Community Support Programs Branch
Grant Programs for Criminal Justice and Mental Health Services
The Community Support Programs (CSP) Branch and its Federal partners provide grant funding to communities and states that seek to implement innovative, collaborative efforts. These efforts bring system-wide improvement to the way that the needs of adults with mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring problems are addressed within the criminal justice system. Since 1998 the CSP Branch has supported implementation of jail diversion and prison re-entry initiatives through grant funding of the:
Jail Diversion Targeted Capacity Expansion (TCE) Program
The Targeted Capacity Expansion (TCE) Jail Diversion Program, based on the Public Health Service Act, section 520G, is coordinated with the Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) solicitation "Mental Health Court Grants Program," authorized in P.L. 106-515, Part V, Section 2201. The overall goal of this collaboration is to improve policy and practice for addressing the needs of persons with a mental illness or co-occurring disorders who become involved with the criminal justice system.
Since 2002, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) has made available funds for programs to divert individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system to mental health treatment and appropriate support services.
During fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, a total of 32 jail diversion grants were provided through the SAMHSA/CMHS TCE for jail diversion to communities around the country. The goal of this program is to promote community-wide jail diversion strategies that provide effective linkages to individualized mental health and other needed services to promote community-based recovery, which are sustainable beyond the period of grant funding.
The Technical Assistance and Policy Analysis (TAPA) Center for Jail Diversion, a Branch of the National GAINS Center for Systemic Change for Justice-Involved Persons with Mental Illness, serves as the coordinating center and technical assistance provider for the CMHS TCE for Jail Diversion Initiative. The TAPA center coordinates the TCE Initiative with the Mental Health Courts Program, funded by DOJ and coordinated by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project.
For more information:
Grantees-general information
2006 Grantees
2005 Grantees
2004 Grantees
2003 Grantees
2002 Grantees
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Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Mental Health Courts Program
The Mental Health Court Grants Program, based on the Public Health Service Act, section 520G, is coordinated with SAMHSA’s TCE Jail Diversion Program, authorized in P.L. 106-515, Part V, Section 2201. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), in coordination with SAMHSA, administers this Mental Health Courts Program. This program funds projects that seek to mobilize communities to implement innovative, collaborative efforts that bring system-wide improvements to the way the needs of adult and juvenile offenders with mental disabilities or illnesses are addressed.
The goal of this grant program is to decrease the frequency of contact with the criminal justice system by improving a client's social functioning through stable employment, housing, treatment, and support services. During fiscal years 2002 and 2003, a total 37 grants were awarded. The CSG, coordinator of the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project, provides technical assistance as part of this program.
For more information:
Complete list of grantees
Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (PDF)
Mental Health Courts Program Brochure (PDF)
What is a Mental Health Court?
Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI)
The Serious and Violent Reentry Initiative (SVORI) is a Federal collaborative that provides funding to develop reentry strategies focusing on the safety of the community and the reduction of serious, violent crime. In 2003, the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ), Labor (DOL), Education (ED), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Health and Human Services (HHS), funded 69 grantees to implement reentry programs for persons returning to communities from correctional institutions. Grants were awarded to all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A total of approximately $110 million was distributed among states to develop new or expand existing programs offering integrated supervision and reentry services to adults or juveniles leaving correctional facilities.
The goal of SVORI is to reduce the likelihood of re-incarceration by providing tailored supervision and services to improve the odds for a successful transition to the community. Grantees were permitted to target juvenile and/or adult offenders considered to be a high risk for recidivism who are returning from commitment in a state training school, juvenile or adult correctional facility, or where appropriate, a residential treatment facility.
As part of this initiative, the National GAINS Center, through a partnership with Caliber Associates, developed a matrix to describe 11 SVORI Reentry Projects that include offenders with serious mental illnesses returning to the community. The purpose of this informational matrix is to facilitate contacts across states and stimulate more programming for this population. The matrix can be viewed within the report, Serious Violent Reentry Initiative (SVORI) Reentry Projects for Inmates with Serious Mental Illness (PDF).
For more information:
Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) Multisite Evaluation Website
Grantees and Programs
Overview of SVORI (PDF)
Approach for Conducting Cost, Cost-Effectiveness, and Benefit-Cost Analyses of SVORI Programs (PDF)
Knowledge Development and Application Study of Jail Diversion (1998-2000)
In 1997, SAMHSA began a 4-year jail diversion multisite study, the Knowledge Development and Application Study of Jail Diversion (1998-2000). The effort was aimed at studying jail diversion programs that serve individuals with mental health and substance abuse co-occurring disorders who come in contact with the criminal justice system. SAMHSA funded nine project sites as well as a coordinating center, the Research Triangle Institute, which was responsible for the overall program integration, data management, and data analyses. Technical assistance to the sites for systems integration and program development was supported by the National GAINS Center for Systemic Change for Justice-Involved Persons with Mental Illness.
For more information:
Study outcomes (PDF)
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