Meeting Information
November 12th, 2019
11:00am – 12:30pm
Meeting at Douglas County Fairgrounds, Flory Building
1. Review and approve CJCC meeting minutes from September 10, 2019 – Pam Weigand
2. Stepping Up Initiative CSG Justice Center Technical Assistance
– Risë Haneberg and Kati Habert
The Stepping Up Initiative work group will join the discussion
3. Discussion on CSG recommendations – Mike Brouwer
4. Updates – Mike Brouwer
a. Law Enforcement Contact Study
b. Data Analyst position
5. NACO Peer Learning Network: https://www.naco.org/blog/naco-announces-new-county-justice-peer-learning-network
6. Council Chair discussion – Pam Weigand
7. New business/discussion
8. Public comment
Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 14th, 2020, 11:00-12:00, Flory Building
Behavioral Health Court Evaluation by KU
2020 meetings
January 14th
March 9th
May12th
June 9th
September 8th
November 10th
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Meeting
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Attendance included: Judge Miller, Ken McGovern, Charles Branson, Mike Pattrick, Wes Lovett, Chris Keary, Gregory Burns, Pam Weigand, Patrick Schmitz, Commissioner Derusseau, Jennifer Ananda, Sarah Plinsky, Mike Brouwer, Melinda Winn, Shaye L. Downing, Chuck Epp, Edith Guffey, Tamara Cash, Anthony Sanchez. Members not present: Emily Hail, Judge Kittel, Bob Tryanski, and Judge Kittel.
MINUTES
The approval of the minutes from the September 10, 2019 meeting was referred to the January 2020 meeting.
STEPPING UP INITIATIVE – Rise Haneberg and Kati Habert
Haneberg and Habert conducted a presentation on the final report addressing “Crisis of Too Many People with Mental Illness in Our Jail.
In 2015, Douglas County passed a resolution as part of the Stepping Up Initiative as partnership between the CSG Justice Center, American Psychiatric Association Foundation and National Association of Counties. Douglas County became an innovator county in working to lower the number of people with mentally illness in the jail. Douglas County collected accurate baseline information on those with mental illness in the Criminal Justice System. Douglas County is now at the forefront in the nation on being an example. The following information was introduced:
• Douglas County Correctional Facility (DCCF) bookings are lower than the national average.
• The DCCF went from 18% with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) incarcerated down to 8% (a 56 % reduction).
• Five percent of unique individuals booked into the DCCF in 2018 were diagnosed with a SMI, while four percent of the general US population has an SMI.
• People with SMI booked into DCCF experienced homelessness more often than those without SMI.
• Douglas County’s baseline SMI rate in the jail is less that most counties in the country.
• The average length of stay for someone with SMI was 17 days longer than for people with no SMI; 325 of the 2018 bookings for people with SMI resulted in a 15-day length of stay. It was noted that those with Mental Health (MH) flags released on bond have longer Average Length of Stay (ALOS) across charges; and the ALOS for low-moderate risk bookings with the SMI flag is nearly twice that of bookings with no flag.
Priority Recommendations included:
• Create a mobile crisis response team.
• Expand the co-responder program to include Baldwin and Eudora PDs and expand coverage hours.
• Fund a program coordinator for expanded co-responder mobile crisis and other alternative services.
• Implement a text message service to remind people of court appointments.
• Implement a validated pre-trial risk-screening tool.
• Implement system-wide training on the pretrial risk-screening tool.
• Develop a pretrial decision matrix to guide judicial decision-making.
• Sustain the CJCC with a Coordinator.
• Continue commitment to accurate data collection, analysis, and data-driven decision-making.
Comments included:
• Schmitz would to see the Co-Response Team expand into a Mobile Response Crisis Team that would reach farther out into the Douglas County Community and to those outside law enforcement contact. It would take Bert Nash increasing its hours in order to participate. It was determined there is funding is available for this with the Behavioral Health Sales Tax for this effort. Schmitz stated the program could pair this with the after hour crisis suicide prevention. The team would arrive on the scene to help stabilize a client and then may never have to be transported.
• Branson stated Douglas County has already started addressing some of the recommendations: the text message system, the pre-trial risk-assessment tool, and a system on training. Also he had a meeting with a team of KU on a software called IRIS which is an integrate referral system that will refer people to services outside the jail facility. The agencies receive the referrals automatically.
• Weigand stated her team is providing pre-trial calls the day before and the day of trials.
• Miller asked where our rate of “failure to appears” fall compared to other counties. Haneberg responded it is common everywhere that the top charge for booking is something like “failure to appear” or “technical violation” things that are not jailable offenses.
• Jolicoeur stated she is reviewing a “ride-share” application to address the “no-show” failure to appear rate. She is currently working on a pilot program. The cost to support this is a continued conversation.
• The full report can be viewed on the Douglas County website.
DISCUSSION ON CSG RECOMMENDATIONS – Mike Brouwer
Brouwer recommended the Council create a work group to research and implement a mobile crisis response team and procedures. Plinsky stated funding for this team is part of the quarter cent sales tax approved for the Crisis Center. Schmitz recommends this work group be shared with the Behavioral Health Leadership Council and will make this recommendation to that Council at their next meeting.
UPDATE ON LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTACT STUDY – Mike Brouwer
Brouwer stated staff have begun 60 days of data collection and training with agencies and offices. Additional training will be provided through Webinar or onsite based on this initial data collection. This is preparation for data collection of the full study beginning January 2020
DATA ANALYST POSTION
Brouwer has reposted the Data Analyst position and has received a good response.
NACO PEER LEARNING NETWORK: Mike Brouwer
Brouwer sent out the following link for CJCC Council members to review. https://www.naco.org/blog/naco-announces-new-county-justice-peer-learning-network
The program is an alternate strategy in providing treatment and services to residents in the community who many times end up in jail for behavioral health issues. The PLN program is an opportunity for individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system to learn from county peers, subject matter experts, and jurisdictions from the Safety and Justice (SJC) network about successful strategies to reduce the number of individuals with mental illness in local justice systems; 2) to engage county leadership in justice, health and human services to find alternatives to jail use; and 3) to learn about the intersection of mental health and racial and ethnic disparities for justice-involved individuals and strategies to engage people in appropriate treatment and services rather than jail.
The goal is to identify gaps in the justice systems for diversion of individuals with mental illness and provide these individuals with a continuum of care.
COUNCIL CHAIR DISCUSSION – Pam Weigand
It was the consensus of the Council for Pam Weigand to continue as Chair of the CJCC.
NEW BUSINESS/DISCUSSION – None.
PUBLIC COMMENT – None.
NEXT MEETING
• Next Meeting: January 14, 2020. Location: Flory Building at Douglas County Fairgrounds.
ADJOURN
Weigand moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded by Jennifer Ananda and passed.
Time and Date