Competence to Stand Trial: Opportunities for Diversion November 19, 2019 | Announcements | Lisa Callahan The Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) provides a framework for identifying decision points and opportunities to divert individuals with behavioral health conditions out of the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment and supports.[1],[2] For some defendants, the trial process is put on hold if they exhibit signs or symptoms of conditions that can impair their… Read More
Q&A with Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush, Indiana Supreme Court November 14, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center Q: From your perspective as Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice, how are judges, court staff, and attorneys specially positioned to support people with opioid use disorders who come in contact with the court system? That’s the fundamental question: What is our role? Let’s take a step back. This isn’t our first drug epidemic. In the… Read More
The Family Treatment Court Learning Collaborative November 14, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center The GAINS Center’s Learning Collaboratives Recap Series SAMHSA’s GAINS Center’s Family Treatment Court Learning Collaborative was an initiative designed to improve practice within existing Family Treatment Court programs through building collaborative cross-system strategies, institutionalizing best practices, and bringing the programs to scale. Special attention was given to the development of a family-centered approach within these… Read More
Competency Restoration: Thoughts from the Field November 14, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center The GAINS Center’s Learning Collaboratives Recap Series States across the country are experiencing increased demand for competency evaluations, but competency evaluation and restoration programs frequently have too few beds to meet the needs of those found incompetent to stand trial (IST). This leaves many clients and cases in limbo until space becomes available. SAMHSA’s GAINS… Read More
Partnership in Fairfax, Virginia: Supporting People with Substance Use Disorders November 14, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Marissa Fariña-Morse, Ed.S., N.C.C., C.A.A.D.C., L.P.C., Service Director, Diversion First, Fairfax/Falls Church Community Services Board The Fairfax/Falls Church Community Services Board has a strong partnership with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office and is fortunate to be providing behavioral health services inside the Fairfax Adult Detention Center (ADC). Providers working in the ADC realized that… Read More
Addressing the Overdose Crisis: The REACH Medical Model November 14, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center Judith Griffin, M.D., Director of Research, The REACH Project, Inc. The overdose crisis continues across the United States, with over 70,000 individuals losing their lives in 2017. Widespread action is needed to prevent the perpetuation of this crisis, and the approach of REACH Medical (REACH), an innovative practice serving the Southern Tier of New York… Read More
SAMHSA’s GAINS Center Invites Communities to Apply for Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) Workshops November 13, 2019 | Announcements | Matt Robbins SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is soliciting applications from communities interested in Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) Workshops. SIM Workshops are designed to bring together a local, cross-system, multidisciplinary group of key stakeholders from a particular jurisdiction to facilitate collaboration and to identify and discuss ways in which barriers between the criminal justice and behavioral systems can be… Read More
SAMHSA’S GAINS Center Seeks Communities to Develop Trauma-Informed Training Capacity November 12, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), known nationally for its work regarding people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system, is soliciting applications from communities interested in developing a capacity to provide trauma-informed training. The GAINS Center is offering a series of… Read More
PRA Receives Silver-Level Recognition in AHA’s 2019 Workplace Health Achievement Index October 30, 2019 | | Nicole Vincent-Roller For the fourth year in a row, Policy Research Associates, Inc. has been recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA) in its annual Workplace Health Achievement Index. By continuing to innovate in its approach to supporting health and wellness in the office, PRA has achieved its second silver-level recognition in a row! PRA encourages healthy… Read More
A Woman’s Perspective: From the Inside to Back in the Community October 10, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Kathy Morse | @kathymorse0914 On April 1st of this year, as the White House officially announced the month of April as #SecondChanceMonth, I was quietly celebrating my fifth year back at home. Five years home, 2 years since I received early release from parole, I still carry the baggage of the collateral consequences of… Read More
SAMHSA’S GAINS Center’s Learning Collaboratives Recap Series: The Data-driven Equity & Inclusion Learning Collaborative October 10, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center SAMHSA’s GAINS Center is wrapping up this year’s Data-Driven Equity & Inclusion Learning Collaborative, an initiative designed to help communities create and implement strategies to address racial disparities in their local criminal justice and behavioral health systems. The collaborative aimed to support jurisdictions in closing the gap between identifying disparities and working to reduce them.… Read More
Creating a Model for Reducing the Justice Involvement of People with Behavioral Health Disorders: Not an Overnight Success October 10, 2019 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Karrey Britt, Communications Specialist, Douglas County Douglas County, Kansas, has reduced the number of people with serious mental illness (SMI) who are booked in the Douglas County Correctional Facility (DCCF) by 56 percent in 4 years. In 2014, 18 percent of those in the jail were identified as having SMI; by 2018, the percentage… Read More
