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Dear Patricia Is it likely that I could get an electronic copy of the report you mentioned in your reply. The work I am involved in is a process of formulating proposals for reform in the criminal justice system to ensure that people with disabilities are not sent to prison when there are alternatives-ie where diversion can make a real difference to a person's life. I am keen to find out whether there are diversionary programs that operate at the police level, pre-court and pre-prison. I suspect in Australia at least, that the problem is really about who is determined eligible for entry to the diversionary programs and who is not, and what we can do for those groups of people. I'd appreciate being able to reference things I learn with you and others who have expressed an interest via the research mailing list. Is that possible? Regards Megan -----Original Message----- From: Patricia Bregman [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, 9 July 1999 14:19 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Adult Offenders with disabilities and diversionary programs FAHEY Megan wrote: > > Dear Patricia > Thankyou for your advice on this. Is this an area of interest for you as > well? Megan > Very much so. I work primarily on policy and law reform issues in the areas of health care, mental health, advocacy, etc. so I am always interested in new programs, policies and directions. I would be very interested in knowing what you find out. This is a particularly important issue in Ontario because there is a serious shortage of forensic psychiatric beds for basic assessment and treatment of people in the criminal justice system. As a result people are sent to prison for lengthy periods of time while awaiting assessments. These types of programs have the potential to make a significant impact on people's lives. A study released in Toronto today about specialized courts dealing with violence against women shows that they are much more effective than the ordinary court system. I suspect the same is true of diversionary programs and specialized courts which have the resources and expertise to do more than process people on a conveyor belt. Good luck with your research. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%