Mental Health Programs

CSG Justice Center staff responded to 33 JMH Partnerships Support Center Level 1 requests from the field.

Grantees will provide introductions of themselves and their CSCR projects. The TTA team will introduce the topic of priority considerations on increasing access to services for underserved populations and working with culturally responsive agencies. They will participate in breakout discussions on whether they applied for priority considerations and their plans for addressing those considerations in the implementation of their project.

This learning community session introduced grantees to a range of outcomes-based contracting methods from peer sites and CSG staff. Grantees met in small groups to gain familiarity with their peers and discuss foundational questions relevant to their pay for success project. Participants also gained familiarity with deliverable planning guides developed by the CSG Justice Center team to develop their initial deliverables, data collection, and selection of metrics. Both new and current grantees had an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion around their project.

The overall goal for the quarterly networking hour is to enhance the TTA available through individual calls by offering peer learning opportunities for discussions on specific topics across grant programs, facilitating peer connections, preparing cohorts for evaluations and sustainability, and distilling lessons learned. This was the second quarterly networking session for the year. Grantees provided introductions of themselves and their CSCR projects. The TTA team introduced the topic of data and evaluation and best practices for collecting data for their CSCR projects.

This quarterly call for the Criminal Justice Mental Health Learning Sites program was centered around getting updates from the sites, reviewing the new learning sites website, and discussing the activity report process and timelines. The meeting was productive and lots of information was shared from the sites. Many of the sites will be participating in the upcoming Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) virtual symposium as speakers and panelists, as well as participating in upcoming Ask the Expert series.

On January 4, 2024, we presented a session along with colleagues from the Pennsylvania and Minnesota Departments of Corrections highlighting the Zero Returns to Homelessness framework. Participants received a comprehensive overview of the strategies, measures, and resources of this evolving framework, as well as an in-depth look at key research and practice-based TA strategies designed to guide state DOCs and their community partners toward implementation of reentry housing initiatives that expand housing access for individuals reentering their community.

We responded to 10 requests to the Stepping Up Infoline during this reporting period. Several of these inquiries involved county officials requesting information about their county’s Stepping Up resolutions; specific examples include county members who requested the date of the signed resolution. Two requests came from students in academia who wanted to know more about the Stepping Up initiatives and subsequent projects of the CSG Justice Center.

During this quarterly Innovators call, the Stepping Up partners welcomed new Innovator Counties to the network and provided an overview of the Stepping Up strategic planning process. The partners also walked the counties through a proposal to categorize the Innovator Counties based on the data and information they share and how they can engage with the network. Innovator Counties discussed current projects and focus areas, and the Stepping Up partners previewed some forthcoming resources with the counties. There were 25 counties represented on the call.

During this quarterly Innovators call, the Stepping Up partners welcomed new Innovator Counties to the network and provided an overview of the Stepping Up strategic planning process. The partners also walked the counties through a proposal to categorize the Innovator Counties based on the data and information they share and how they can engage with the network. Innovator Counties discussed current projects and focus areas, and the Stepping Up partners previewed some forthcoming resources with the counties. There were 25 counties represented on the call.

Between January and June 2024 we facilitated 8 peer connections and 2 consultations: On January 1, 2024 the FY21 JMHCP County of Onondaga, NY, grant team was connected to the Denver, CO, Police Department's Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Site, which discussed its Denver STAR program as the grantee was interested in including a non-law enforcement response in their program. Specifically, Denver STAR provided guidance on identifying appropriate calls for service to divert to a civilian response and how they worked through issues within the 911 center.