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In the field of mental health, the term evidence-based practices (EBPs) refers to interventions that have been rigorously tested, have yielded consistent, replicable results, and have proven safe, beneficial, and effective for most people diagnosed with mental illness. Five EBPs identified by CMHS as being potentially adaptable to criminal justice settings were each the subject of a one-day expert panel meeting. Prior to each meeting, one or more experts in the field produced a discussion paper that summarized the research supporting each intervention as an evidence-based practice, and described its potential applications for justice-involved mental health consumers. These papers were then discussed during the expert panel meetings, with input from the group leading to revisions of the papers. The GAINS center has turned the results of these meetings into factsheets that address the following:

• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
• Supported Employment
• Illness Self-Management and Recovery
• Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
• Housing

Identifying "what works" and applying the evidence-based knowledge to program development is critically important to the field to assure the use of best practices in mental health service provision. Too few people with serious mental illness who are justice involved receive comprehensive and appropriate services. The EBP initiative is intended to help close this treatment gap by promoting the use of EBPs with those that are justice-involved. GAINS Center staff will continue to update the five EBP factsheets and introduce a series of new factsheets in the upcoming years.

	The CMHS National GAINS Center
	Gains@prainc.com    800.311.GAIN
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