Message from NTAC's Director

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Few issues offer a greater challenge to the public mental health system than its relationship with the criminal justice system. The recent movement throughout the country toward enactment of laws that permit the indefinite involuntary commitment of sexual predators to state psychiatric facilities after their prison terms are completed suggests that the lines between individual mental health treatment and public safety are becoming increasingly blurred. The inference drawn as a result of these laws between sexually violent behavior and mental illness threatens to undo years of work to address public fears about the nature of mental illness.

This issue of networks tackles this concern and highlights a number of programs that have built bridges between the mental health and criminal justice systems, using their respective expertise to meet the needs of the individual as well as of the general public. We invite readers to contact these programs directly for additional information.

In a slight departure from our typical practice of focusing all networks articles on a specific theme, this issue includes a report on a recent site visit conducted by NTAC to Montana to provide assistance in the implementation and oversight of the state's Mental Health Access Plan. Montana's situation provides something of a cautionary tale for other states&emdash;where an ambitious and long-planned managed care plan has been implemented by not one but three different vendors within less than a one-year period, as industry consolidations and buyouts continue. NTAC staff would be happy to respond to requests for additional information on its activities in Montana.

To return to the topic of mental health and criminal justice, this issue of networks has drawn on the experience and expertise of many individuals in addition to those mentioned within specific articles. W. Lawrence Fitch, J.D., Director of Forensic Services, Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration, contributed the article on state consideration of sex offender commitment legislation. Mr. Fitch serves as Secretary of the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors' (NASMHPD) Forensic Division.

We are grateful to a number of individuals who assisted in scanning the environment to identify topics of concern to the mental health and criminal justice fields. Their knowledge and insight provided a fuller understanding of the current issues confronting both systems.

These individuals include Andrea K. Blanch, Ph.D., Associate Commissioner, Programs, Maine Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services; Joseph J. Cocozza, Ph.D., Director, The National GAINS Center for People with Co-Occurring Disorders in the Justice System; Joel A. Dvoskin, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Department of Psychology, University of Arizona; Linda Frisman, Ph.D., Project Director, Research Division, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; John House, J.D., Senior Staff Counsel, Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services; John Petrila, J.D., L.L.M., Chair, Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, University of South Florida; and James E. Smith, A.C.S.W., Superintendent, Vernon State Hospital and Wichita Falls State Hospital, Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and Chairperson, Executive Committee, NASMHPD's Forensic Division.

Thanks also to Gail P. Hutchings, M.P.A., NASMHPD's Deputy Executive Director; Roy E. Praschil, NASMHPD's Director of Operations; and Jenifer Urff, J.D., NASMHPD's Director of Government Relations, for their insight and guidance. &emdash;Bruce D. Emery, M.S.W.

Web Sites of interest

www.criminal.justice (web sites)

The National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning (NTAC): Maintains a comprehensive web site providing information on innovative programs and technical assistance on issues of importance to mental health planning, service delivery and evaluation. The web site contains information that states can use in considering development of programs and services in a wide variety of topic areas, including criminal justice. NTAC's audience includes state mental health agencies, consumers, families and state mental health planning and advisory councils. [YOU ARE HERE]