Last week, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announced the release of Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of Specialized Probation Initiatives.
The publication, developed with the support of the National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice, identifies 10 key components found in successful initiatives to improve outcomes for people with mental illnesses under probation supervision.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics and recent prevalence estimates, there are more than four million people under probation supervision in this country and as many as one in six have serious mental illnesses. The Justice Center’s March 2009 Community Corrections Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice found that people with mental illnesses who are sentenced to traditional forms of supervision often return to jail or prison.
You can download the report for free, by clicking here. Additional resources can be found at www.consensusproject.org.