Q&A With Najja Morris, National Support Bureau Director, LEAD October 29, 2018 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center Tell us about your work with Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD). What does a typical week look like? Who are the people and organizations you work with regularly? My work at LEAD consists of overseeing all activities related to the National Support Bureau’s effort to support replication nationally through technical assistance and advice. We do… Read More
Creating Disparity Impact Statements to Optimize Early Diversion in Reducing Disparities October 29, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center Why Disparity Impact Statements Matter Across behavioral health and criminal justice systems, there are well documented disparities in services for and poorer outcomes among groups of different cultures or ethnic backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. To address these problems, it is important that agencies and institutions clearly understand the groups they serve and develop strategies… Read More
PRA Announces 2018 Partnership with IPH in Regional Food Bank Adopt-A-Program October 15, 2018 | Announcements | Holley Davis Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA) is proud to announce that it is partnering again with Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless (IPH) in this year’s Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York’s Adopt-A-Program. PRA’s donation match will support IPH’s efforts in serving individuals and families experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in the Capital Region. PRA will… Read More
Spotlight on Peers Working in Criminal Justice Settings: Reintegration, Family, and Peer Support September 17, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Kevin Cleare, Peer Support Implementation Coordinator at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene I came home from prison in 2007 with the assistance of a peer organization that developed a relationship with me while I was incarcerated. The organization, called Hands Across Long Island (HALI), employs peers with lived experience… Read More
Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the Intersection of Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice: A Message to Communities September 17, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center In April 2018, SAMHSA’s GAINS Center convened a Best Practices Implementation Academy for local behavioral health, law enforcement, and criminal justice teams focused on reducing justice involvement among people with mental and substance use disorders. One plenary of the conference focused on considering racial and ethnic disparities in local strategic planning efforts. James Bell, founder… Read More
Mississippi Department of Corrections SOARs at East Mississippi Correctional Facility August 13, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center In January 2018, as part of the response to recent legislation in Mississippi, House Bill 585, which mandates that the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) provide benefits assistance to individuals preparing to be released from incarceration, MDOC applied for and received the SAMHSA SOAR Technical Assistance grant offered to criminal justice agencies. On May 31,… Read More
Spotlight on Peers Working in Criminal Justice Settings: MISSION-CJ August 13, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Ayorkor Gaba, David Smelson, Debra A. Pinals, Kelsey Clary, & Idella Sanders-Jones Joe* smiles ear to ear as he receives his graduation certificate from his treatment court team, which includes his MISSION Peer Support Specialist and Case Manager. He humbly explains to the group in attendance that this was his first time graduating anything… Read More
Grand Lake Mental Health Center’s Use of Mobile Technology to Increase Access August 13, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Josh Cantwell, LCSW, PRSS, Clinical Director of Special Programs, Grand Lake Mental Health Center, Inc. In 2015, over 1,100 of the people served at Grand Lake Mental Health Center (GLMHC) were admitted to the hospital for psychiatric services. Many of these episodes involved a law enforcement officer waiting in the emergency room (ER) instead… Read More
PRA Receives Silver-Level Recognition in AHA’s Workplace Health Achievement Index August 9, 2018 | | Rocco Farano For the third 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 embedding a culture of health and wellness in the office, PRA was able to surpass its previous bronze-level awards to achieve silver-level recognition this year! New in… Read More
Spotlight on Peers Working in Criminal Justice Settings: Lakeesha Dumas July 17, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Lakeesha Dumas from Portland, Oregon This article is part of a GAINS Center spotlight series on peer support specialists working in criminal justice settings. My journey to recovery started almost 7 years ago. I had been in jails and institutions in a few states. I was in a dark place of desperation with no… Read More
The Most Carefully Studied, Yet Least Understood, Terms in the Criminal Justice Lexicon: Risk, Need, and Responsivity July 17, 2018 | Announcements | SAMHSA's GAINS Center By Douglas B. Marlowe, JD, PhD, National Association of Drug Court Professionals No program or intervention can be expected to work for everyone. Providing too much or the wrong kind of services not only fails to improve outcomes, but it can make outcomes worse by placing excessive burdens on some participants and interfering with their… Read More
Facing Racial Inequity while Experiencing Mental Illness and a Substance Use Disorder: What Changed? June 19, 2018 | | SAMHSA's GAINS Center This article is part of a GAINS Center series on promoting race equity in behavioral health and justice outcomes. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. By Kristie Puckett Williams, M.A. from Charlotte, North Carolina An estimated one in three adults in the United States has a criminal record (U.S.… Read More
