Examples and Resources to Support Criminal Justice Entities in Compliance with Title II of the ADA

II. Systemic Considerations

It is important that criminal justice entities anticipate and prepare for the disability-related needs of people with mental health disabilities or I/DD. Training criminal justice personnel, conducting reviews of policies and procedures, and collaborating with mental health and disability services providers are three ways to achieve that end.

A. Training

Criminal justice personnel are likely to encounter people with mental health disabilities or I/DD who are part of the communities they serve and protect. Several factors may indicate that a person has a mental health disability or I/DD, including self-report, information provided to dispatch or to the officer or employee, the employee’s prior knowledge of the person, or the employee’s direct observation. Without proper training, criminal justice personnel may misinterpret the conduct of individuals with mental health disabilities or I/DD as intentional disrespect or disobedience, which may escalate encounters and lead to unnecessary criminal justice involvement. Appropriate training can prepare personnel to execute their ADA responsibilities in a manner that keeps staff, individuals with disabilities, and members of the community safe; promotes public welfare; builds trust with the community; respects the rights of individuals with disabilities; ensures effective use of criminal justice resources; and contributes to reliable investigative and judicial results.

Criminal justice entities have provided trainings to their personnel on these topics:

• How non-medically trained criminal justice personnel can recognize common characteristics and behaviors associated with mental health disabilities or I/DD;

• How to interact with individuals with these disabilities;

• When and how to make reasonable modifications for individuals with these disabilities;

• What individuals with these disabilities may experience and how that may affect their interactions with others (e.g., hearing voices);

• How to take appropriate steps to ensure effective communication with individuals with mental health disabilities or I/DD;

• How to avoid escalating interactions with people with these disabilities;

• How to use de-escalation or other alternative techniques to increase safety and avoid using force unnecessarily;

• What local resources are available to provide treatment, services, or support for individuals with mental health disabilities or I/DD; and

• When and how to draw upon these resources or others, such as crisis intervention teams, mobile crisis teams, assertive community treatment teams, or mental health providers.

Special Considerations for Law Enforcement Agencies: Law enforcement agencies have provided training to dispatchers on how to recognize and handle calls from or about people with mental health disabilities or I/DD, including on the following topics:

• The availability of crisis intervention teams or other resources to respond to calls about individuals with mental health disabilities or I/DD;

• When to dispatch crisis intervention teams or officers with training in interacting with people with these disabilities;

• When to consider dispatching a mental health provider rather than a police officer;

• Information about, and contact information for, community-based service providers; and

• The importance of communicating information dispatchers receive about individuals’ disabilities to responding officers or service providers.

B. Analysis

Criminal justice entities have reviewed their policies, practices, procedures, and standing orders to ensure that they do not discriminate against people with mental health disabilities or I/DD. For example, entities have collected, aggregated, and analyzed data regarding individuals served by the entity and outcomes to determine whether people with disabilities are subjected to bias or other discrimination. Where potential discrimination has been found, entities have taken necessary corrective measures, such as revising policies and procedures; refining quality assurance processes; and implementing training.

C. Collaboration with Other Entities

States, counties, and cities, which often administer both criminal justice and disability service systems, have obligations under the ADA to ensure people with mental health disabilities or I/DD receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. Services such as scattered-site supported housing, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), crisis services, intensive case management, respite, personal care services, behavior support, nursing care, peer support, and supported employment services can support a jurisdiction’s efforts to divert people with these disabilities from the criminal justice system and serve them in their communities.

State and local governments must prevent unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities. Governments have complied with this obligation by using community-based treatment services to keep people with disabilities out of the criminal justice system. These governments have recognized that the responsibility for effectively serving people with mental health disabilities or I/DD cannot fall to law enforcement alone. Therefore, they ensure that their disability service systems offer sufficient community-based services and support criminal justice entities to coordinate with, and divert to, community-based services.

Criminal justice entities have collaborated with their jurisdiction’s mental health and disability services programs and with service providers on the following:

• Ensuring that law enforcement officers have contact information for relevant service providers and developing policies for when dispatchers or law enforcement officers should contact mental health service providers rather than engage in arrests.

• Helping individuals with these disabilities access community-based services. Federal resources may be available to help individuals connect with and participate in these services. When release conditions include finding housing and employment, agencies have prepared their staff to facilitate access to community-based supported housing and employment services or have modified such conditions when needed to avoid discrimination.

• Facilitating Medicaid or health insurance enrollment for prisoners with disabilities, identifying community-based service providers, and collaborating with providers to complete intake interviews and schedule initial appointments before release.¹

• Developing policies, procedures, and training on diversion, de-escalation, release planning, use of force, and discipline.