KBIC Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Project

Abstract Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Project (JMHCP)

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) is a Federally-Recognized Tribe located in the western Upper Peninsula of MI on the southern shore of Lake Superior. The L’Anse Indian Reservation is located on lands ceded by the Treaty of 1842; and the Treaty of 1854, which created the L’Anse Reservation. As MI’s oldest and largest Federally-Recognized Tribe, KBIC administers 125 square miles. Tribal members total 3,586, of which 1,041 live reside on Tribal lands.

The issue to be addressed by the KBIC Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Project (JMHCP)  is a large gap in available services for individuals with mental health disorders (MHD) or co-occurring mental health and substance use (MHSUD) disorders. Currently, other than incarceration, no viable project exists to connect these individuals to services that will address the core issues of the behavior that caused an interface with the justice system.

The proposed project will begin by a community service provider and stakeholder series of meetings to survey current services available, gaps in services, and a cross-system analysis to plan the JMHCP and create an implementation guide. JMHCP proposes to conduct an immediate mental health assessment and access to a staffed safe place, if needed, available. The project will abate the need to route individuals through the criminal side of law enforcement response by giving access to 24/7 crisis assessment, counseling, and services that are community based instead of incarceration.

     The proposed JMHCP is built around the continued work of the BHT and these four pillars: 1) the expansion of the Healing to Wellness Court to include jurisdiction and support for individuals with MHD or MHSUD, 2) the addition of a mental health crisis response and coordination team following the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Model, 3) the creation of a non-offender crisis bed safe space, and 4) intensive training of law enforcement officers and court personnel on how to deescalate and support individual who interface with the justice system due to MHD or MHSUD.

The evidence-based model that the project will be grounded in is Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) from the Center for Evidence Based Practices housed at Case Western Reserve University. IDDT will be delivered by the ACT team following the National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care written by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).