Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Pilot Site Application Deadline: Friday, July 8 (3 p.m. ET) Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum is a project of the Council of State
Governments Justice Center (Justice Center), with the generous support of the Bureau of Justice Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum is a project of the Council of State Assistance, to provide the field with a versatile, accessible training on designing and implementing a mental health court. The curriculum includes a series of online modules and user guides with activities, discussion questions, and resources for further learning. It is designed for use by judges, attorneys, clinicians, community corrections officers, and behavioral health administrators considering whether a mental health court would be appropriate in their jurisdiction or interested in developing a mental health court. The curriculum consists of eight modules that provide practitioners with basic information about mental health court program elements, design and operation considerations, and background in relevant criminal justice and behavioral health concepts.
Pilot Sites
The Justice Center invites jurisdictions to express interest in piloting the curriculum in the late fall (October/November/December) of 2011. The intended audience is new mental health court teams, so we are looking for applications from jurisdictions planning or interested in planning a new mental health court.
There will be two types of pilot sites: (A) State-‐Coordinated Pilot:
Who: State court administrators or state problem-‐solving court coordinators interested in providing training/technical assistance to a local jurisdiction interested in starting a mental health court.
What: State-‐level coordinator will receive training from the Justice Center on how to use the curriculum with a local jurisdiction. In return, the coordinator will be expected to deliver the entire training in at least one jurisdiction during the pilot period, provide the Justice Center with feedback on the training and the delivery of the curriculum, and work with the Justice Center to coordinate feedback from the local jurisdiction on the curriculum. (B) Local Pilot: Who: Judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, community corrections officers, clinicians, and behavioral health administrators who are interested in starting a mental health court in their city, county, or other judicial district. What: Team members will receive training on how to develop a mental health court in their jurisdiction. In return, they will be expected to complete the training during the pilot period and provide timely feedback to the Justice Center on the curriculum.
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Preliminary Timeframe for Pilot Process (subject to change) x July 8, 2011: Application deadline x August 8, 2011: Pilot site notification x September/October: Training for coordinator of state-‐level pilot (NOTE: Local-‐level pilot sites will not require training to use the curriculum) x October: Pre-‐pilot interviews with Justice Center staff x October-‐December: o Pilot of the eight-‐module curriculum and three introductory lectures. Each module will take approximately 30 minutes online, with an additional hour of group activity/discussion. Pilot sites will provide a schedule of how they anticipate using the curriculum, to be developed in consultation with Justice Center staff upon selection. Some potential timing strategies include One module per week for two months Three full-‐day trainings (approx. six hours a day, including introductory lectures) o Ongoing feedback on modules with Justice Center staff x December 2011/January 2012: Focus group for curriculum feedback with Justice Center staff x Spring 2012: Curriculum will be disseminated through conference presentations and webinars. Pilot sites are encouraged to participate in this process, though not required. Application Requirements: Jurisdictions interested in either the (A) State-‐Coordinated Pilot or (B) Local Pilot should submit the following to Alex Blandford (ablandford@csg.org) by Friday, July 8 (3 p.m. ET): x Completed application form (pages 3-‐8 of this document) x For (A) State Level Applicants: Letter from State Court Administrator/Problem-‐Solving Court Coordinator expressing interest in project and committing to pilot requirements listed above x For (B) Local Pilot Applicants: Letters from the following individuals indicating commitment to completing the pilot training and participating in the feedback/evaluation process described above: o Judge o District Attorney/Assistant District Attorney o Public Defender o County/Local Behavioral Health Administrator Application Instructions: 1. Application materials must be received or postmarked by Friday, July 8 (3 p.m. ET). 2. Completed applications and required documentation should be submitted to Alex Blandford electronically at ablandford@csg.org; mailed to her attention at Council of State Governments Justice Center, 100 Wall Street, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10005; or faxed to her at 212-‐482-‐2344. 3. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact Alex Blandford at ablandford@csg.org / 646-‐383-‐5756.
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Developing a Mental Health Court: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Pilot Site Application Form Contact Information Name Title Address
Telephone Email
Fax:
Which pilot program are you applying for? State-‐Level Local If you are applying for (A) State-‐Level Pilot, please answer the questions below. If you are applying for (B) Local Pilot, please skip to page seven. (A) State-‐Level Pilot 1) How many mental health courts are currently in planning stages or operation in your state? Please provide a list. Include below or in an attachment 3
2) What sort of training or technical assistance is currently available in your state that would be relevant for a new mental health court team? 3) For the pilot project, please discuss: a) If you have already identified (a) jurisdiction(s) interested in piloting the curriculum, please describe that/those jurisdiction(s). Discuss its population, whether it’s urban/suburban/rural, what types of cases the court hears (e.g., felony, misdemeanor, etc.), and whether it currently operates other problem-‐solving courts (and what those courts are).
b) If you haven’t identified (a) jurisdiction(s) to pilot the curriculum, how do you plan on doing so? 4
c) How do you expect to administer the curriculum during the pilot? (e.g., In several full day sessions? In small sessions over a period of weeks?) d) How will you encourage a jurisdiction in your state to complete the curriculum and participate in the pilot evaluation?
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e) How would you pay for any expenses associated with administering the pilot such as travel costs for you or the team within the state and staff time? 4) The following questions ask how you plan to use the curriculum with new mental health court teams down the road. Please describe: a) Your best estimate of the number of jurisdictions in your state that would be interested in this sort of training: b) What sort of engagement you or your colleagues would have with new jurisdictions:
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(B) Local Pilot 1) Please describe your interest in this project. Discuss a) your goals, b) the history of any collaborative criminal justice/mental health planning currently underway, and c) any existing problem-‐solving courts in your jurisdiction. 2) Please describe your jurisdiction. Tell us about the target population for your initiative, whether your jurisdiction is urban/suburban/rural, what types of cases the court hears (e.g., felony, misdemeanor, etc.), and whether there are other existing problem-‐solving courts.
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3) Please describe any relevant state or national trainings you or members of your team have attended. 4) Does your state have a problem-‐solving court coordinator? 5) Does your state offer trainings for problem-‐solving courts or training on criminal justice/mental health collaboration? 8