ATLANTA – State Representative Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), chairman of the House Health & Human Services Committee, recently took part in a study tour of the Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP) in Miami, Florida, October 25 – October 27, 2017. A nationally renowned program run by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, CMHP diverts nonviolent defendants with serious mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders from the criminal justice system into community-based treatment programs. Rep. Cooper is a past chair of the Human Services and Public Safety Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC), which sponsored the study tour.
During the visit, delegates attended a private discussion with Associate Administrative Judge Steve Leifman, who founded CMHP in 2000, where they learned about the successes and challenges of its many programs. Delegates also had the opportunity to talk with a CMHP recovery peer specialist, an individual who is diagnosed with a mental illness and now works as a member of their jail diversion program. In addition, the group observed the felony jail diversion court docket, received a tour of a planned mental health diversion facility, and participated in a ride-along with crisis intervention training (CIT) law enforcement officers. These officers have received specialized training by CMHP experts to interact with individuals in Miami-Dade County suspected of having mental illnesses and/or substance abuse issues.
More than 5,000 law enforcement personnel from all 36 municipalities in Miami-Dade County have received crisis intervention training from CMHP experts. Since 2010, the Miami-Dade Police Department and City of Miami Police Department have responded to approximately 72,000 mental health crisis calls, leading to nearly 40,000 diversions and only 138 arrests.
Other tour participants were Senator Katrina Shealy, South Carolina, vice chair of SLC’s Human Services and Public Safety Committee; Representative Robert Cornejo, Missouri; and Representative Allen McNeill, North Carolina.
Established in 1947, the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) is a member-driven organization comprising presiding officers and key legislators from 15 Southern states, and is the largest of the four regional conferences of The Council of State Governments. The SLC’s mission to foster and encourage intergovernmental cooperation among its member states is achieved in large measure through the ongoing work of the Conference’s six standing committees. Through member outreach in state capitols, policy research, international member delegations, staff exchange programs, meetings and fly-ins, the SLC supports state policymakers in their work to build a stronger region. The SLC is a non-partisan organization located in Atlanta.
For more information, contact Roger Moore at 404-633-1866 or rmoore@csg.org.
Representative Sharon Cooper represents the citizens of District 43, which includes portions of Cobb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 1996, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Health & Human Services Committee. She also serves on the Judiciary Non- Civil, Regulated Industries, and Rules committees.
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