What Role Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Play in Decriminalizing Mental Illness?

3rd Annual Sozosei Summit to Decriminalize Mental Illness
December 5 - 7, 2022

What Role Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Play in Decriminalizing Mental Illness?

with

• Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, United States Department of Justice

December 7, 2022 (Day 3)

Kristen Clarke is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, she leads the Justice Department’s broad federal civil rights enforcement efforts and works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all. Assistant Attorney General Clarke is a lifelong civil rights lawyer who has spent her entire career in public service. In this keynote we will learn from AAG Clarke about her novel approach to using the ADA as a tool to help ensure those with mental illness receive treatment outside of the criminal legal system.

About the Sozosei Foundation:

The Sozosei Foundation was established in 2019 as a philanthropic arm of Otsuka. The name Sozosei means “creativity” in Japanese. Our Japanese heritage is manifest in our fundamental values and day-to-day operations. The mission of the Sozosei Foundation is to be a catalyst for ideas that nurture creative solutions for healthier communities. Our primary focus is to eliminate the use of jails and prisons for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness by improving access to mental health care in communities across the nation. In addition to our focus on the decriminalization of mental illness, the Sozosei Foundation supports efforts to build resilient, healthy, and vibrant communities in Stockton, California; City of Baltimore, Maryland; and Camden, Newark, Patterson, and Trenton, New Jersey. It also engages in disaster relief and recovery in places around the world where Otsuka has a presence.