Statewide Advocacy Directory

In 2021, ACCESS California embarked on a project with the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health (CCJBH) to provide opportunities for justice-involved individuals to have their voices heard. ACCESS' work with CCJBH focuses on executing activities that aid the reduction of youth and adults with behavioral health needs and their involvement in the criminal/juvenile justice systems. Currently the project is focused on the Superior and Southern Regions of California.

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ACCESS has

• recruited individuals throughout California's Superior and Southern Regions who identify as mental health clients/consumers with lived experience in the criminal justice system to participate in our program as subject-matter experts. These Regional ACCESS Ambassadors provide insight and guidance to our program on mental health and criminal justice involvement policy matters, attend ACCESS-sponsored trainings and state-level events, and perform local-level outreach, engagement, and advocacy in their home communities.

• conducted virtual Leadership Roundtables (three in each region) with local leaders/decision makers to build relationships, identify opportunities for cross collaboration, collect data, identify needs, gather perspectives on issues at intersections of behavioral health/criminal justice, identify opportunities for increased cross agency and community collaboration.

• conducted virtual stakeholder focus groups (three for each region) for youth/adults, priority populations, family members, local advocates and allies to build relationships, identify opportunities for cross collaboration, collect information/data, identify needs, and gather views on important behavioral health/criminal justice issues.

In 2022, ACCESS' work included Community Activation Workshops, Cross-Collaboration Workshops, Peer Provider Workshops, Ambassador trainings, a video campaign and podcasts.