The Virginia Department of Corrections community mental health program has been selected as one of 10 inaugural sites that will serve as model examples for the national Criminal Justice-Mental Health Learning Sites program.
VADOC’s community mental health professionals will serve as mentors for other agencies who are passionate about criminal justice and behavioral health reform.
Strategies will be offered for issues including crisis response through courts, jail, reentry and community supervision.
The program was launched in 2023 to serve as a peer-to-peer learning program for law enforcement agencies seeking to build collaborative responses for people with mental health needs.
“This selection as a Criminal Justice-Mental Health Learning Site is a well-deserved recognition of VADOC’s innovative approach to addressing the mental health needs of people on community supervision in the Commonwealth,” said Chad Dotson, VADOC director. “We are very proud of the work being done by our qualified mental health professionals here in our department.”