Leifman Recognized for Work With Mentally Ill People in Criminal Justice System

Stephen J. Ubl, president and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), presented Judge Steven Leifman with PhRMA’s 2017 Excellence in Advocacy and Activism Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Leifman is a member of the APA Foundation’s Board of Directors and has played a leadership role in the Foundation’s Judges’ and Psychiatrists’ Leadership Initiative and other major programs. He was recognized for the advocacy work he has done to decrease the inappropriate and costly involvement of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

Leifman is an associate administrative judge with the Criminal Division of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida. Since 2007, he has served as special advisor on criminal justice and mental health for the Supreme Court of Florida. In that capacity, he chaired the court’s Mental Health Committee, which produced the ground-breaking report “Transforming Florida’s Mental Health System.” In 2000, he started the 11th Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project, which aims to divert mentally ill people who might otherwise end up in the criminal justice system into treatment centers. ■