"Priority Area 1: Facilitate a cross-system data match between the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and DOC to identify the overlapping population of people who have behavioral health challenges in the state and move through the county and state criminal justice system and to identify high utilizers of these systems. CSG Justice Center staff will conduct an in-depth analysis of the matched Medicaid claims data to provide information on trends in services accessed in the community by people who are incarcerated and a qualitative assessment on the behavioral health interventions and programming that are available for people who have behavioral health needs and are part of the state corrections system. Background: County and state officials report a high prevalence of people with behavioral health needs moving through local county department of corrections (jails) and state prisons, with an increasing reliance on using incarceration at the local level to address behavioral health challenges. Following the Phase I data analysis and Medicaid match on county jail level data, state officials requested additional analysis to include the state corrections-level data. County and state officials are interested in understanding the criminal justice journey of the high utilizer population to inform funding and policy decisions.Update: In March, CSG Justice Center Research staff worked closely with DHHS to secure accurate and complete Medicaid data files and completed the final analyses of jail data from Phase I, set for deletion on March 31, 2024, as per the data use agreement with the NH county jails. CSG Justice Center Research staff also reviewed code and compiled summary tables of jail data trends before the dataâs deletion to ensure information is accessible if needed. CSG Justice Center Research staff continued analyzing the DOC data and began preparations for presenting preliminary Medicaid findings. Finally, CSG Justice Center staff held stakeholder meetings to align project priorities and resolve data questions. In March, CSG Justice Center staff conducted focus groups for the qualitative assessment with leadership and staff in the NH DOC Division of Field Services, NH DOC Division of Medical and Forensic Services, and NH DOC Division of Rehabilitative Services. CSG Justice Center staff learned the NH DOC is offering several evidence-based programs and treatment options to support people with behavioral health needs in the prisons. CSG Justice Center staff conducted focus groups with the NH Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors Association and the Community Behavioral Health Association and met with other stakeholders who are experts at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice. These conversations revealed the need for more resources in the community, such as housing and workforce development, issues pertaining to licensing for behavioral health treatment providers, and potential gaps in care coordination. Priority Area 2: Support DHHS in developing and rolling out Crisis Receiving Centers (CRCs)â"facilities embedded in New Hampshire communities that provide no-wrong-door access to mental health and substance use disorder care and accept all walk-ins, ambulance, fire, and police drop-offsâ"by facilitating stakeholder engagement to align community need with program resources. Background: New Hampshire has limited community-based interventions for the high utilizer population, leading to inappropriate use of protective custody holds by law enforcement. New Hampshire has committed to developing and implementing CRCs as an alternative to hospitals and incarceration. DHHS has identified two locations for CRC pilots, hosted by Lakes Regional Community Mental Health Center in Plymouth and Center for Life Management in Derry. DHHS and community agencies convened a working group (WG) in January 2024, and CSG Justice Center staff will help facilitate the necessary stakeholder engagement to ensure their successful implementation. Update: In March, CSG Justice Center staff received an update on the stateâs progress in developing the CRCs and discussed potential opportunities for streams of work with the WG. Priority Area 3: Assist DHHS in establishing requirements and identifying funding for care coordination, including in-reach to the jails for people who are high utilizers of jail and behavioral health resources. Background: New Hampshire Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) indicated varying levels of access to the county jails to connect with people prior to release and establish rapport to encourage continued care in the community. Providers indicated barriers to providing in-reach including the extensive paperwork to access the county jails, their lack of relationship with the county jails, and staffing shortages in varying areas of the state. To address these barriers, CSG Justice Center staff will facilitate a WG of agency representatives to explore barriers, solutions, and funding streams.   Update: CSG Justice Center staff discussed with WG members the strengths and barriers to care coordination, which will be the focus of technical assistance in future meetings. WG members identified what has already been accomplished in New Hampshire pertaining to care coordination and flagged that more funding, staffing, and physical locations should be a priority to increase care coordination between the correctional facilities and community-based behavioral health care. CSG Justice Center staff also worked on preliminary policy recommendations, including strengthening care coordination via funding reentry care coordinators and cross-discipline trainings, to present to the Advisory Commission in May. Priority Area 4: Assist in identifying ways in which New Hampshire agencies could improve their capacity for collecting and sharing data to better and more quickly track criminal justice trends. Background: New Hampshire does not have a unified data sharing system between the county jails, DHHS, state prisons, law enforcement, and other agencies. New Hampshire is one of 12 states that does not use a state identification number (SID number) in their criminal justice system, making tracking trends much more difficult. The systems in New Hampshire are siloed, and data sharing is limited between agencies. CSG Justice Center staff will support agenciesâ efforts to update their data systems and data sharing processes across the criminal justice system.  Update: CSG Justice Center staff engaged with DHHS about a potential funding request in the state budget to cover the development of a SID number, which was one of the Phase I policy recommendations. A SID number would make it easier for the state to collect data and understand the trends of people who are high utilizers. CSG Justice Center staff also discussed the benefits of expanding data sharing and collection with the WG members during the March meeting. "
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