Friday, December 17, 2004

Diversion from criminal justice system requires enhanced community mental health services (Canada)
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "A review of programs that divert people with serious mental illness who commit minor offenses into mental health treatment, rather than jail, identifies key elements of successful programs and recommends increased funding for community mental health and housing agencies. 'Evidence-Based Practices in Diversion Programs for Persons with Serious Mental Illness Who Are in Conflict with the Law' was prepared by a research team led by Dr. Kathleen Hartford of the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario. The review was proposed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to identify what standards, benchmarks or evidence-based practice exists on mental health diversion. The report released by the authors has not been endorsed by the ministry." See also the full report, Evidence-Based Practices in Diversion Programs for Persons with Serious Mental Illness Who Are in Conflict with the Law (Adobe Acrobat format).