Courts play an integral role in ensuring that individuals with a mental illness and/or substance use disorder who are justice involved receive the most appropriate care that leads to recovery.  The presenters from Georgia have found that Incorporating Peer Supporters (individuals who have lived experience of both behavioral health and justice involvement) into the court system has been an important step in helping the court understand and support recovery and increase diversion.  This webinar will feature State Court Judge Charles Auslander, III from the State Court of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia; Laura McCoy, FPM, DUI Treatment Court Case Manager with the Western Judicial Circuit in Georgia; and Tony Sanchez, Director of Partnerships at Faces and Voices of Recovery.  The presenters will discuss the value of including Peers in the judicial system to promote recovery and help break the cycle of arrests; how judges can advocate for incorporating Peers into the judicial process; how providers and behavioral health treatment teams, including Peers, Social Workers, Nurses, and others, can best approach the judicial system to form partnerships of care; all while underlying that each system (the Judicial and Behavioral Health Systems) share the same values and goals even though they may speak different languages. 

Format

Recorded webinar, non-interactive, self-paced distance learning activity with post-test.

This presentation was recorded on December 15, 2022.

Learning Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the different cultures of the Judicial and Behavioral Health Systems to overcome barriers to forming a collaborative relationship that promotes recovery and positive behavioral health outcomes. 
• List strategies and the best terminology that will enable individuals from the two systems to form a collaborative care relationship that promotes positive outcomes and recovery for individuals with SMI engaged in the Judicial System. 
• Evaluate how individuals with behavioral health issues and criminal justice involvement are traditionally viewed/treated by courts and their concerns in hearing cases involving BH Clients—what do courts want to know from clinical teams to help them best do their work. 

Outline

• Understanding judges and legal professionals 
• Building on common values  
• Building the relationship between treatment court professionals, behavioral health, and court treatment teams  
• Innovative practices  
• Attendee Q&A 

Target Audience

Counselor, Nurse/Nurse Practitioner, Peer Specialist/Peer Support, Pharmacist, Physician (Non-psychiatrist), Physician Assistant, Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Social Worker 

Instructional Level 

Introductory, Intermediate, Advanced 

Estimate Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 1.0 hour
Program Start Date: December 22, 2022 
Program End Date: December 22, 2025

Ongoing Interdisciplinary Discussion Board

After completing the course, engage with colleagues in the mental health field through SMI Adviser's Webinar Roundtable Topics discussion board. This is an easy way to network and share ideas with other clinicians who participate in this webinar. Access through the discussion tab.

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, CE credit for psychologists, CE credit for social workers, or a certificate of participation may do so by viewing the live presentation and completing the evaluation. Participants claiming CE credit for psychologists and those claiming CE credit for social workers, must have full attendance to claim credit. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians), CE certificate (psychologists), CE certificate (social workers) or certificate of participation (other disciplines) showing the event date and hours earned.

Continuing Education Credit

Physicians

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The APA designates this live event for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Psychologists

The American Psychiatric Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. American Psychiatric Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Social Workers

American Psychiatric Association, provider #1743, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. American Psychiatric Association maintains responsibility for this course.  

ACE provider approval period: 05/18/2021 - 05/18/2024. Social workers completing this course receive 1.0 continuing education credits. 

Continuing education requirements vary from state to state. Many state boards grant reciprocity with national accrediting organizations and other state boards. It is the responsibility of each professional to understand the requirements for license renewal or check with the state or national licensing board and/or professional organization to become more familiar with their policies for acceptable continuing education credit. Social workers and Psychologists should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval.

Faculty and Planner Disclosures

The American Psychiatric Association adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity — including faculty, planners, reviewers or others — are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity. 

Instructor

• Charles E. Auslander, III has served Athens-Clarke County as a judge for 17 years.  He served in the Magistrate Court from 2002–2011, and in the State Court since 2011. Throughout his judicial career, Judge Auslander has been an advocate for rehabilitation and restoration as alternatives to incarceration, fines, and other traditional sentencing methods used in our criminal justice system. He has focused on identifying and addressing the underlying cause of criminal behavior, whether it be substance use disorder, a mental health diagnosis, or past trauma. Judge Auslander has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
• Laura McCoy, FPM is DUI Treatment Court Case Manager with the Western Judicial Circuit in Georgia. Ms. McCoy has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. 
• Tony Sanchez is Director of Partnerships at Faces and Voices of Recovery. Mr. Sanchez has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. 

Planners

• Teri Brister, PhD, LPC, National Alliance on Mental Illness. Dr. Brister has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
• Amy Cohen, PhD, American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Cohen has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. 
• John Torous, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Torous has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. 
• Sherin Khan, LCSW, Thresholds. Ms. Khan has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. 

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This website requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be:  Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact SMIadviserhelp@psych.org for technical assistance