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Florida’s Youth Incarceration Problem Has a Proven Fix
Florida incarcerates more children than any other state in the country. Even while research shows harsh punishments and long sentences don't rehabilitate kids — they keep them coming back. There needs to be another way to hold kids accountable because, right now, we are manufacturing the outcomes...
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The Justice System’s New Role in Behavioral Health Compliance
The relationship between behavioral health and the justice system has traditionally been characterized by courtroom interaction, diversion programs, and people moving through a system built to process them. Today, that relationship is changing rapidly as the justice system ramps up oversight of...
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Westchester’s Behavioral Health Diversion Continuum: A Roadmap Through the Justice System
The intersection of the criminal justice and behavioral health systems is neither a point nor a straight line. Rather, the overlap of these systems is a continuum; one in which the inflection points of systemic cross-contact can be identified and potentially addressed. The clearest tool for...
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Behavioral Health and the Justice System: Accreditation and Continuity-of-Care Standards for Justice-Involved Individuals Entering SUD Treatment
Men and women leaving jails or prison face some of the highest overdose risk of any population in the country. Typically, by the 3rd month of release, an estimated 75 percent of previously incarcerated people with an opioid use disorder (OUD) experience a return to opioid use, and formerly...
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A Qualitative Exploration of ADHD, Prosocial Bonds, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affect up to 11 percent of children (Visser et al., 2013). There is strong empirical evidence that an ADHD diagnosis puts children at higher risk for significant academic impairment, weaker ties to pro-social institutions, increased...
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The Role of CCBHCs in Reducing Incarceration
For decades, jails and prisons have functioned as the nation's largest, and least appropriate, providers of mental health and substance use treatment. People with untreated serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD) often move repeatedly through arrest, incarceration, release,...
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It’s 2026. Why Are Peers Not Front and Center in Our Mental Health Crisis Response System in NYC?
The movement toward non-police-based responses to mental health crises in our city has taken on many shapes and sizes. For years, efforts were made to train NYPD rookies, sergeants, and captains on appropriate crisis intervention techniques. Over three days of intensive training at the police...
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Preventing Forensic Involvement Through Continuous Care
When our behavioral health, housing, and social service systems are unable to adequately meet the needs of people with serious mental health challenges, those individuals too often find their way into the criminal justice system without the treatment and support they need. The path to...
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Dr. Isaac Mawuko Adusu Named 2026 Community Leader of the Year for Advancing Disability Inclusion
Dr. Isaac Mawuko Adusu, a health and human services executive, disability advocate, and frequent contributor to Behavioral Health News and Autism Spectrum News, has been named the 2026 Community Leader of the Year by the Inclusive Leadership Impact Awards, recognizing his work to advance inclusion,...
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From Juvenile Hall to Clinical Care: De-Escalating Youth Trauma Through Deflection Pathways
This article examines how youth deflection differs from traditional diversion, and how behavioral health leaders are using deflection programs to de-escalate trauma and keep adolescents out of the justice system. Communities increasingly seek preventive alternatives to juvenile detention. Seven...
