LUCY LANG RELEASES PLAN TO IMPLEMENT PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO MENTAL HEALTH & SUBSTANCE MISUSE AS MANHATTAN DA

Plan Built With Input From Interfaith Leaders; Will Create Early Diversion Opportunities To ‘Shrink The System’

Lang Will Decline To Prosecute Possession For Personal Use, Expand Manhattan’s Mental Health Court

January 27, 2021

Today, Manhattan District Attorney Candidate Lucy Lang released a comprehensive plan to implement a proactive public health approach to mental health and substance misuse in New York City. Lang is committed to fundamentally transforming the way our criminal justice system interacts with those who suffer from mental illness and substance misuse, and will divert cases into public health and community-based care. As Manhattan District Attorney, Lang will decline to prosecute cases of substance possession for personal use.

Lang’s plan is built in collaboration with interfaith leaders working within our communities to respond to these critical issues. As part of her plan, Lang will transform Manhattan’s Mental Health Court to promote public safety and community well-being by reassessing eligibility criteria to be more inclusive of all individuals with mental illnesses, expanding treatment and support services, and encouraging Assistant District Attorneys – through concrete incentives – to refer eligible people to the Mental Health Court.

In addition, Lang will develop an advisory board of clinical and medical experts, community-based advocates, service providers, and people with lived experience to ensure that current procedures within the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are informed by public health approaches.

“Lucy’s plan will ensure that those who struggle with mental illness or substance misuse will be met with a holistic approach that prioritizes their health, dignity, and spiritual and emotional wellbeing” said Rev. Derrick W. McQueen, Ph. D. of St. James Presbyterian Church. “People of faith from all religions are addressing these issues in our communities every day - I’m glad to finally see a candidate for district attorney who is pledging to work with us to get people the help they need. Addiction is not a crime.”

“Manhattan needs a District Attorney who understands the need to partner with community organizations and interfaith leaders to respond to crises on the ground,” said Hussein Rashid, an Imam and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. “Lucy’s plan will build upon the work that non-profits, interfaith leaders, and support groups are already doing when it comes to substance misuse and mental health support, and I look forward to collaborating with her to ensure that public health remains at the forefront of public safety.”

“It’s refreshing to see a candidate for district attorney turn to the faith community as a true partner on addressing substance misuse and mental health,” said Rabbi Irwin Kula, co-president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. “Lucy understands that these issues must be met with a holistic public health approach instead of a punitive one, and I’m excited to work with her to ensure that those who struggle with substance misuse or mental health issues get the services and treatment they need.”

“The sad truth is that our criminal justice system has become a backstop for treating mental health and substance misuse – something it was never intended nor equipped to do. It’s past time for a public health approach to public health issues,” said Manhattan District Attorney Candidate Lucy Lang. “As District Attorney, I will end the prosecution of substance possession for personal use, and focus on diverting cases out of the criminal justice system so that people can get the support and rehabilitation they need. My plan will ensure that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is well-equipped to address the unique challenges of justice-involved people with mental health disorders – an approach that will support both the public health and public safety of all New Yorkers.”

PROACTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS

Lucy Lang will take a true public health approach to mental health and substance misuse, which requires devising proactive interventions that, whenever possible, keep people out of the legal system. As Manhattan District Attorney, Lang will:

  • Create early diversion opportunities to limit involvement in the criminal justice system, including the use of peers (people who have previously experienced a mental health challenge) in the response

    • Adopt an explicit policy of diverting people with behavioral health or mental health needs who commit low level offenses or petit theft crimes as the default

    • Work with other system stakeholders to promote the use of pre-arrest or pre-arraignment diversion wherever possible

  • Decline to prosecute cases of substance possession for personal use and where the possession constitutes a danger to the user or others, divert that case into public health and community-based care

  • Advocate for the New York State Department of Corrections’ medical facilities to adopt the same accreditation process as non-prison medical facilities, and to adopt the use of Medications for Opioid use Disorder to safely accommodate the health needs of incarcerated people suffering from addiction and withdrawal, thereby decreasing the likelihood of relapse upon release back to the community

  • For New Yorkers returning home from prison, develop a process for active enrollment in Medicaid, including a warm hand-off referral whereby a trusted person will connect the returning citizen to community-based treatment resources.

  • Develop an advisory board of behavioral health experts -- clinical and medical experts, community-based advocates, service providers, people with lived experience, among others -- to ensure that current procedures within the District Attorney’s Office are informed by public health approaches

  • Work collaboratively with public health officials and community-based advocates to develop proactive strategies to prevent people with mental health and substance misuse needs from being involved in the criminal justice system, including early identification of needs through programs like Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)

  • Use bully pulpit and partnerships to push for new public safety paradigm based on cross sector partnerships – this would include aligning policy, practices as well as funding

  • Support clinical responses such as Co-Response, Mobile Crisis units and CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) to mental health calls to 911 and continue to advocate for rapid expansion of NYC’s recently announced Mental Health Teams of Emergency Medical Services pilot

  • Leverage relationships with community organizations and actors — including non-profits, faith leaders, and support groups — who are already working within their communities to respond to the crisis by cataloguing these initiatives and formalizing relationships and referral programs

  • Work closely with community groups and leaders to develop messaging materials to cultivate community buy-in from all stakeholders. Public health responses to mental health disorders and addiction work but, unfortunately, many people oppose these initiatives based on lack of understanding.

MENTAL HEALTH COURTS

When serious harm does occur, Mental Health Courts have been proven to better tailor treatment, provide methods of genuine accountability, and facilitate rehabilitation programs for those living with behavioral health disorders. Yet, Manhattan’s mental health court is vastly-underutilized and under-resourced. In order to safely and thoughtfully expand the Mental Health Court to further serve residents of Manhattan, Lang will:

  • Review the terms of participation and participation eligibility with an eye toward expanding Mental Health Court practices to further promote public safety and community well-being; this includes:

    • Reassessing eligibility criteria to be more inclusive of all individuals with mental illnesses, regardless of the type of crime committed

    • Expanding treatment and support services

    • Introducing a pre-adjudication option for some lower level offenses

    • Encouraging ADAs – through concrete incentives – to refer eligible people to the Mental Health Court

    • Ensuring that all Mental Health Court staff receive training on the unique needs and circumstances of people living with mental illnesses

  • Increase uptake by working collaboratively with the defense bar to identify eligible candidates and require that ADAs refer appropriate candidates for screening

  • Convene a multidisciplinary roundtable to outline best practices for the expansion of Mental Health Courts

  • Develop a system for measuring impact rooted in proven performance metrics, such as:

    • In-program reoffending

    • Attendance at judicial hearings and treatment sessions

    • Progress towards stable living conditions

    • Need-basis of treatment and supervision

    • Individual satisfaction and perceived fairness

    • Participant preparation for transition out of program

    • Post-program recidivism

To learn more about Lucy’s priorities, visit her plans page.