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An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Mental Health

Description

Our nation is facing a mental health crisis. According to SAMHSA’s recent data, approximately one in four adults 18 and over, and one in three adults aged 18-25, reported having a mental illness in the past year. One in five adolescents had a major depressive episode. The prevalence of mental health needs is even greater when we look at data for individuals involved with the justice system. For example, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, prisoners and jail inmates have been found to be three to five times as likely to meet the threshold for serious psychological distress as adults in the general U.S. population.

The Office of Justice Programs serves as a critical source of funding, training and technical assistance, and research to accelerate reform in our nation’s justice system. It supports prevention and intervention efforts to improve responses to and outcomes for individuals with mental health needs at every point along the justice continuum.

Find Help

Need help now?
Use the following hotlines and resources to get and find help. Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you are having an emergency or facing a life-threatening event.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org 
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families needing support for mental health and/or substance use disorders. Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889. For more information on substance use and mental health concerns, types and locations of treatment, and other resources, visit findtreatment.gov
FindSupport.gov
This website addresses common questions about searching for support for mental health and substance use needs. The site provides helpful hints on what questions to ask, how to search for a healthcare professional or other support services, how to set up an appointment, and information on how to find services based on insurance coverage.

Featured Resources

Resources for Law Enforcement, Other Justice Professionals, and Individuals with Mental Health Conditions Who Come In Contact with the Justice System

Police Mental Health Collaboration Toolkit

The PMHC Toolkit provides resources for law enforcement agencies to partner with service providers, advocates, and individuals with mental health needs and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to respond effectively, ensure safety, and improve access to services and outcomes for individuals with mental health needs and I/DD.

Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT) Toolkit

The Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT) is designed to prepare and improve police officer responses during encounters with individuals experiencing crises related to mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Propelling Change: A Prosecutor Call to Action

Propelling Change is a national call to action for prosecutors that aims to break the cycle of arrest and incarceration for individuals with behavioral health needs by committing to support equitable diversion efforts and work with partners to foster connections to community-based care for improved outcomes.

Vicarious Trauma Toolkit

This Toolkit introduces a model for examining and conceptualizing the effects of vicarious trauma to the work-related exposure that victim services providers, first responders, and allied professionals experience in their daily work, and provides organizations with tools to support staff in becoming more trauma-informed.

Resources for Youth and Youth-Serving Organizations

OJJDP Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program

The Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JJMHCP) supports collaborative public safety efforts through partnerships with juvenile justice, mental health and substance use agencies to improve responses and outcomes for youth with mental health or co-occurring substance use conditions who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

OJJDP’s National Mentoring Resource Center

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's National Mentoring Resource Center serves as a comprehensive resource for mentoring tools, program and training materials, and no-cost training and technical assistance to provide youth mentoring practitioners with support to incorporate evidence-based practices to improve positive outcomes for youth.

Resources for Victims and Survivors of Crime

Help for Victims

If you are a victim of a crime, you have many rights and services available to help you.

Victim Assistance and Compensation

All states receive Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds from the Office for Victims of Crime to help support crime victim assistance and compensation programs. Victims of crime may be eligible through these funds for crime victim compensation benefits, including reimbursement for mental health counseling, medical services, lost wages, and other costs incurred due to the crime.

Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials

For children and youth, participating in the justice system as a victim or witness can be especially confusing, distressing, and even re-traumatizing. These materials were created to support children and youth during their involvement with the justice system as a victim or witness to a crime.

Funding Opportunities

Explore OJP's funding opportunities to support law enforcement, court professionals, correctional facilities, behavioral health providers, community-based organizations, and other service providers in addressing the needs of individuals with mental health and co-occurring substance use disorder needs.

Funding Opportunities Currently Available:

Training and Technical Assistance

  • Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program Support Centers
    Strengthening connections among criminal justice agencies, behavioral health organizations, and the community to improve wellbeing of people with mental health conditions or co-occurring substance use disorders.
     
  • Law Enforcement Mental Health Learning Site Program
    This program serves as a peer-to-peer learning program for law enforcement agencies seeking to build collaborative models to improve responses to calls and outcomes for individuals with mental health needs.
     
  • Mental Health Courts
    Mental health courts are specialized court dockets for certain defendants with mental illnesses that substitute a problem-solving model for traditional criminal court processing.
     
  • Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
    A national initiative to enhance police engagement with people with behavioral health conditions and developmental disabilities.
     
  • Vicarious Trauma
    Learn more about the impact of vicarious trauma on individuals and organizations, as well as resources designed to help you identify and address vicarious trauma proactively.
     
  • Victim Assistance Training Online
    VAT Online is a foundational, Web-based victim assistance training program that offers victim service providers and allied professionals the opportunity to develop the essential skills and knowledge they need to assist victims of crime more effectively.
     

Mental Health Videos

Female police officer and African American male. Text reads 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

988: A Shared Opportunity

On July 16, 2022, the U.S. transitioned from the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to 988—an easy-to-remember three-digit number for 24/7 crisis care. This transition to the new National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, created a unique opportunity to rethink how people are connected to compassionate, accessible care. Communities around the country are now determining how this new, national dialing code works alongside existing law enforcement and crisis responses.  

For criminal justice stakeholders, the transition to 988 is an important opportunity to shift people in crisis toward appropriate care, and help redesign crisis responses that, when implemented effectively, minimize contact with law enforcement and the justice system.

Watch this video series that aims to shine light on the various ways communities are incorporating 988 into existing approaches to crisis response.

Date Modified: May 25, 2023
Date Created: May 2, 2023