Justice System – MMHPI – Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

Tag: Justice System

February 21, 2024

Texas Juvenile Justice Department granted $825K to help reduce youth incarceration

This article was published by Austin’s KXAN on February 21, 2024. AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Juvenile Justice Department will receive a grant of nearly $1 million to help reduce youth incarceration rates, according to…

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January 19, 2024

‘A Crisis is not a Crime’

Institute’s Yolanda Lewis discusses transforming the culture of crisis response at Chicago Bar Association

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December 14, 2023

Meadows Institute’s Yolanda Lewis and Timothy Bray featured in NAMI’s Ask the Expert Series

Pretrial detention is a high-risk time for individuals with mental illness, and suicide remains one of the leading causes of death in U.S. jails. “Over half of the people in jails are detained on a…

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March 1, 2023

City of Abilene Multidisciplinary Community Response Team Study

The City of Abilene launched a multidisciplinary Community Response Team to improve justice system performance in responding to mental health crisis 911 calls. The Meadows Institute was engaged to provide technical assistance, research expertise,...

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October 13, 2022

Highlights from Day 1 of
Engage & Excel 2022

This morning we kicked off Engage & Excel 2022 both virtually and in-person to an enthusiastic audience in Plano, TX. Below are highlights from our morning kickoff and a few of today’s Breakout Sessions—deep dives…

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October 15, 2020

Mental Health & Police Reform: Are Intervention Teams Working?

RIGHT Care stands for Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Team. It started in 2018 after a study from the Meadows Mental Health Institute found the number of mental health-related calls increased by 18 percent from 2012…

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September 4, 2020

Community Response Team making a difference in mental health calls in Abilene, elsewhere

An alliance between Betty Hardwick Center and the Abilene Police and Fire departments to bring better response to mental health issues worked 1,654 calls for service in its first year. Its primary goal is to stop clients…

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August 25, 2020

Texas Tech Mental Health Initiative forms new partnership to expand services to community

Members of the Texas Tech Mental Health Initiative stressed the importance of mental health services in Lubbock Monday as a new report showed a need for care in the community. The group announced they would…

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June 9, 2020

This program sends a social worker on 911 calls about mental health

If you call 911 in certain neighborhoods in Dallas, a licensed specialist at the dispatch center will determine if the call relates to a mental health crisis. If it does, it won’t just be the…

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April 12, 2020

David Brown, Lightfoot’s Pick For Chicago Police Chief, Brings Mental Health Expertise To The Job

The first time Andy Keller met David Brown, Brown was still chief of the Dallas Police Department. Keller went to headquarters to talk about his expertise: public policy as it relates to mental health. Brown…

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March 24, 2020

COVID-19 Jail Diversion Prioritization & Admission Protocol Considerations

In response to numerous requests from Texas counties for guidance on the operation of jails during a pandemic, the Justice Policy Team at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) developed a March 24, 2020…

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December 19, 2019

MMHPI Teams Up with Caruth Police Institute

All too often, police officers are the first people to interact with people who are suffering a mental health crisis. That’s why MMHPI has long been committed to helping pioneer new approaches and programs that…

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December 11, 2019

Caruth Institute increases statewide outreach

A North Texas police research program hopes to increase its reach statewide by partnering with police departments across the state. The Caruth Police Institute announced a partnership Tuesday with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute…

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December 10, 2019

UNT Dallas, MMHPI Partner to Advance Caruth Police Institute as Leader in Police Training & Research

The University of North Texas at Dallas and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) have united to transform the Caruth Police Institute (CPI) into one of the premier police training, policy analysis, technical assistance and…

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September 27, 2019

Texas Judicial Council Mental Health Committee

SUMMARY - In June 2016, with the help of former Texas Supreme Court Justice and Institute Board Member Harriet O’Neill, the Texas Judicial Council established the Mental Health Committee to examine the administration of...

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April 17, 2019

Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice – SB 562

On April 17, 2019, Nelson Jarrin, JD, MMHPI Senior Director of Government Affairs, was invited testimony at the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. Senate Bill 562, relating to criminal or juvenile procedures regarding persons...

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December 3, 2018

The Challenge of Identifying, Diverting & Treating Justice-Involved People with Mental Illness

SUMMARY - How to best manage the number of people with mental illnesses who are involved in the criminal justice system is long-standing problem that goes back decades. The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute...

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August 29, 2018

Texas House Committees on Corrections and Criminal Jurisprudence

SUMMARY – During the 85th Legislative Interim, the House Committees on Corrections and Criminal Jurisprudence held a joint hearing. Senior Director of Smart Justice B.J. Wagner presented to the joint committees on the Rapid...

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August 23, 2018

Texas House Committee on County Affairs

SUMMARY – In August 2018, during the 85th Legislative Interim, the House Committee on County Affairs met to hear invited and public testimony. B.J. Wagner, Senior Director of Smart Justice, was invited testimony and...

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January 22, 2018

Dallas Launches Coordinated Response Program for Behavioral Health Calls

The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI), Dallas FireRescue Department (DFR), Dallas Police Department (DPD), and Parkland Health & Hospital System today announced the launch of the Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Team (RIGHT Care) pilot…

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