Partners In Justice

Disability Resource Network is please to be the recipient of the funds from the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council to coordinate the efforts of the Partners in Justice Committee.  Historically the P in J Committee has focused on issues related to providing services to adults with mental retardation who come into conflict with the criminal justice system.  Over the past five years the P in J committee has conducted trainings at the state, regional and county levels as well as sponsored county based initiatives to establish multidisciplinary teams to address the needs of adult offenders with mental retardation at the county level.

The future direction of the P in J Committee is shifting its focus to youth offenders with mental retardation as well as victims of crimes who have mental retardation.  In that connection the current activities of the P in J Committee include facilitation of a national conference to be held in Columbus on October 22 and 23, 2007.  The purpose of this conference is to bring national expertise from the fields of mental health, juvenile justice, education and mental retardation together to discuss best practices as well as examine the current state of services for this population.

The P in J Committee currently includes representation from the Ohio State Departments of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Education, Youth Services, and Criminal Justice as well as county board representation, private provider representation, The ARC of Ohio, parents and advocates.

For further information on the Partners in Justice visit their web site at www.ohiopartnersinjustice.org or call Lee at the Network