NCJ Number
191926
Journal
Women, Girls & Criminal Justice Volume: 2 Issue: 6 Dated: October/November 2001 Pages: 84,89-90,95
Date Published
2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines two programs in Maryland, the Phoenix Project and the TAMAR Project, for women offenders with mental illness and substance abuse disorders who are in the criminal justice system.
Abstract
The Division of Special Populations (DSP) of the Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA) of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene oversees programs for individuals with mental illness who may also have co-occurring substance abuse disorders, HIV/AIDS, are homeless, and/or deaf, and are in the criminal justice system. To take part in DSP’s programs, individuals must have both mental illness and criminal justice involvement. The DSP began the Maryland Community Criminal Justice Treatment Program (MCCJTP) as a pilot program in four counties in 1992. Since that initial program, the Division has developed the program in 23 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions. In 1995, the Division began to focus on treatment programs for women in response to the concerns of wardens about the special problems incarcerated women presented to correctional staffs, including increased suicidal threats, reclusive behaviors, and the inability to cope with their situations as inmates. In response to the wardens’ concerns, the DSP and its partner, the Center for Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR) of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, applied for two grants from Federal agencies that would address these related issues. In 1997, the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requested grant applicants for demonstration sites that would divert individuals from jail to the community. The DSP applied for and received funding for a gender-specific grant for women with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Women eligible for the services of the first program, the Phoenix Project, must be 18 or older, have severe mental illness, and a substance abuse disorder. The women must also face arrest for a misdemeanor or a nonviolent felony. A woman who is eligible for Phoenix and agrees to participate in the project will be diverted into emergency crisis housing where she will be further evaluated and stabilized, or will receive intensive case management and clinical interventions in her home. The evaluation of the Phoenix Project to be conducted by CMHSR features two major focuses. One is the compilation of a “learning history” that will explore how the various “communities of practice” learn to work with a jail delivery program. The second is the use of Lifelines of the women. The client reviews her life through the time of the interview by means of a chart that maps changes in life satisfaction to the present. The TAMAR Project (Trauma, Addictions, Mental health and Recovery) is a program that provides services for women who have histories of sexual and/or physical abuse, mental illness, and substance abuse disorders and who are in the criminal justice system. Women in detention centers are assessed and diagnosed after arrest. Upon release, these women will continue to meet in treatment groups that are developed by trauma specialists. An additional feature of the services offered by this program is a community peer support group. The trauma specialist will also ensure upon release that the woman and her children will be connected to a case manager. This article also contains information about the lessons learned so far about the Phoenix and the TAMAR Projects.