The Community Mental Health Association of Michigan (CMHAM) winter conference will be held February 5th and 6th at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Under the leadership of Dean Sheryl Kubiak and with the support of MDHHS, Wayne State University's Center for Behavioral Health and Justice presents findings from their system evaluation of Michigan's ten jail diversion pilot sites. The ten pilot counties - Barry, Berrien, Kalamazoo, Kent, Livingston, Marquette, Monroe, Oakland, St. Joe, Wayne - have implemented a variety of programs and protocols aimed at diverting people with severe mental illness into treatment and out of jail.

Using data from several community partners including mental health agencies, jails, MDOC, Medicaid, and SCAO, this research illustrates how an individual with SMI is identified, referred, and assessed throughout their involvement with the criminal legal system. This presentation will allow attendees to better understand what diversion strategies may be effective in their own communities, as well as where they may have opportunity to improve their current processes.

Participants will be able to:

1. Learn how people with SMI are identified in jail settings and how jails refer and treat those individuals. Be able to identify strategies that have worked in other locations and might be successful in their community, as well as techniques that have been less successful and how to avoid them.

2. Become familiar with limitations and challenges of collecting data from a variety of sources and learn about strategies for simplifying data sharing and collection across agencies in my community.

3. Understand the various paths individuals with SMI take as they move through the criminal legal system and consider techniques that may be effective in improving continuity of care, reducing recidivism, and strengthening opportunities for diversion in their community.

Find out more about the CMHAM Winter Conference.

Learn how the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice is working with communities around jail diversion.