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More than 1,200 attendees at the nation’s largest mental health/criminal justice conference will hear from Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Justice Stratton will share the stage with Judge Steven Leifman, special adviser on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida, as one-half of a tandem presentation at the plenary session “Judge as Change Agent and Partner.” Justice Stratton and Judge Leifman also serve as co-chairs of the National Judges Leadership Initiative.
Justice Stratton, who chairs the Supreme Court’s Ohio Advisory Committee on Mental Illness and the Courts, will speak to participants specifically about actively incorporating local judges in their mental health/criminal justice collaboratives.
“A judge has the unique ability to be a convener to call a meeting to which everyone will come,” Justice Stratton said. “A judge can encourage parties to set aside turf battles and to partner together to solve the revolving door of persons with mental illness to jails and prisons.”
The theme for the 2008 Center for Mental Health Services National GAINS Center Conference is “Creating More Effective Services.” For 13 years, the GAINS Center has collected and disseminated information about effective mental health and substance abuse services for people with co-occurring disorders in contact with the justice system.
In addition to Justice Stratton’s presentation, Melissa Knopp, manager of the court’s Specialized Dockets Programs, and Corey Schaal, the court’s mental health court program manager, will also serve on conference panels.