Note: TASC will be closed for Memorial Day and there will be no Health & Justice in the News on Monday, May 28.
HEALTH & JUSTICE IN THE NEWS
Date: May 24, 2018
TASC in the News
Instead of more policing, a model to provide more services
The Chicago Reporter, 5/24/18
The potential is much greater if the concept of diversion is expanded to "deflection," said Jac Charlier, national director of justice initiatives at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, based in Chicago. Deflection is a "formalized relationship between police and behavioral health services in a community" (including housing providers, mental health services and substance use treatment) that gives officers a third option between making an arrest and "just driving away," he said. Charlier points out that 80 percent of police calls "are not crime related, they're social service calls," and no arrests are made in an even higher proportion of calls. But officers often know who needs help, especially when they're "seeing the same person over and over." He calls deflection "a game changer" both for improving communities and for improving police-community relations. A bill backed by TASC to authorize police departments in Illinois to establish programs to "facilitate connections to community based behavioral health interventions" recently passed the state Senate and is expected to be approved by the House this month. Out of 18,000 police departments in the United States, about 500 are known to be doing some form of deflection, Charlier says. Most programs have been in place for less than two years.
Around the Nation
Senators introduce bill to measure progress in opioid fight
The Hill, 5/23/18
Three senators are introducing a bill to measure the federal government's progress in ending the opioid epidemic, as the White House and Congress are grappling with how to solve a crisis contributing to thousands of deaths per year. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said it's important to create national indicators to determine what efforts to solve the opioid crisis have worked, and what hasn't. The bill requires federal agencies to craft ways to measure the effectiveness of efforts to tackle the opioid epidemic within 180 days, with the goal of "significantly reversing" opioid misuse and opioid-related deaths within five years.
U.S. House passes bipartisan prison reform bill
Reuters 5/22/18
A bipartisan bill to reform the federal prison system by helping people prepare for life after their release and reduce recidivism rates passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, paving the way for it to be considered by the Senate. The First Step Act does not contain a broader overhaul favored by some moderate conservatives and progressives seeking changes to mandatory minimum sentencing laws that have kept many people convicted of low-level offenses behind bars for decades. The bill's top Democratic and Republican sponsors have said such broad reforms should be left out for now as a compromise to get legislation passed by the Senate and signed into law.
White House-backed prisons bill divides parties, hits roadblocks in Senate
CNN, 5/23/18
The House overwhelmingly passed legislation on criminal justice Tuesday, advancing an effort to reshape federal prisons that has the backing of the Trump administration. But after months of deliberation, a White House endorsement and a bipartisan floor vote, the First Step Act has hit a road block in the Senate, due in large part to the bill's focus on prison policy without targeting mandatory federal sentencing rules. The controversy over the lack of sentencing reform in the bill has underscored sharp divisions among Democrats and other advocates of sweeping criminal justice reform. Republicans who control the Senate indicate a vote is not likely there any time soon. Instead, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, is continuing to push for the bipartisan legislation he wrote with Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin that includes sentencing reforms that the White House are opposed to.
In Opioids' Shadow, Fake Pot Still a Scourge (Illinois featured)
U.S. News & World Report, 5/24/18
According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between March 1 and May 16, state health departments reported five deaths among a total of 202 cases of coagulopathy - a bleeding disorder - associated with the use of fake weed, which falls into a scientific category called synthetic cannabinoids. Illinois was hit the hardest by far, with 164 cases and four deaths, according to the state's health department. Maryland followed with 20 cases, the CDC said, with six or fewer cases each from Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Around Illinois
New Drug Addiction Treatment Program in Bloomington Helps People in McLean County Detention Facility
Addiction Now, 5/23/18
An addiction treatment program that's been recently implemented in the city of Bloomington, in central Illinois, has been helping the local people who have an opioid use disorder. The program connects those who have an opioid addiction and are at the McLean County Detention Facility with drug addiction treatment services. The recovery services offered by the program are federally funded and provided by the Chestnut Health Systems - a private, nonprofit charitable organization that offers behavioral health and human services across the state of Illinois. The program, Behind the Wall, has been supported in part by funds from a federal grant as well as by capital provided by agencies that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The most significant grant - totaling $540,000 - was provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the state of Illinois and is currently being split between McLean County and Madison County, which has also implemented its version of the Behind the Wall program.
Champaign County Drug Court celebrates 38th graduating class
Fox Illinois, 5/23/18
The 38th graduating class of Champaign County Drug Court celebrated their hard work Wednesday, May 23. The drug court manages people with drug use problems and helps them access treatment and recovery support. This year's class had 14 graduates, including two military veterans.
Research, Reports, and Studies
Spending on Mental Health for Incarcerated People Cuts the Cost of Crime: White House Study
The Crime Report, 5/21/18
Programs that focus on addressing mental health and substance use issues of incarcerated people can reduce the burden of crime on American taxpayers, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). In a policy brief issued this month, the CEA suggested that every dollar spent on prison reform in these programs could save between $0.92 and $3.31, and up to $1.96 on long-term incarceration costs alone. The study was undertaken as part of the Trump administration's efforts to improve prison reform and re-entry programs that would result in lower recidivism.
Opioid Crisis Takes A Toll On Economic Outlook For Many Americans, Fed Says
NPR, 5/23/18
One out of five Americans say they personally know someone who has been addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers, according to a new report about the economic well-being of U.S. households. The Federal Reserve report, based on a national survey, also found that exposure to opioid addiction was twice as likely among whites, regardless of education level, as among African-Americans. Survey respondents who knew someone who had been addicted to opioids were less likely to give the national or local economy a favorable rating. It was the first time the Fed has included questions about opioid addiction in its annual survey, which began in 2013.
Health & Justice in the News
is a summary of recent news stories relating to criminal justice, mental health, addiction, recovery, and related issues. It is compiled and published by TASC each Monday and Thursday.
Some headlines and text have been altered by TASC for clarity or emphasis, or to minimize discriminatory or stigmatizing language. Opinions in the articles and op-eds do not necessarily express the views of TASC or our staff or partners.
