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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

Topeka, Kan.—The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) and The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announce the opening of the Kansas Stepping Up Technical Assistance (TA) Center to help counties reduce the prevalence of people with serious mental illness in jails. The Kansas Stepping Up TA… Read More

WASHINGTON, DC, September 23, 2020—The Stepping Up initiative today announced Set, Measure, Achieve, a national call to action for counties to publicly commit to goals that demonstrate reduced prevalence of mental illness in local justice systems. Stepping Up is asking participating counties to set tangible targets,… Read More

Since the Stepping Up initiative launched five years ago, a number of counties have been designated as Stepping Up Innovators. This growing cohort is made up of jurisdictions that successfully collect and use data on their jail populations with serious mental illnesses to inform policies and practices. The latest… Read More

As counties continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, one area that cannot be ignored is the mental health of county residents. May is national Mental Health Awareness Month and also marks the five-year anniversary of Stepping Up. Stepping Up is a national initiative to reduce the number of… Read More

During the COVID-19 pandemic, jails are facing many questions about how to successfully release people who may be vulnerable to the virus and are detained for low-level offenses. This webinar presents The Council of State Governments Justice Center’s new checklist of considerations for release during the pandemic, particularly regarding… Read More