Tri-County Stepping Up Initiative

The Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) is funded through the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 (MIOTCRA) (Public Law 108-414), which was reauthorized in 2008 (Public Law 110-416). The primary purpose of JMHCP is to increase public safety by facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and mental health and substance abuse treatment systems to increase access to mental health and other treatment services for those individuals with mental illness or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (including opioid abuse disorders). Jurisdictions eligible to apply for this program were limited to states, units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribes (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior), and tribal organizations. The grant recipient will engage county leadership in a collaborative planning process focused on the goal of reducing the numbers of individuals with mental disorders and co-occurring substance use disorders in local jails who can safely be supervised and/or treated in the community. Grant funds may be used to support a targeted analysis of the prevalence of people with mental disorders in the local jail, a review of existing community resources, and identification and initial implementation of policy and practice changes to minimize contact or deeper involvement of individuals with mental disorders and co-occurring substance use disorders in the criminal justice system. Grant funds may also be used to demonstrate a commitment to system-level reduction in the prevalence of mental illness in jails. Beyond intercept-specific programs (e.g., pretrial diversion, mental health courts, correctional programs, reentry programs, etc.), counties will work toward a coordinated response to maximize diversion for individuals with mental disorders that includes: a county system analysis to identify strategies to reduce the prevalence of individuals with mental disorders in local jails; screening and assessing all people with potential mental disorders booked into the jail for criminogenic risk and needs; recording this information in an electronic record; ensuring this information is shared appropriately to inform pretrial decision making; and defining mental health needs in terms that align with state definitions that pertain to eligibility for publicly funded mental health services. CA/NCF