Initiative offers intervention instead of jail

How can you tell the difference between someone who wants to commit a crime, and when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis?

That is the question that a program offered by Chester County authorities seeks to answer as a way of aiding those toiling in the criminal justice and law enforcement fields.

According to information presented at a recent county commissioners meeting, the county has held three-week-long, 40hour Crisis Intervention Training classes since April 2017, with more than 65 men and women working in law enforcement and

prison corrections graduating from the course. The classes are a key component for the county’s “Stepping Up” call to action, a program that recognizes the need to reduce the number of people with mental illness in the county jail.

“It can’t be stated enough how important it is to have members of law enforcement participate in this program,” commented commissioners Vice Chairwoman Kathi Cozzone at the commissioners meeting last Tuesday, at which the board got the chance to thank those involved in the “Stepping Up” training.

“Without your participation, we wouldn’t be able to succeed in this program.”

Shane Clark, chief of the West Pikeland Police Department and head of the Chester County Chiefs of Police Association, echoed Cozzone’s sentiments. He said the goal was to have 100 CIT graduates by year’s end.

“The word is getting out,” about the program’s importance in the daily world of police activity, Clark said at the meeting, at which the commissioners issued a proclamation honoring the group’s efforts. “This has been a long time coming.”

Linked to the national “Stepping Up” Initiative, representatives of the county’s Department of Mental Health/Intellectual and

Developmental Disabilities (MH/IDD) highlighted progress that the county has made toward reducing the number of people with mental illness in the county jail and improving outcomes for the county’s most vulnerable residents.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve been making,” said Linda Cox, MH/IDD administrator.“The partnership with our law enforcement community has allowed us to implement an on-going training to give officers tools to better recognize, assess and de-escalate crisis situations, or help someone with a mental health concern.”

The proclamation comes during May, which is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month.

“Stepping Up” is a national initiative led by the National Association of Counties, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation and The Council of State Governments Justice Center. The program provides counties with a framework and tools for creating a collaborative, system-wide plan to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in the county jail in ways that not only improve public safety but promote positive outcomes for individuals with mental illnesses, their families and their communities.

The county is one of more than 415 counties across the country to have passed a resolution to join “Stepping Up.” It began its work in October 2015, with Cozzone

leading the way.

According to figures released by NACo, the CSG Justice Center and the APF, prisons across the nation serve an estimated two million people with serious mental illnesses each year – almost three-quarters of whom also have substance use disorders. Jails spend two to three times more money on adults with mental illnesses that require intervention than on people without those needs.

The county’s court and human services-related departments already work together on programs that address mental health issues in the criminal justice system, noted Farrell. But, he said, the “Stepping Up” initiative, “will help us to

work together to explore additional options with a more diverse group of organizations, to achieve a greater understanding of the ways that we can reduce the number of people with mental illness in jails.

More information on the national Stepping Up initiative is available at www. StepUpTogether.org.

Throughout the month of May, Chester County’s Department of MHIDD is hosting events and collaborating with local groups and organizations to recognize National Mental Health Month. A complete calendar of events is at www.chesco.org/mhidd.