Building Bridges for Mental Wellness

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina’s Criminal Justice Services Wellness Court (CJS-WC) is the lead applicant for our Building Bridges to Mental Wellness submission for the FY 2021 JMHCP grant solicitation.  Our project design will enhance service connection for those with MI or CMISA who encounter the justice system by building bridges to both existing and new services. 

            To accomplish this objective, we will utilize the grant funding to expand the WC services for both pre- and post-booking services. WC will expand its current mental health court operations to include a pre-booking track.  This track will provide greater connection to MI/CMISA individuals who encounter the CPCRT and offer a bridge to accessing community treatment and support services.  The addition of a case manager dedicated to the pre-booking track will work closely with CPCRT to reduce new arrests and increase service connection.  Additionally, this position will assist individuals in completing SOAR (SSDI/SSI, Outreach, Access, and Recovery) applications to assist individuals in securing benefits and the ability to become more self-sufficient.  The pre-booking track will be expanded in year three of the grant to incorporate dedicated peer support services. We will expand our post-booking track to incorporate a dedicated Assertive Community Treatment Team for Wellness Court clients.  We will reduce the number of days to service engagement for clients enrolled in the Wellness Court.

            As a result of this project, the Mecklenburg County WC proposes to

1.         increase the percentage of individuals linked to medication management

2.         increase the percentage of individuals receiving peer support

3.         increase the percentage of individuals linked to treatment (ACTT, CST, SACOT)

4.         reduce the percentage of individuals receiving new criminal charges

5.         increase the number of days an individual remains in housing

6.         increase the number of individuals applying for SOAR benefits and approved for disability

7.         reduce the number of days from first contact to service engagement

            Our partner applicants include the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Community Policing Crisis Response Team, Anuvia Prevention & Recovery Center and Promise Resource Network.  This applicant meets the criteria for the priority area of effective strategies to expand the use of mental health courts and related services. Mecklenburg County CJS-WC has not been the recipient of any prior JMHCP grants.