In June, Arkansas received approval from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance for its request to receive Phase II technical assistance to support the implementation of its justice reinvestment policy framework. CSG Justice Center staff continued to assist state leaders with establishing an oversight structure and convening initial meetings of issue-specific teams to collaborate on implementation priority areas. CSG Justice Center staff also assisted the Department of Human Services Division of Behavioral Health (DBHS) and Governor’s Office with planning for the implementation of three crisis stabilization units to divert individuals with mental illness from county jails.
CSG Justice Center staff assisted DBHS leaders with facilitating two days of planning sessions for implementation of three crisis stabilization units. CSG Justice Center staff provided guidance to agency leaders on developing requirements for three counties that will be selected to operate the units, including certification standards, facilities specifications, staffing plans, and tracking data and outcomes on service utilization. CSG Justice Center staff also assisted DBHS and the Governor’s Office with facilitating a meeting of the Community-Based Crisis Intervention Planning Issue-Specific Team to discuss a process for counties to apply to receive part of the state’s $5 million in reinvestments to operate these units. CSG Justice Center staff assisted the team with developing a plan for reviewing applications received from counties, a framework for scoring the applications based on answers to questions assessing counties’ readiness to operate the units, and plans for presenting the top three applications to the Act 423 Interagency Task Force to review and approve during the first meeting of the Task Force in August.
CSG Justice Center staff convened the first meeting of the Data Monitoring & Information Sharing Issue-Specific Team to provide an overview of justice reinvestment data monitoring, discuss purpose and goals for the team, and review key monthly tracking metrics for Arkansas Community Corrections (ACC), Department of Corrections (ADC), Arkansas Parole Board (APB), Arkansas Crime Information center (ACIC) and DBHS. CSG Justice Center staff discussed plans to meet with agencies onsite in July to assist them with developing plans to monitor and analyze justice reinvestment data on a regular basis and a process for collecting and reporting data.
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o 6/27: Planning meetings with DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research, and Assistant Director for Quality Assurance to discuss certification standards, contract requirements, data tracking, and other implementation planning areas for the establishment of three crisis stabilization units.
o 6/27: Meeting with 35th District Pulaski County Representative, and Governor's Office JR Coordinator to discuss the CSU application and site selection process and other implementation updates.
o 6/27: Meeting with Governor's Office JR Coordinator, ACC Research and Evaluation Administrator, and ACC Program Management Administrator to provide feedback on draft materials for an initial application for subaward funds.
o 6/28: Planning meetings with DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research, and DHS Procurement Manager to discuss contract requirements for counties operating three crisis stabilization units.
o 6/28: Meeting of the Community-Based Crisis Intervention Planning Team with Governor's Office Senior Advisor for Criminal Justice, Governor's Office JR Coordinator, ACC Chief Deputy Director, DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research, Prosecutor Coordinator Office Prosecutor Coordinator, ACC Chief Deputy Director, ALETA Director of the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training, and CJI Director to discuss the application review process and timeline for operating three crisis stabilization units.
• 6/1: Call with Governor's Office JR Coordinator to discuss her role to support implementation and answer questions about the Phase II justice reinvestment process.
• 6/2: Call with DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research, and DBHS Procurement Manager to discuss implementation plans and timeline for distributing an application to counties to apply for funding to operate one of three crisis stabilization units.
• 6/6: Call with DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research, and DBHS Procurement Manager to discuss the procurement process for DBHS to establish agreements with three counties to operate crisis stabilization units.
• 6/7: Call with DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research, DBHS Procurement Manager, Governor's Office Senior Advisor for Criminal Justice, and Governor's Office JR Coordinator to discuss the application and site selection process for three crisis stabilization units.
• 6/21: Call with DBHS Assistant Clinical Director, and DBHS Assistant Director for Policy and Research to prepare for two-day long implementation planning session for the crisis stabilization units.
• 6/21: First meeting of the Data Monitoring & Information Sharing Team with ACC Program Management Administrator, ACC Research and Evaluation Administrator, ACC Information Systems Coordinator, ADC Research and Statistics Supervisor, ADC Research and Planning Administrator, Parole Board Executive Administrator, Extradition Coordinator/Executive Clemency Assistant, DBHS Assistant Director for Quality Assurane, ACIC Administrator, AOC Finance and Administration Director, Sentencing Commission Executive Director, Sentencing Commission Attorney, and Sentencing Commission Attorney to provide an overview of justice reinvestment data monitoring, discuss purpose and goals for the team, and review monthly data track spreadsheets for each agency.
• 6/21: Call with ACC Program Management Administrator, ACC Information Systems Coordinator, and ACC Research and Evaluation Administrator to discuss data related to the Offender Violation Guide (OVG) which the CSG Justice Center will evaluate.
• 6/26: Call with University of Arkansas at Monticello Assistant Professor to discuss her work with the Arkansas Victim Assistance program and needs related to justice reinvestment work in Arkansas.
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