Mental Health Crisis Review Commission urges advocates at probation meetings after Ludlow case

Kristen Chandler, vice chair of the Mental Health Crisis Review Commission, told the Corrections & Institutions Committee on Jan. 29 that the commission’s latest annual report includes recommendations aimed at improving outcomes where probation and mental-health systems intersect.

The commission reviewed two incidents this year and completed full reviews of four cases historically; the Ludlow case in particular prompted recommendations specific to corrections and probation. The commission recommends that people on probation who have serious mental illness be offered an advocate or peer to attend probation appointments, review conditions of release, and help them understand how to comply with those conditions while managing their illness. "Somebody in that kind of a situation…needs an advocate, needs somebody with them at their appointments," Chandler said.

Why it matters: the commission was created by the legislature in 2017 to review incidents involving law enforcement and persons perceived to have a mental illness that resulted in serious bodily harm or death. Its findings are…