The social and medical support
infrastructure of the United States is broken and a rising death toll from
“diseases of despair” are the unsurprising result. In particular, the services
available to individuals with serious mental illness and disabilities are
inadequate, verging on non-existent. Increasingly, individuals presenting with
symptoms of mental illness or disability are too often diverted into the
criminal justice system. These diversions disproportionately affect populations already among the most vulnerable,
including veterans, under-represented minorities, and individuals with opioid
use disorder. This panel will bring together experts in the law related to these
vulnerable populations in order to consider recently passed, pending, and
proposed legislative responses to addressing their serious needs without
criminalization as well as making more effective interventions within the
criminal justice system.
Business meeting at program conclusion.