By Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D., Williams Distinguished Senior Scholar for Public Policy, Williams Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law; Adjunct Professor, Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health; and Professor Emeritus of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health In a 2017 analysis of data from the National Inmate Survey—a… Read More

Associate Professor, University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, Director of the Smart Decarceration Project A number of your current research projects focus on the development of community social capacity in addressing place-based risk factors for criminal justice involvement. What are common social capital needs that drive behavioral health and justice involvement issues in… Read More

SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, operated by Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA), is known nationally for its work regarding people with behavioral health needs involved in the criminal justice system. Each year, the GAINS Center provides its trauma-informed responses training, How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses, to the field… Read More

Question: As a former prosecutor, a current judge, and president of Families Against Narcotics (FAN), you have several vantage points on working with individuals, families, and communities impacted by substance use disorders. What are one or two key insights gained through these multiple lenses that you believe are important for your colleagues in behavioral health,… Read More

Sid Gardner, President of Children and Family Futures An evolution is underway in adult drug courts (ADCs) that are moving toward serving children and families affected by their relatives’ substance use disorders. Many drug court clients have children. When a parent experiences physical, mental, or other disabilities, their family is impacted. Nationwide, approximately 8.7 million… Read More

Question 1 In your response to the obituary of Maddie Linsenmeir, you list 12 strategies that communities can use to lower the number of fatal overdoses and addiction-related deaths. Many of the strategies you mention relate to public health/medicine. Question 1a What do you envision as the ideal relationship between law enforcement and public health… Read More