Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Ontario applauds the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSCS) in hiring an additional 239 staff to increase supports for inmates with significant challenges related to long-term segregation. This includes: 22 mental health nurses, 22 social workers, 22 nurses, 24 correctional officers, 32 recreational staff and eight psychologists, in addition to 46 institutional managers and other program staff. “Being involved in the justice system can provide an individual an opportunity, often their first, to access mental health services that can make a positive difference in their lives,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO, CMHA Ontario. “We’re grateful the government recognizes the important benefits that enhanced supports can provide for individuals living with a mental illness during incarceration and re-integration into society.”
To further support adult inmates with mental health issues, the province will:
- Increase the availability of clinical supports for inmates with mental health issues
- Provide additional mental health court support workers
- Fund two pilot programs in Toronto and Hamilton to provide specialty psychiatric beds for acutely ill inmates who have needs that are too complex for general hospitals
- Provide additional release from custody workers to help improve the reintegration of offenders with mental illness as they transition back into the community, helping to reduce the likelihood of re-offending
- Expand the availability of “safe beds,” which provide time-limited emergency housing for people experiencing a mental health crisis with high-intensity care as an alternative to hospital or jail
- Develop cross-training programs for detention centre staff to help them better manage people with mental health challenges and seclusion protocols
Read the December 15 government announcement. CMHA Ontario CEO Camille Quenneville was interviewed about the announcement in the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.
CMHA Ontario has a long history and involvement in addressing issues that arise at the intersection of justice and mental health. Since 2009, CMHA Ontario has been providing support to the Provincial Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committees (HSJCCs). And since 2015, CMHA Ontario has been the secretariat for the Provincial HSJCC. HSJCCs were established at the local, regional and provincial level based on the Provincial Strategy to Coordinate Human Services and Criminal Justice Systems in Ontario (1997), in order to plan more effectively for people who are in conflict with the law. Priority consideration is for people with a serious mental illness, developmental disability, acquired brain injury, drug and alcohol addiction, and/or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
CMHA Ontario is pleased to continue to work with the HSJCCs through capacity building, planning and policy advice, and administrative support.