BOSTON – The Massachusetts House of Representatives adopted an amendment sponsored by Representative Ruth B. Balser (D-Newton) that provides a $300,000 appropriation for a new Jail Diversion Grant Program to be established within the Department of Mental Health.  The program is modeled after the successful Framingham Jail Diversion program. 

As the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Representative Balser has championed the establishment of programs that will direct individuals struggling with mental illness and/or addictions to treatment and away from involvement with the criminal justice system. The Committee heard testimony earlier in the term from representatives of the Psychiatric Emergency Services of Advocates, Inc., and from the Framingham Police Department about their successful partnership that resulted in mental health treatment of individuals and diminished arrest rates. Subsequently, Representative Balser began to advocate for the replication of that program in other municipalities. 

Representative Balser offered an amendment during the House Budget debates that would develop a new grant program in the Department of Mental Health.  Municipalities interested in establishing a jail diversion program would apply to the state for these funds. 

Representative Balser commented, “The House of Representatives has taken a bold step in committing to a new approach to mental health treatment by working with the criminal justice system.  This is the first of what I hope will be many steps towards ensuring that the mentally ill receive the treatment they need rather than incarceration.”
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