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Looking Back at Five Years of a Federal Program Supporting County Justice Systems
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) supports communities across the country in their work to address overrepresentation of people with behavioral health needs in the criminal justice system. For five years, between 2015 and 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance… Read More
Applying the Stepping Up Framework to Advance Racial Equity
Individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) have long advocated for addressing disparities in the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. Such pervasive inequities can be complex to understand and overwhelming to counties that are just starting to confront them. The Stepping Up framework offers a… Read More
Jail Medical Contracting: Best Practices for Supporting Stepping Up Goals
Across the country, county criminal justice, behavioral health, and social service system leaders are grappling with reducing the number of people with serious mental illness (SMI) in criminal justice systems, including county jails, often by using “front-end” strategies. Counties frequently struggle with using data to gauge the impact of these strategies on reducing the number of people with SMI in jails. One challenge for obtaining baseline data on SMI in jails centers on contracted private medical providers and their role in collecting and sharing data on SMI. This virtual discussion will equip participants with knowledge about the role contracted medical providers have in either screening for SMI, assessing for SMI, or both; collecting and sharing data with jail administration and how contracts can support this process; and best practices for screening, assessment, and collecting and sharing data for contracts with third-party medical providers. Jail administrators, jail data analysts, and staff from jail medical and mental health providers are especially encouraged to attend this webinar. Read More
Site Snapshot: Update on How Three Counties Are Serving High-Needs Populations
The CSG Justice Center is highlighting three of these communities: Bernalillo County, New Mexico; Fulton County, Georgia; and Polk County, Iowa. Each of these jurisdictions is both a Stepping Up Innovator and a MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge site. This snapshot focuses on the sites’ successes and challenges in their work with priority populations, as well as some of their upcoming goals. Read more about where these counties started. Read More
Site Snapshot: How Three Counties Are Serving High-Needs Populations
The CSG Justice Center is highlighting three of these communities: Bernalillo County, New Mexico; Fulton County, Georgia; and Polk County, Iowa. To understand their progress and their challenges, we will check in with these counties over the course of the next two years. Each of these jurisdictions is both a Stepping Up Innovator County and a MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge site. Read More
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania: A County Justice and Mental Health Systems Improvement Project
The CSG Justice Center conducted an in-depth, cross-systems data analysis of the flow of people who have serious mental illnesses (SMI) through the Dauphin County criminal justice system. This report includes the key findings and policy recommendations. Read More
Douglas County, Kansas: A County Justice and Behavioral Health Systems Improvement Project
In 2018, elected officials and criminal justice and behavioral health leaders in Douglas County, Kansas, asked The Council of State Governments Justice Center to conduct an in-depth, cross-systems data analysis of the flow of people with serious mental illnesses and co-occurring substance addictions through the local criminal justice system and to identify ways to achieve better health and public safety outcomes. This report presents opportunities to expand what Douglas County is already doing well and improve upon systems performance. Read More
In Focus: Implementing Mental Health Screening and Assessment
In Focus: Implementing Mental Health Screening and Assessment is a new brief from the Stepping Up partners designed to help counties identify the number of people booked into jails who have serious mental illnesses (SMI) and to better connect these individuals to treatment. Determining the number of people who have SMI in jails allows counties to develop or refine strategic plans that will have the greatest impact on addressing this population’s needs. Read More