Create a Technical Assistance Center

With help from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, you can create a technical assistance (TA) center in your state specifically to help counties join Stepping Up and implement the framework for adults and/or youth.

Stepping Up is a national initiative focused on meeting the mental health and substance use needs of people cycling through jails. Both Stepping Up and Stepping Up for Youth promote connections to care and safe alternatives to incarceration when appropriate.

TA centers offer in-person and online trainings, 1:1 support from national experts and state leaders, peer-to-peer learning, webinars, reports, and resources to help county leaders

• Establish and maintain cross-systems collaboration and buy-in;
• Build capacity to collect, share, and report data;
• Plan and implement data-informed, high-impact strategies; and
• Set local goals, track progress, and achieve results.

To learn about creating an adult- or youth-focused Stepping Up TA center in your state, email steppingup@csg.org.

Current TA Centers

The Kansas TA Center has been in operation since 2021 in coordination with the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council, the Mental Health in Jails Workgroup, and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

The Pennsylvania TA Center was established by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and was launched in 2018 by PCCD, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania’s Departments of Health, Corrections, and Human Services.