Planning and Implementation Guide for JMHCP Category 2 and Category 3 Grantees – Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program

This guide from The Council of State Governments Justice Center is intended to support recipients of Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) grants administered by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. It is not meant to serve as a step-by-step blueprint, but rather to cultivate discussion on best practices, identify considerations for collaborative efforts, and help programs work through key decisions and implementation challenges. The guide is divided into six sections, each with assessment questions, exercises, and discussion prompts. Although the guide was developed as a tool for JMHCP grantees, the exercises and supporting resources may be helpful for other collaborative criminal justice and mental health programs.

This guide is tailored to grantees of JMHCP’s Categories 2 (Planning and Implementation) and 3 (Expansion). Please note that separate guides have been created for JMHCP Category 1 grantees and for JMHCP grantees that are primarily focused on implementing specialized police responses, including (but not limited to) crisis intervention teams and co-responder models.