Mental Health & the Criminal Courts: Sunday, April 9, 2pm-4pm

Sunday, April 9,  2pm-4pm at North Shore Unitarian Church, 2100 Half Day Rd, Bannockburn

Please join us for an important conversation on what Lake County is doing to better serve people living with mental illness, particularly those who come in contact with the criminal justice system.  Identifying and diverting mentally ill people from the jail system into the correct support facilities will save money and lives. 

I am excited to be joined by three people who are committed to this endeavor: 

• Judge Christopher Stride, ​19th Judicial Circuit Court

• Mark A. Pfister, Executive Director, Lake County Health Department

• Raymond Rose, Lake County Undersheriff

This is a serious issue.  Over 9,000 people are booked in to our jail every year, and approximately 1/3 have been there before, within the last three years.  Over 600 psychological assessments are conducted each year, and approximately 40% of clients in the jail receive psychotropic medication to treat mental illness.  Adults living with mental illness tend to stay longer in jail, are at a higher risk of recidivism, and cost two to three times more when compared to those without treatment needs.   The most compelling reason to change this system, of course, is that treatment is the key, not incarceration.  On Sunday we'll discuss:  

• Prevention, treatment, and barriers to treatment for people living with mental illness
• Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement
• Pre-trail services and other programs for clients in the criminal justice system
• The opioid crisis
• Lake County's newly formed Mental Health Coalition, chaired by former State Senator Susan Garret and Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor
• Best practices models and how they may fit the needs of Lake County

Join Us!

Lake County is honored to be one of the first counties in the United States to participate in the Stepping Up Initiative, a partnership between the National Association of Counties (NACo), the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) to reduce the number of adults with mental and co-occurring substance use disorders in jails.

This program is free and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Lake County, American Association of University Women, The North Shore Unitarian Church, and the Lake County Bar Association & Foundation. Attorneys may earn 1 CLE hour.