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Aligning Health and Safety

Policy Goal 1: Formalize a statewide commitment

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Policy Goal 1: Formalize a statewide commitment

Has the state issued a directive formalizing a statewide commitment to reducing the number of people with behavioral health needs in local criminal justice systems?

RATIONALE: Having a clear mandate from high-level leadership (i.e., the governor’s office, the state legislature, and/or the state judiciary) demonstrates and formalizes a commitment to reducing the number of people with behavioral health needs in local criminal justice systems. This kind of publicly driven demonstration of support can help

  1. Communicate that cross-system solutions for this shared population are a high priority; 
  2. Define success and how it should be measured in terms of health and public safety outcomes;  
  3. Draw the attention of other needed stakeholders, including policymakers in other branches, state agency heads, and private partners;   
  4. Create the leverage needed to overcome barriers and commit resources to the effort; and 
  5. Hold leaders accountable for commitments. 

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tools iconWays to do it

  • Identify a state-level champion or champions to spearhead the effort.  
  • Issue an executive order that articulates the problem, sets statewide goals for addressing it, and establishes the mechanism for moving the work forward. This action is typically paired with creating a statewide collaborative body, empowering an existing collaborative, and/or directing state agencies to take a range of actions to respond to pressing needs at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice (See Policy Goal 2).  
  • Pass legislation that builds support and commits to a statewide initiative to improve outcomes for people with behavioral health needs and justice system involvement. Legislatures should bring in a full range of state and local branch perspectives to committee hearings on proposed legislation that impacts the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health.    
  • Convene a committee through the judiciary to look at the problem through the lens of matters of law, the legal system, or the administration of justice. Champions from the judiciary are often effective conveners who can keep the work from being politicized.  
  • Partner with all three branches to launch a coordinated, three-branch approach. 
  • Tie a statewide commitment to participation in a national initiative dedicated to reducing criminal justice system contact for people with behavioral health needs, such as Stepping Up.  

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bulb iconThings to consider

  • The commitment should be in a formal, written format; articulate the problem that needs to be solved; and position the strategic planning process as the first step to address it.  
  • The commitment should also set forth the vision, expectations, and timeframe for the actions to follow, which could include a focused cross-agency planning process intended to result in policy changes.  
  • The directive should designate a specific agency to lead the effort or convene a state-local collaborative body (see Policy Goal 2). Regardless of where the work is housed, the state should commit resources and staff time to move priorities forward. This may include providing technical assistance to counties as they work toward shared goals.  

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State Examples

Maine

New Mexico

Georgia

Several states

Governor Janet T. Mills signed an executive order in February 2019 to direct her administration to prioritize immediate responses to the state’s opioid epidemic. The order outlined actions that the administration would take under the direction of the state’s director of opioid response to reduce/prevent overdose deaths, increase access to treatment, and strengthen prevention and recovery efforts. The order was coupled with directives to dedicate federal- and state-supported recovery coaches and medications for distribution across Maine.

Governor Janet T. Mills signed an executive order in February 2019 to direct her administration to prioritize immediate responses to the state’s opioid epidemic. The order outlined actions that the administration would take under the direction of the state’s director of opioid response to reduce/prevent overdose deaths, increase access to treatment, and strengthen prevention and recovery efforts. The order was coupled with directives to dedicate federal- and state-supported recovery coaches and medications for distribution across Maine.

In April 2022, the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico issued court order No. 22-8100 committing to a statewide effort to improve how the justice system responds to people with behavioral health needs and establishing the New Mexico Supreme Court Commission on Mental Health and Competency to develop a roadmap for system improvements. This standing commission has representatives from all three branches, Tribal governments, housing and behavioral health advocates, criminal justice stakeholders, and people with lived experience. 

After a decade of investments to improve the behavioral health system in Georgia in the wake of a Department of Justice settlement, the Georgia legislature passed HB 514. HB 514 established the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, a time-limited commission charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the behavioral health care system in the state and making recommendations, including proposing changes to rules, policies, programs, and proposing legislation.

Several states have grounded their statewide commitments to reduce the overincarceration of people with mental illness in state-level participation in the Stepping Up initiative. Alabama, California, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, among others, have state-level Stepping Up efforts that encourage counties to pass Stepping Up resolutions, provide technical assistance and guidance, and, in some cases, fund Stepping Up efforts in counties around the state.  

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