Illinois Courts Awarded $550000 Justice And Mental Health Grant
Illinois Courts Awarded $550000 Justice And Mental Health Grant (Springfield, IL) – The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced today it was awarded a $550,000
grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance as part of the Justice and Mental Health
Collaboration Program (JMHCP).
The JMHCP is a competitive grant program that supports innovative cross-system collaboration for individuals with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders who encounter the justice system.
The Illinois Courts will use the funds to continue receiving consultation from the National Center for State Courts and to support the implementation and evaluation of short-term pilot projects to divert persons with mental illnesses or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders from the traditional criminal justice system.
“We appreciate being selected for this grant award as it furthers the efforts of our Illinois Mental Health Task Force and supports our statewide work toward improving the court and community response to individuals with mental health and co-occurring disorders,” Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said.
“The award notice comes at an opportune time as we are set to embark on facilitation of regional resource mapping workshops with the intent to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.”
Bureau of Justice Assistance
The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Community Capacity Development Office and the Office of Sex Offenders Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking.
Marcia M. Meis was appointed Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) on August 1, 2017. Ms. Meis is a graduate of the University of Missouri (Bachelor of Journalism) and DePaul University College of Law. After working briefly in private practice, Ms. Meis served as an Illinois Appellate Court law clerk for several years before joining the AOIC as an Executive Office Attorney in 1999. She subsequently served as Chief Legal Counsel before becoming AOIC Deputy Director in 2014.
Illinois Courts Awarded $550000 Justice And Mental Health Grant
As someone working with grant administration, I observe a troubling paradigm: During grant application submittal, local governments (i.e. law enforcement, courts, State’s Attorneys, etc.), and organizations consistently cite “Minorities” in their statistics to bolster the need for their funding. Yet, less than 4% of the program participants are Minorities. For instance, applicants will cite Minorities constitute more than half of crime, poverty, and untreated mental health. But, more than 90% of those offered to participate in these programs funded with grants are European-Americans, greatly being overrepresented by their demography. This is endemic of consolidating and reinforcing systemic racism.