The Miami-Dade Courts’ Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP) is pleased to announce the receipt of two grants totaling $1,821,754. The grants will fund the development of a training program to increase mental health awareness, as well as the establishment of an intensive case management team within the CMHP to focus on enhanced care coordination for individuals living with severe mental illness.
Mental Health Awareness Training for Criminal Justice Stakeholders
The first project, Mental Health Awareness Training for Criminal Justice Stakeholders, is funded by a $621,754 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, and will run for five years ending in 2026. SAMHSA is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation and improve the lives of individuals living with mental and substance use disorders, as well as their families.
Along those same goals, the project aims to improve the lives of persons living with serious mental illness, as well as the communities they live in, by training criminal justice partners in how to recognize and safely respond to signs of mental illness early on and establish the appropriate care for these individuals as soon as possible. The project aims to help those who already have an existing case in the criminal justice system, as well as those who are at risk of an arrest due to behaviors associated with their illness.
Those receiving this training may include law enforcement officers, court employees, correctional staff, social services providers, and families.
The Mental Health Awareness Training will cover effective communication techniques, de-escalating crises, promoting mental health literacy, reducing the stigma of mental illnesses, enabling early intervention through recognition of signs and symptoms of the onset of mental illnesses and substance use disorders, and connecting people to the healthcare system.
Criminal Justice Intensive Case Management Team
The second project, titled Criminal Justice Intensive Case Management Team, is funded by a $1,200,000 grant from the Florida Department of Children and Families and will run for three years ending in 2024.
This project will fund the creation of an Intensive Case Management Team within the Miami-Dade Courts’ Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP). The team will provide enhanced care coordination for individuals who have a history of relapsing within the criminal justice system and have extensive care needs due to the most severe forms of mental illness.
The project aims to improve the lives of individuals living with the most severe mental illnesses, as well as their families and the communities they live in, by providing enhanced treatment services to promote successful recoveries and reduce the likelihood of reincarceration and readmission to crisis care centers.
The Intensive Case Management Team will be composed of consulting professionals integrated from various fields of behavioral health and criminal justice expertise. They will work with community treatment providers, community partners, as well as the program participants and their caregivers to coordinate and deliver additional treatment services for these individuals with the highest care needs.
For more information on the Miami-Dade Courts’ Criminal Mental Health Project, click here.