Advocate for Change

 

  1. Advocate for an effective and efficient public mental health treatment system that reduces the number of mentally ill individuals who end up in prisons and jails. 

  2. Reform outdated or inadequate mental illness treatment laws and practices in the community to eliminate barriers to treatment for individuals too ill to recognize they need care, so they receive help before they are so disordered they commit acts resulting in their arrest, prosecution, and subsequent incarceration.

  3. Reform jail and prison treatment laws so inmates with mental illness can receive appropriate and necessary treatment, just as inmates with other medical conditions do.

  4. Implement and promote additional diversion programs such as mental health courts.

  5. Use court-ordered outpatient treatment to provide the support that at-risk individuals need to live safely and successfully in the community.

  6. Establish careful inmate intake screening to identify medication needs, suicidal thoughts and ideations, anger outbursts, self-destructive behaviors, and other risks associated with mental illness.

  7.  Institute mandatory release planning to provide community support and foster recovery.