CRIMINAL JUSTICE MENTAL HEALTH

Urges all federal, State, and county legislators and officials to consider and enact policies to enhance access to mental health services at multiple levels in the criminal justice system which will create better results for both the individual and the system. Shows support for a wide range of programs to improve mental health treatment for individuals involved in the criminal justice system aimed to aid communities to end recidivism. Urges the law enforcement community to consider the integration of mental health treatment and services such as crisis intervention teams into the criminal justice system spectrum, in an effort to address mental health crisis situations and to reduce arrest rates. Calls upon all states and the federal government to examine the costs and benefits of suspending Medicaid coverage instead of termination of coverage for individuals in the criminal justice system and to allow Medicaid coverage to be suspended for incarcerated persons instead of being terminated. Calls upon the states and the federal government to consider promising criminal justice interventions and policies for mentally-ill offenders such as diversion programs and mental health courts to send seriously mentally ill offenders to community-based mental health treatment programs instead of prison or jail.