and uses the clinical services of community support programs to help those defendants maintain positive results.

    A team meets weekly to determine the eligibility of potential candidates, and reviews the status of current participants. The court hopes to serve as a learning site for other jurisdictions interested in similar initiatives.

    One of the Task Force’s recommendations is to increase the number of mental health courts in the state. “Establishing a mental health court brings together stakeholders in the community, and creates an environment to build relationships,” the report states. Mary Liedke, staff attorney for the Eau Claire Public Defender Trial Office, agrees.

    “Collaboration between the various entities in our criminal justice system is critical to the success of meeting the needs of the mentally ill who get into trouble with the law,” said Liedke, who serves as the office representative on the Eau Claire County Mental Health Court team. She identified transitional housing as one of the most pressing issues for persons with mental illness.

    “I foresee the need for a crisis center which would include temporary housing facilities,” she said. “Although there are financial costs, these costs can supplant the costs associated with a revolving door to the jail and prison systems, plus make the community safer.”

    Other programs, like the Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services crisis intervention training program, train and educate jail staff to interact safely and effectively with mentally ill individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

    In southeastern Wisconsin, the Racine-Kenosha County Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Project develops community-based resources to reduce recidivism rates among mentally ill persons. Collaborators include members of the mental health and criminal justice systems.

    Task Force members hope that communities can build on these types of initiatives by identifying problem areas and collaborating to maximize resources.

    Challenges and future initiatives

    The report addresses many challenges that detract from successful implementation of practices that improve the criminal justice system’s response to individuals with mental illness, but offers strategies to make improvements.

    One is obstacle is jail. Jails often lack proper staffing and facilities to provide mental health services, the report notes. Similarly, treatment for mental health issues can be expensive.

    “Jail is not the optimal setting to provide treatment services,” Reed said. “But to the extent communities can use better strategies, it will make a big difference.”

    One strategy is to provide more incentives to prosecutors to divert individuals with mental illness away from the jail system by considering special pleas or deferred prosecution agreements to the extent that diversion funding and supervision is available.

    Another solution is universal screening of defendants who enter the criminal justice system. The report states that the “sooner the system can identify individuals with serious mental health issues, the sooner the system can begin to work on appropriate responses.”

    Lack of communication or lack of trust between actors in the mental health or criminal justice system is another obstacle. The report states that lack of trust “impedes coordination and connection between the critical stakeholders that have the ability to link to treatment services and improve responses to persons with mental illness.” The report recommends building better community partnerships to build trust.

    For instance, allowing mental health professionals to shadow police, and vice versa, would be an inexpensive way to build trust, cooperation, and communication between those stakeholders. Creating memorandums of understanding between cooperating groups can help define roles and responsibilities in implementing strategies.

    Other report information

    Information sharing. With confidentiality barriers in mind, the report recommends that community partners work to remove those barriers to “create an appropriate balance between confidentiality and information sharing.”

    Training. The report recommends cross-training systems, allowing stakeholders like law enforcement, mental health professionals, attorneys, and judges, to become familiar with each others’ role when addressing the needs related to individuals with mental illness.

    Education. The report recommends providing information about “alternatives to incarceration in the criminal justice system in order to build support for diversion programs.”

    Additional learning opportunities


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