November 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 12th, 2021 the OHIO Mental Health and Addiction Services Department of Forensic Services will offer their annual professional education conference, this year focusing on the changes in the Ohio statute language for competency restoration, and the populations that this will most likely impact.
TO REGISTER: https://concept.paloaltou.edu/2021-ohiomhas/
November 2nd, 2021, Elizabeth Kelley, Esq. presenting The Intersection of Mental Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System is a nationally recognized attorney for individuals with severe mental illness, intellectual disabilities, and autism spectrum and her talk will focus on the challenges faced by attorneys defending people with mental illness in the criminal justice system. As a criminal defense attorney, Elizabeth Kelley is an advocate for persons with mental and intellectual disabilities. She is the chair of the ARC’s National Center for Criminal Justice and Disability and has published a practical guide for criminal defense lawyers representing people with mental disabilities and for individuals with autism spectrum characteristics including a handbook for families of people with disabilities and criminal court situations (see her bio for details). Ms. Kelley will share with the audience her experiences of defending individuals with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, severe mental illness, and autism, and her efforts to make the criminal justice system aware of the unique needs and situations for this population. This session will be held from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (EST) via video conference. All materials will be provided to registered participants ahead of time via email.
November 4th, 2021, Dr. Neil Gowensmith and a panel of Ohio experts will present National Issues related to Competency Restoration and Ohio’s Response: Implementation of SB2 about the national trend towards increasing referrals for competency restoration has placed heavy burdens on the state-run psychiatric facilities resulting in the waitlist for forensic services and challenges for serving individuals in crisis and need of psychiatric state-run hospitalization. In this session, you will hear from Dr. Gowensmith about the factors that may be driving this issue and how other states have responded, including case law shaping these changes. You will also learn about Ohio’s passage of Senate Bill 2, the case law considered and the impact this will have on the forensic mental health system in the state of Ohio. Justice Eve Stratton, Christina Shaynak-Diaz, Dr. Robert Baker, Vicki Montesano, and Betsy Johnson will address the multi-system implications to SB 2 and how providers are responding to this. This session will be held from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (EST) and 12:45 to 3:15 PM via video conference. All materials will be provided to registered participants ahead of time via email.
November 5th, 2021, Dr. John Tuell will present Dual Status Youth: Innovative Solutions & Positive Outcomes about juveniles who come into contact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and occupy various statuses in terms of their relationship to the two systems. A growing body of research has consistently confirmed that, in comparison to juveniles without such cross-system involvement, dual status youth present a range of important challenges. The challenges and costs associated with dual-status youth strongly suggest the need to devise and implement innovative ways to manage these difficult cases. The RFK National Resource Center has guided state and local jurisdictions, including six currently in Ohio, in their endeavor to improve the outcomes for dual status youth (DSY) and families and to enhance system performance. This session will dynamically highlight the approach, the practice – and the innovative solutions and positive results from this work. The session will include a discussion of case law and will provide a roadmap for other jurisdictions to achieve the same positive results. This session will be held from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (EST) via video conference. All materials will be provided to registered participants ahead of time via email.
November 12th from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM (EST) panelists from Ohio’s judiciary will present The Role of the Mental Health Court in Ohio, now and moving forward. This panel with Judge Jodi Thomas, Judge Cindi Morehart, and Jill Hillman will discuss case law and focus on the treatment and rehabilitation efforts being made in Ohio’s mental health courts. There are over 40 certified or courts in active pursuit of certification of mental health courts in Ohio. You can see a map of specialized dockets around the state on the Ohio Supreme Court’s website and learn more about the standards that these courts must meet. All materials will be provided to registered participants ahead of time via email.
All participants will be registered through the CONCEPT secure website using a unique email address and password (login). All participants will have the opportunity to ask questions in real-time of each of the presenters/panelists and will have access to others’ posed questions. All participants will be required to submit a satisfaction survey expressing their comments about what they learned regarding the pre-published objectives. Educational materials will be provided to all participants via the email address they provided during registration and additional links provided to them throughout the conference sessions. The educational materials will be available after the conference for approximately thirty days for anyone who is registered to access them. The conference sessions will not be recorded for future broadcasts.