Archive: Jun 2021

Counties across the country have made progress addressing the Stepping Up Four Key Measures. Yet counties often struggle with Key Measure 3: post-release connections to care for people who have a serious mental illness (SMI). This measure necessarily involves a handoff from the county jail system to the community-based behavioral… Read More

By Christopher Seeley, MSW, American Psychiatric Association Foundation Sometimes the symptoms of an individual’s mental illness can impact their ability to make decisions about getting the treatment they need. A psychiatric advance directive (PAD) is a legal document that individuals can use to make a plan before a crisis occurs to help ensure that their needs and preferences for care are known. A PAD also allows the individual to identify… Read More

By Christopher Seeley, MSW, American Psychiatric Association Foundation Connecting people to care is vitally important for preventing further engagement in the justice system. That’s why it’s among the key measures that the Stepping Up initiative encourages counties to understand. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, connections to treatment for this… Read More

As part of their Stepping Up initiative, leaders in Monterey County, California, engaged the CSG Justice Center to work with county stakeholders to map current policies, processes, and resources for people with behavioral health needs who enter the criminal justice system. This report presents recommendations for system improvements, including feedback… Read More