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In this closing session, speakers discuss the MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge, as well as federal support and funding opportunities for reducing the prevalence of people with mental illnesses in jails. Closing remarks also cover what action steps participants can prioritize to bring what they learned at the summit home to their communities. Read More

This session provides a vision for what lies ahead for Stepping Up after the summit Read More

Having systems-level impact on the number of people with mental illnesses in jail is in no small part contingent upon “new” dollars. Speakers highlight opportunities to leverage state and federal funds for behavioral health care services, ways in which state justice agencies can support this work, and the role of philanthropy. Read More

Teams of behavioral health and criminal justice professionals gathered in Washington, DC, this week to address the “human consequences of an inhumane system” in which 2 million adults with serious mental illnesses are admitted to county jails every year. The National Stepping Up Summit convened jail administrators, law enforcement officials, elected officials, psychiatrists, and other stakeholders from 50 jurisdictions across 37 states, seeking to guide attendees in developing a system-level plan to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in their jails. Throughout the two-day summit, county teams attended working sessions framed by six questions related to the commitment of their local leadership, their use of screening and assessments, the existing level of baseline data in their county, the degree to which they track progress, and other considerations. Read More

Representatives of the organizations leading the Stepping Up Initiative—the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, the National Association of Counties, and The Council of State Governments Justice Center—welcome participants and review the goals of the summit. Read More