The Public Health Meets Public Safety Policy Framework seeks to identify and improve access to important data for policymakers and other stakeholders committed to the outcomes of significantly reducing justice system involvement in California for people with behavioral health needs and eliminating disparities in the justice system for this population. The framework also supports CCJBH and other state and local policymakers in their efforts to effectively address the issues of prevalence of behavioral health needs among people in jail, length of incarceration stays, and recidivism rates. The framework provides an organized way to improve understanding of the complex relationship between criminal justice and behavioral health systems.
The CSG Justice Center team analyzed public research and consulted with policymakers, practitioners, and people with personal experience in the criminal justice and behavioral health systems to develop the framework to organize relevant data and prioritize additional data for collection and analysis. Data collected from individuals with lived experience directly related to this population were analyzed with the support of peer-reviewed published literature and qualitative and non-Western research methodology.
The framework is organized by:
- Domains
- Focus areas
- Metrics
The domains present three priority policy areas where existing conditions contribute to the overrepresentation of people with behavioral health needs in the justice system and the racial disparities in their system involvement.
The focus areas identify the existing conditions related to the three domains. The metrics highlight concrete and specific ways to track progress in achieving outcomes.
Download the introduction to the framework for more background information.