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INFORMATION FOR

Treatment Programs

Law and Psychiatry at Yale has long supported the need to provide clinical services to individuals caught up in the criminal justice system. For most public psychiatric facilities, over 50% of the clients are involved in the criminal justice system. The Division has been very involved with developing adequate dispositions for insanity acquitees and patients hospitalized for restoration of competency. Clinical issues that the Division wrestles with include how best to help clients deal with legal problems, what principles will best guide the interface between clinical and legal domains and what skills and interventions are necessary to navigate the new terrain. Other issues include developing guidelines for clients who are mandated for treatment, diverted from jail, or evaluated to answer a legal question.

On this page

New Haven Jail Diversion Program

The New Haven Jail Diversion Program is supervised by Madelon Baranoski, PhD, and the Law and Psychiatry Division. The mission is to facilitate appropriate mental health services for persons arrested for minor crimes and prevent them from entering the carceral system. The program is housed in the New Haven Court and provides on-site assessment, referral, monitoring, and reporting for persons with mental illness.

For more information

Email Dr. Madelon Baranoski (madelon.baranoski@yale.edu)

CMHC Community Forensics Program

The Division also provides consultation and oversight for the Connecticut Mental Health Center’s Community Forensic Program. The program provides assessment, referral, and treatment for persons with mental illness who are released from prison or are under special supervision by the court. Individuals are referred to the program while under pre-trial supervision or upon release from the Connecticut Department of Correction. The Community Forensics team coordinates referrals for housing, mental health treatment, social services, and case management.

Forensic Drug Diversion (ForDD) Clinic

The Forensic Drug Diversion (ForDD) Clinic is a satellite clinic of the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) and represents a cooperative endeavor between the Law and Psychiatry Division and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. FORDD is an outpatient treatment clinic serving individuals in the New Haven area who have legal involvement and are seeking assessment and treatment for substance use. The clinic accepts referrals from individuals, the courts, probation, parole, jails, and prisons.

Clinical services offered include:

  • diagnostic evaluation
  • individual therapy
  • group therapy
  • peer mentorship
  • case management
  • harm reduction
  • medication for substance use and psychiatric issues, including Suboxone, Vivitrol, Sublocade, and Narcan.

Living Free Program:

The FORDD clinic offers additional programing for those returning to the New Haven community from incarceration. The Living-Free program integrates addiction and mental health care, physical health care, and peer mentorship through a person-centered and individualized approach to re-entry care. This program has been recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as a best-practices, evidenced-based program.

Peer Mentorship Training:

For clients with lived experience of incarceration and addiction, clinic offers a peer-mentorship training program following successful completion of treatment at FORDD. Formerly Incarcerated Recovery Support Training (FIRST) offers didactic training and paid internship experiences to support future careers as a Peer Support Specialist. The FIRST program is funded with a generous gift from the Dollard Trust Foundation.

For more information