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This edition highlights
some of the collaboration between the ADM Board, the criminal
justice system and other community stakeholders
Summit County has a long history of
criminal justice and mental health system collaboration to develop
solutions for the challenges that arise when people with mental
illness are incarcerated. While acknowledging that we have more
work to do, we are proud of the innovation that our community has
shown in developing effective programs and services for people with
mental illness who are incarcerated.
The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADM)
Board is invested in a robust process of collaboration
devoting considerable time and resources toward implementing the
most advanced and humane practices possible. The ADM Board expends
nearly one million dollars on an annual basis paying for services and
medications for people with mental illness while they are in the
jail.
For the past 20 years, Summit
County has led
the way in evidence-based ''state of the art'' treatment. A few
examples:
- In
the early 1990's the Summit Link program introduced case
managers from mental health and addiction treatment providers to
the jail and the court system in an effort to identify and
engage persons with mental illness in treatment at the earliest
possible moment.
- In 2000, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
training began to train first responders how to
effectively deal with people with mental illness. We were
the first in Ohio
and lead the state with 393 (23%) of sworn officers
trained.
- In 2000, the Akron
Municipal Mental Health Court began, the
first in Ohio.
The Court, a collaborative effort, is now recognized as one
of five national training sites in the country.
- In August, 2006, the Commonwealth Fund recognized
the Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence for its
innovative practices in criminal justice / mental health system
collaboration.
- In
conjunction with the National
GAINS Center the CJ CCoE developed the Sequential Intercept Model,
a systematic approach to helping people with mental illness stay
out of the criminal justice system. The model has
been endorsed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and is widely
used throughout the U.S.
- The American Psychiatric Association awarded the
Summit County ADM Board a Bronze Achievement award
in 2003 for "a comprehensive program that has strengthened
existing bonds between the county's mental health and criminal
justice systems" which greatly reduces the likelihood of
incarceration of persons with serious mental illness.
- Over the past three years, the percentage of people
who have or are receiving publicly funded mental health services
averaged 8.7% of the jail census. A recent
article (Steadman) estimated the national average
of people with serious mental illness who also are incarcerated
as 16%, so Summit
County is well
below the national average.
While Summit County has made significant
progress, we are working on doing more. Our county is well known for
the commitment of the courts, the criminal justice and mental health
systems to find solutions which lead to better outcomes. We are
already working to increase successful diversion programs, improve
access to care while incarcerated, reduce recidivism and facilitate
successful reintegration.
Over the past 20
months, stakeholders and decision makers in and around the criminal
justice and mental health systems have served on intercept teams to
study and recommend changes. The focus is on potential
improvements at key intercept points prior to, during and post
incarceration. Improvements accomplished include:
- Enhanced
communication and understanding of access to services
- Evaluation of
crisis services completed by a national expert
- Developed Stow
Mental Health
Court
- Training
provide by national experts which taught ways to share information
that facilitates access to care
- Admissions
process from jail to hospital was streamlined
- Discharge
release times were modified to better enable connections with
social service providers
- Grants have
been submitted aimed at increasing psychiatry time in the
jail, hiring a CIT Coordinator, and hiring peer support
specialists to bridge the transition from incarceration to
treatment
Additional
improvements being considered:
·
Methods of
improving immediacy of access to medication while incarcerated
·
One full
time staff added to Summit Link program
·
Specialized
CIT training adapted to jail environments for all jail employees
·
Trauma
informed care training for all who interact with people who have a
trauma history
While we are proud of
our community's accomplishment in developing effective ways of
serving, we remain committed to continually improving programs and
services.
The ADM Board remains
committed to improving access and the quality of services to
people with mental illness when they are incarcerated. We are
confident that by working with our community
partners we will continue to increase our
community's ability to ensure that people with mental
illness get the help they need and do not needlessly end up in jail.
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