A Program Director's Perspective

• In Event: Policy Panel: Theoretical and Practical Issues Facing Veterans Treatment Courts and Those in Contact with Them

Abstract

B. J. Wagner joined the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute in the Fall of 2015 as Director of Smart Justice, assisting communities across Texas transform systems to increase prevention and intervention services and reduce justice involvement for special populations. B. J. began her career in law enforcement as a county jailer and later as a law enforcement officer in North East and Western Texas. In response to the increasing number of contacts with persons with mental illness she experienced as a law enforcement officer, she returned to graduate school to complete studies in clinical neuropsychology and counseling psychology at Texas A&M. She began working in community mental health clinics and consulting with law enforcement on best practices. B. J. has developed curricula on mental health awareness, symptom recognition, and verbal de-escalation techniques. B.J. worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), developing front-end diversion and continuity of care systems for offenders with special care needs and guided Medicaid implementation for limited populations within the State’s prison systems. She worked closely with the Department of State Health Services to redesign the TRAG assessment to include criminogenic risk factors to ensure all persons being assessed in the public mental health system also had criminogenic needs addressed. In 2015, after serving as Deputy Director for the Reentry and Integration Division at TDCJ, B. J. joined the Texas Veterans Commission during the regular legislative session to analyze proposed legislation and advise on emerging trends and state and local initiatives to address the needs of trauma-affected veterans at risk of justice involvement.

Author

• B. J. Wagner, Smart Justice of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute