BEST Metro Boston Criminal Justice Diversion Program

BEST Metro Boston Criminal Justice Diversion Program

by Baer Foundation on June 16, 2016

A 2015 Sidney R. Baer,  Jr. Foundation grant recipient, BEST (Boston Emergency Services Team Metro Boston Criminal Justice Divers Program) is committed to helping train and find new opportunities to help recognize, intervene, and divert mentally ill individuals from the criminal justice system.

With the help of  grant funding, BEST Metro Boston JDP established the first Massachusetts Mental Health Court Conference. This conference successfully provided a venue for multi-discipline collaboration toward the goal of diverting individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system and directing them toward treatment. Furthermore the conference provided an opportunity for dissemination of best practices.

Additionally, the two most recent additions to the Boston Municipal Court mental health sessions achieved great stability in the year of funding. The mental health sessions behave like a mental health court which link offenders who would ordinarily be prison-bound to long-term community-based treatment.

Efforts have also been made to limit the weekly court docket to 15 participants whenever possible to ensure that each case can receive adequate time and attention despite the growing number of participants. As a result, some participant found their court appearance spaced further apart. In order to proved appropriate support and supervision between formal court appearances, a social work liaison and mental health probation officer established face-to-face check-ins with clients.

BEST maintained a strong partnership with the Boston Police Department, which referred 378 individuals (a 34% increase from the previous year) to BEST for access to a comprehensive, highly integrated system of crisis evaluation and treatment services. In coming months, licensed mental health clinicians will ride with officers dedicated to respond to calls involving an Emotionally Disturbed Person. Additionally, BEST JDP staff taught two two-day courses educating Boston police on how to best respond to metal illness an emotional disturbance on the job. In the future BEST JDP hopes to work with Boston Emergency Medical Services to identify frequent 911 callers that tax their system with less emergent psychiatric needs.