Title
Probation Department recommending the Board receive and file a presentation on the status of “Stepping Up,” a nationwide initiative with the goal of reducing the number of inmates with mental illnesses in county jails.
FUNDING: The Stepping Up Initiative is funded through various grants and the Community Corrections Sub-account within the Law Enforcement Services Account in the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
“Stepping Up” is a national initiative with the goal to advance county efforts across the United States in reducing the number of adults with mental illness in county jails. On January 5, 2016, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution #002-2016 in support of the Stepping Up Initiative (16-0003, #16). The “Stepping Up” initiative requests counties across the United States to offer support by engaging individuals at all levels of government, in community organizations, and from individuals with mental illness. With this support, the initiative strives to accomplish the following: 1) collect and review available data about the rates of mentally ill adults in the county jails and the rate of re-offending adults with mental illness; 2) identify barriers to individuals accessing treatment and support in the community; and 3) develop a plan with measurable outcomes to enable implementation of research-based approaches to reduce the number of adult offenders and re-offenders with mental illness in the county jails.
El Dorado County has been moving forward with Stepping Up efforts since the resolution. In 2017, the County Leadership Team met designating the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) as the Coordinating Council and the Chief Probation Officer as the Project Coordinator for The Stepping Up Initiative.
In 2018 the County Leadership Team signed an El Dorado County Stepping Up Initiative Letter of Agreement to define the purpose, mission and vision, and agency commitments. In addition, the County was awarded a two-year federal grant on September 25, 2018: Collaborative County Approaches to Reducing the Prevalence of Individuals with Mental Disorders in Jail through Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Due to COVID and the Caldor fire, we have received two one-year extensions, with the grant to end December 31, 2022. The goal of the grant continues to be a system-wide coordinated approach to reduce the prevalence of low risk individuals with mental illness and co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse in local jails. The grant has been foundational to Stepping Up with the development of a Strategic Plan, system mapping, a data warehouse, and data dashboard plan.
On February 28, 2022, Probation received a one-year Behavioral Health Justice Intervention Services (BHJIS) Project grant. The vision of this grant will inform process changes, inform resource needs, and provide a technology plan to enable data exchange among agency partners early in the justice process through a collaborative effort across agencies and community organizations serving adults and youth.
Lastly, the efforts of all involved in the El Dorado County Stepping Up Initiative truly demonstrate the Mission and Vision below.
Mission:
The Stepping Up Partnership offers resources, leadership, and
strategic directions to improve access to services, promote
recovery, and reduce justice involvement of the mentally ill in El
Dorado County.
Vision:
Individuals with behavioral health concerns are met by the
justice system with dignity and compassion, linked to advocacy
and support and provided timely and effective treatment.
ALTERNATIVES:
N/A
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
See Discussion/Background.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
N/A
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file the presentation
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with receiving the presentation.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board to receive and file presentation.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT:
Healthy Communities and Good Governance
CONTACT
Jackie Cook, Administrative Analyst, 530-621-5588