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Highlights from the National Stepping Up Summit
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