Administration of Justice update 11/8/2013
Focus on Mental Health – Words to Deeds
Exploring Successful Collaborative Strategies for Mental Health and Justice System Partners
A group of 100 or so county, state, and community leaders will gather today in Sacramento for a one-day conference aimed at exploring strategies for best managing and treating persons with mental health issues who are involved in the criminal justice system. The conference draws its names from putting these best practices into action – turning “Words to Deeds.” CSAC Executive Director Matt Cate will participate on an expert panel during the afternoon, and several county supervisors, county behavioral health professionals, sheriffs, district attorneys and public defender representatives will be in attendance.
The keynote offering will feature two well-respected jurists discussing collaborative leadership and efforts to implement recommendations from a comprehensive report issued by the Judicial Council: The Honorable Richard J. Loftus, Santa Clara County judge and the chair of the Judicial Council’s Mental Health Issues Implementation Task Force and the Honorable Steven Leifman, a Miami-Dade County, Florida judge, member of the Council of State Governments Justice Leadership Initiative, and recognized innovator in this field.
Three county officials will present their local efforts at intervening and addressing the needs of persons with mental health issues at various points in the criminal justice system. These topics include:
- Pre-Arrest – Ventura County: Geoff Dean, Ventura County Sheriff and CIT Administrator Kiran Sahota
- Post-Arrest – San Francisco City and County: Jennifer Johnson, Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco County
- Re-Entry – San Bernardino County: Trudy Raymundo, Director, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health
The event will close with an evening presentation of Paradigm Awards, which recognize the contributions of individuals across disciplines who dedicated to improving access and outcomes for persons with mental illness. CSAC congratulates and thanks the following professionals for their work and dedication.
- Community Champion: Mark Gale, Advocate
- Law Enforcement Champion: Curtis Hill, San Benito County Sheriff (retired); former Acting Executive Officer, Board of State and Community Corrections
- County Champion: Scott MacDonald, Santa Cruz County Probation Chief
- Lifetime Achievement: David Meyer, Esq., Research Scholar, Institute of Psychiatry, Law and Behavioral Sciences University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Board of State and Community Corrections to Discuss Local Funding and Capacity Issues: November 14, 2013
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) will be meeting next Thursday to discuss a number of issues affecting local jurisdictions. As you may recall, the BSCC is the primary agency tasked with providing service to local corrections systems through inspections, assistance in training of local corrections personnel, funding opportunities through grants programming, and facilitating detention facility construction and funding.
Next week’s meeting will focus on funding recommendations from the Executive Steering Committee for the 2013 California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program. Additionally, the BSCC will consider a number of requests from various counties to modify or change their AB 900 jail financing and construction projects.
There will be opportunity for public comment.
When: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013, at 10:00 A.M.
Where: BSCC CONFERENCE ROOM, 660 BERCUT DRIVE
SACRAMENTO, CA 95811
For the full agenda, please click here.