Welcome to the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health (CCJBH)

In 2001, California established CCJBH (formerly the council on mentally ill offenders, or COMIO), through the passage of senate bill 1059. CCJBH is a 12-member council chaired by the secretary of CDCR and comprised of representatives from the department of state hospitals (DSH), the department of health care services (DHCS), and appointed experts from criminal justice and behavioral health fields. The council is tasked with several statutory goals outlined in California penal code (pc) section 6044, including: investigating, identifying, and promoting cost-effective strategies that prevent adults and juveniles with mental health needs from becoming incarcerated; identifying incentives for state and local justice and health programs to adopt such approaches; reporting its activities to the legislature; and providing recommendations for improving the cost-effectiveness of existing mental health and criminal justice programs. In September 2017, pc 6044 was amended (chapter 268, sec. 11) to expand the scope of the council to include preventing adults and juveniles with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders from entering and reentering the California justice system.

The central mission of CCJBH is to promote and support data-driven decision-making on both policy and program issues impacting California. Existing data can be analyzed and used to support reduced incarceration of youth and adults with mental health and substance use disorders.