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The Center for Mental Health Services & Criminal Justice Research was established in September 2002 by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The Center provides an organizational structure that promotes and facilitates the efforts of university faculty, pre- and postdoctoral trainees, students, and practitioners to study the following issues:

• Prevalence of mental illness in correctional settings
• Factors predicting and causing criminal justice encounters
• Treatment needs of persons with mental illness in correctional settings
• Building and diffusing innovative mental health services in correctional settings
• Evaluating innovative services in correctional settings
• Evaluating innovative re-entry programs
• Cost-effectiveness analysis of services and programs
• Developing methods to better measure needs and treatment effectiveness

The research and training of the Center specializes in developing conceptual models of complex service and systems dynamics, and then applying these models to study mental health services issues in the context of their natural settings.

The Center for Mental Health Services & Criminal Justice Research is situated at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and is directed by Dr. Nancy Wolff and co-directed by Dr. Jeffrey Draine (University of Pennsylvania) and Dr. William Fisher (University of Massachusetts Medical School). The Rutgers site provides structure for research and training, and is central in coordinating all Center-related activities.

The Center's activities and strategic planning are guided by a National Advisory Board, comprised of senior policy makers, practitioners, and researchers, all of whom are leaders in their respective fields. The Board reviews and informs the Center's research and training agenda, critiques the Center's portfolio of research projects, and advises on new initiatives and directions.

The policy making body of the Center is the Research Review Committee. The membership of the committee represents the multidisciplinary focus of the Center and its multi-institutional approach. The Review Committee establishes priorities and serves as a peer review group to evaluate proposals submitted for Center support and to approve new research affiliates. In addition, the Review Committee reviews applications and selects candidates for the Center's training and mentorship program.