The Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative (JPLI) has selected Scott Block, Behavioral Health Administrator, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, from a highly competitive pool of candidates, to serve on its national Advisory Group.
As an Advisory Group member, Scott will serve a three-year term, providing subject matter expertise informing curriculum and implementation activities to expand the collective impact of JPLI. The group consists of a state supreme court justice, judges, psychiatrists, professors, and community leaders who shape judicial and behavioral health policies, programs, and outcomes across the country. Scott joins Illinois’ 4th Appellate District Justice, Kathry E. Zenoff in guiding JPLI’s mission. Justice Zenoff has served as a Co-Chair of the Initiative since 2007.
Originally known as the Judges’ Leadership Initiative (JLI), over time, the scope expanded to include psychiatrists and became the Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative. JPLI is a partnership between the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, and the National Center for State Courts. It brings together judges and psychiatrists from across the country to advance strategies that improve outcomes for people with mental health and substance use needs in the justice system.
JPLI conducts nation-wide sessions to train psychiatrists and judges to serve as curriculum facilitators. Hon. Janet Holmgren, Circuit Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court, and Abdi Tinwalla, MD, Forensic Psychiatrist, have received training to facilitate JPLI Sessions in Illinois. Session attendees gain practical knowledge and tools to help identify and respond to persons with behavioral health challenges in the courtroom.
Moving forward, JPLI plans to expand partnerships between psychiatrists and judges in each state to achieve its goal of training 10,000 judges and 2,500 psychiatrists nationwide by 2030. The Illinois Courts will help to achieve this goal by offering JPLI sessions at its 2026 Judicial Education Conferences.
For more information about JPLI, please contact Scott Block at sblock@illinoiscourts.gov.
To Subscribe to the JPLI Newsletter, click here.