The American Psychiatric Association Foundation has produced a new resource to help mental health professionals better support community members facing mental health challenges, Mental Health Professionals Guide to Their Role in the Criminal Justice System: A Quick Reference Pocket Guide for Mental Health Professionals. The resource is the culmination of work from a collaboration of psychiatrists and justice leaders. Community members with serious mental illnesses become entangled in the criminal justice system far too often. Once there, these individuals can suffer more harm and be retraumatized by spending more time in the pretrial stage. As a mental health professional, you have an important role in supporting these individuals and ensuring they continue to receive treatment and stay connected to services. The Guide includes an overview of the criminal justice system and specific roles mental health professionals can play in supporting community members at different stages of the system. We want to provide everyone that reads this guide with the tools necessary to reclaim your community members from the criminal justice system.

For a myriad of reasons the criminal justice system has become the de facto mental health system. This book explores how and why this is the case. Sensationalized cases often drive criminal justice policies that can sometimes be impulsively enacted and misguided. While there are chapters that examine competency, insanity, and inpatient and outpatient commitment, the primary focus of the book is on the bulk of encounters that clog the criminal justice system with persons with mental illnesses (pwmi). Criminal justice practitioners are often ill-equipped for dealing with pwmi in crises. However, via application of therapeutic jurisprudence principles some agencies are better preparing their employees for such encounters and attempting to stop the inhumane and costly recycling of pwmi through the criminal justice system. Coverage runs the gamut from deinstitutionalization, to specialized law enforcement responses, to mental health courts, to jails and prisons, to discharge planning, diversion, and reentry. Also, criminal justice practitioners in their own words provide insight into and examples of the interface between the mental health and criminal justice systems. Throughout the book the balance between maintaining public safety and preserving civil liberties is examined as the state's police power and parens patriae roles are considered. Reasoned, collaborative approaches for influencing and informing policies that are often driven by crises are discussed; this book also reflects more psychological underpinnings than the 1st edition, as one of the co-authors new to this edition is a forensic clinical psychologist. The following Teaching Materials are available electronically on a CD or via email (Please contact Beth Hall at [email protected] to request a copy, and specify what format is needed): -Teacher's Manual with notes and extensive test bank in Word/pdf formats -Test bank is also available in separate files by chapter in Word and Blackboard formats. Other LMS formats may be available; let me know what you need.) Upon adoption only, the following are also available: -3 Videos. Upon adoption only. One video illustrates Crisis Intervention Team scenarios, another explores PTSD and the third video is of a lecture author Risdon Slate gave to law enforcement in training that describes his own personal story. -PowerPoint slides will be available upon adoption. Email [email protected] for more information. “I am so grateful that I have decided on this book and the resources are amazing.” — Joseph C. Marinello, lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, UNC Charlotte (on classroom adoption of second edition) “Notorious criminal cases tend to drive public opinion and policy when it comes to how our criminal justice system deals with persons with mental illnesses. Drs. Slate and Johnson’s book is a far brighter star to steer by. By most accounts, including the US Department of Justice, our criminal justice system is in crisis. In The Criminalization of Mental Illness the authors explain how our justice system has failed persons with mental illnesses, the public and its own self-interests. But rather than place blame, the authors focus on illuminating the history and anatomy of the problem and offering real solutions. Because they are based on careful scholarship, their proposals are authoritative and make sense. But it is their informed empathy for all the players involved in the tragedy—not just persons with mental illnesses—that makes this book a must read for anyone involved in the criminal justice system or simply interested in knowing the truth of how it is broken and can be fixed.” — Xavier F. Amador, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Columbia University, Author of the National Best Seller I am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! and I’m Right, You’re Wrong, Now What? “The book confronts myths and social/political policy failures directly; and with great honor recognizes those advocates whose work has moved social justice and mental health policy forward. [Their] dedication and passion to the subject of promoting human rights and recovery is evident in every word. It is a masterful, relevant and inspiring work.” — Ginger Lerner-Wren, the nation’s first mental health court judge and member of the President’s Commission on Mental Health “[This book] provides extraordinary insights into the manner by which people with mental illness are processed through the criminal justice system… I thoroughly enjoyed this work and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in issues involving mental illness and the criminal justice system. I have seen a few books in this area, but have never found one quite as comprehensive and well-researched. It is, without exception, one of the best academic books that I have read in many years.” — Penn State, Altoona, Professor Robert M. Worley in his book review for The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Fall 2008 “This is a highly insightful and important book which corrections staff, academics, students, and the general public should know about.” — Ken Kerle, Ph.D, American Jail Association “Overall this very readable book provides a good survey of the various sectors of thecriminal justice system and their response to the substantive changes that have affected persons with mental illness during the recent past. These authors provide a valuable guide for mental health professionals interested in appropriate treatment and placement of persons with mental illness.” — Frederick J. Frese, Ph.D., Psychiatric Services: A Journal of the American Psychiatric Association “Without a doubt, it is the most comprehensive explanation of what has happened between the two systems during the past 40 or so years. It explains not only the crisis that exists and how we got here, but some interesting and innovative ways that local governments are providing solutions… [M]ore important than the chronicling of the impact of this social crisis, it demonstrates with pointed examples how the two systems intertwine with well-intentioned judicial and treatment policies. No matter how you view the issue of the mentally ill in prison, the book demonstrates that the person left out of the discussion is the defendant/offender/patient.” — Corrections Today

In this student-friendly text, a team of respected scholars balances practical knowledge of how the mental healthcare system operates in conjunction with the criminal justice system, with an analytical framework that looks at how the quality of that collaboration is reflected in the issues, processes and outcomes of both institutions. Professors and students will benefit from an accessible new text that informs and explores: The role of mental healthcare law and procedure in the criminal justice system How mentally ill clients are processed through the criminal justice system Mental healthcare terms, resources, and treatment programs Contemporary issues in mental health and criminal justice, such as the treatment of mentally ill juveniles inside the criminal justice system, and lack of full access to mental healthcare for at-risk groups Discussion of systemic interface and entropy, two central themes to guide student analysis of issues and examples drawn from real life Mental Health and Criminal Justice is designed with a wealth of features for study and review, including: Learning Objectives Framing the Issues Prologues and Epilogues that frame issues and provide vivid examples Key Terms, highlighted in the text and defined in the Glossary Text boxes that expand on points of interest Summary and Chapter Review Questions at the end of each chapter

The Criminal Justice System is becoming a de facto provider of mental health care, according to a series of recent prison inspections and reports on policing and mental illness which have highlighted the crisis in mental health services. However, the pressures on prisons and other areas of the CJS mean that the needs of those with mental health problems are often overlooked. This book examines the experiences of people with mental health problems across all stages of the CJS and across all the points of contact – police, Courts and prisons between the CJS and people with mental health problems. Providing a clearly written, comprehensive introduction to the main themes in this field, it also has a clear critical edge highlighting the failings in the areas of penal and social policy that have resulted in increasing numbers of people with mental health problems being criminalised. Highlighting a very important social issue, Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System provides a thorough introduction to this subject for social work students and practitioners.

When a loved one with mental illness comes into contact with the law, trying to advocate for them can be an overwhelming and frustrating endeavor. Mental illness adds a layer of complexity to legal processes, and the justice system can be downright bewildering, even for the most well-intentioned. How can families find out if their loved one is being mistreated or ignored, and how can they make sense of their rights under various laws and regulations? Family Guide to Mental Illness and the Law offers the nuts-and-bolts legal information and problem-solving steps families need. This accessible resource explains how common legal issues uniquely impact people with various forms of mental illness and what family members can do to help. Readers will learn how to · help protect a loved one's job, housing, or medical care · participate in hearings about guardianship, involuntary commitment, bankruptcy, and more · assist in making financial arrangements · navigate federal laws surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act, HIPAA, disability claims, and workers' compensation · steer criminal proceedings away from jail and toward treatment Beyond the legal system, this book also guides readers in interacting with officials and authorities, lobbying for better laws, and working with local governments towards improving policies that affect those with mental illness. Complete with real-world examples, Family Guide to Mental Illness and the Law provides practical advice and eases the feelings of isolation that often accompany loving someone with mental illness.