Criminal Justice Liaison Program Renewed

PCS signed a contract with the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to renew and extend the Criminal Justice Liaison Program (CJLP) through June 30, 2025.

The CJLP is a community-based program used to facilitate communication and coordination between the community, criminal justice, and behavioral health systems to achieve common goals of decriminalizing substance use disorder (SUD), co-occurring disorders (COD), and mental illness. The CJLP support services that promote diversion activities for persons with SUD, COD, and /or mental illness who have encountered the criminal justice system due to an arrest and provide liaison and case management services to persons who are incarcerated or at risk of incarceration. CJLP staff work directly with the local jails and court system to facilitate access to service recipients who encounter the criminal justice system. The PCS CJLP covers Fayette, Tipton, Lauderdale, and Dyer Counties.

PCS Director of Clinical Services, Sara Hawkins, LPC, MHSP, stated that "The Criminal Justice Liaison program has made a difference in the lives of our service recipients. Sadly, we have always known that there is a direct correlation between mental illness and the criminal justice system. In the past we have been unable to serve that population while they are incarcerated. Now, the Criminal Justice Liaison Program allows our liaisons and care coordinators to begin working with individuals while they are incarcerated to ensure a better transition from jail back into society and hopefully reduce recidivism rates.

The CJL program is not only for those incarcerated but also for individuals that are at risk of incarceration. The program serves Tipton, Fayette, Lauderdale, and Dyer counties. We have had this grant for 4 years now and have seen it grow by leaps and bounds. I'm excited to see how the CJLs and CJL Care Coordinators continue to grow our partnerships within the community and continue to increase the number of individual lives touched by this program."