PITTSBURG, Kan. — Crawford County Mental Health Center (CCMHC) recently announced that Dr. Jeffrey Burch has assumed the role of director of behavioral justice services.
In this new role, Burch will be responsible for the coordination, collaboration, and continued growth of connecting community partners in the judicial, legal, correctional, and other related areas to serve the mental health needs of the community. Additional responsibilities assumed by Burch will include the development of a psychological testing department to serve the needs of the community.
"I am excited to be able to help make a difference for our community and our clients," said Burch. "We have so many great people in our community already committed to helping and making a difference that I believe we have the potential to positively impact not only the individuals affected with mental health illnesses, but the community as a whole. I am thankful for this opportunity and I do not take lightly the responsibility of serving the population of Crawford County."
Burch is a licensed psychologist in the state of Kansas. He has a master's in clinical psychology and graduated with a Psy.D., Doctor of Psychology, in clinical psychology from the University of Indianapolis in 2005.
In addition to his educational expertise, Burch brings extensive mental health experience to CCMHC, including working as a psychologist at Ascension Via Christi, Pittsburg State University, and Pawnee Mental Health Services.
Burch's advocacy and passion for mental health is also evident in the various community projects and associations he is affiliated with, including the Human Trafficking Task Force, Cancer Center Committee, Fostering Hope, and Kansas National Alliance on Mental Illness Board of Directors and Steering Committee.
CCMHC has had a long-standing collaboration with Community Corrections in Crawford County to provide case management services.
"We appreciate and value the relationship in place with Crawford County Mental Health. Through our collaboration, we are able to better serve and meet the mental health needs of individuals in the corrections program," said Tracy Harris, director, 11th Judicial District Community Corrections.
"With the agency's transition to a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC), we have an opportunity to expand and work more collaboratively with community partners to better serve the unmet mental health needs experienced in our community," said Heather Spaur, CCMHC executive director. "We are reaching out to community partners to assess the mental health needs they have and how we can better serve them.
"We are thrilled to expand our services with partners in the judicial, legal, and correctional areas, which has not been an area that we have served extensively in the past. The CCBHC model along with statewide initiatives like Stepping Up, have provided the opportunity and have shown the importance of interventions and collaborations between this area and mental health. We are excited to start this process and see how we can be a resource for these community partners, as well as see how we can work collaboratively to better serve our community."
Individuals with a mental illness in the criminal justice system may find themselves in a correctional setting that is not equipped to provide the necessary care and treatment they require. Many incarcerated individuals with mental illness spend an average of three weeks in jail, and are at a higher risk of physical illness and death. Individuals with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental disorders and mental health substance use disorders are
overrepresented in the incarcerated population. Recidivism rates are much higher for these individuals as well.
"CCBHC is an opportunity for us to help address the disparity of incarcerated individuals with mental illness, which is a nationwide problem. We are excited for the opportunity and committed to working with our community partners to fill the mental health gaps that exist and provide collaborative care for these individuals, so they can receive the appropriate mental health care," said Spaur.
The expansion of services that CCMHC can now offer to community partners as the agency transitions to a CCBHC aim to help support individuals with mental or substance use disorders in the justice system by connecting them to appropriate levels of mental health services. Working collaboratively with community partners in these fields will assist individuals with mental illness in overcoming some of the issues that may have brought them into contact with the justice system in the first place, with the goal of treating the behaviors that lead them to the justice system.
Burch has started the process of researching programs and funding sources, as well as identifying and connecting with community partners who can collaborate with the new behavioral justice services.
"There are many opportunities and many different pathways for CCMHC to be a resource to our community partners," said Spaur. "I have every confidence in Dr. Burch's ability to identify, connect with, and establish strong relationships with our community partners in the upcoming months, and to collectively work with these entities to find ways we can meet the mental health needs of our community."
Burch has identified the goal of this new program as organizing, enhancing, and expanding behavioral health services within the Crawford County justice system. The program is in the initial stages of development, and CCMHC plans to continue to identify key players in the area, make connections, and start communications to assess the mental health needs of organizations and entities in the justice system to implement services and resources to better serve the community.
