Northampton’s focus on serious mental illness in jail
Northampton County has a strong commitment to individuals with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system.
In fall 2018, Northampton County Mental Health was awarded $2.4 million for programming to help address significant statewide programming shortages.
The state money was used to create an eight-bed Outpatient Restoration Long Term Structured Residence; add 12 beds for reentry housing; add a Justice Related Spanner service which is intended to serve at least 50 individuals within the intercepts of the criminal justice system; fund a crisis intervention training coordinator to increase the number of trained first responders throughout the county; and for treatment services.
Northampton County’s Mental Health division has two forensic caseworkers who provide case management, link mentally ill people to services, and support people before and upon release to the community from jail or state prison.
When an individual becomes incarcerated in Northampton County Jail, a mental health evaluation is conducted, and there is daily access to mental health care at the inmate’s request. Mental health providers work with case managers in the jail, who may help set up mental health services for the inmates. Inmates may also contact case managers directly for mental health services. After assessing an individual’s needs, case managers may send referrals for some of the following options:
Peer support services for incarcerated people with a mental health diagnosis willing to take steps toward recovery. Each peer support specialist receives training, is tested on their skills and works in the jail directly with inmates.
The Transformation Hope Recovery Independence Value Empowerment program, a case management service that allows forensic specialists to meet with inmates before they leave jail to bring them into the program without a lapse in medication or treatment often experienced upon being released from jail. THRIVE helps incarcerated people form connections to resources, with support (including family), and anything else they need to successfully reintegrate into society. As the requirements are less stringent than those of an intensive case management service, the program can connect individuals and wait for further information related to diagnoses. THRIVE has served 996 since its inception.
Those with more severe mental health illnesses may be referred to the Forensic Advocacy Collaboration Team. The multidisciplinary FACT Team meets bi-weekly to plan and coordinate services for individuals housed in the jail who require more intense case planning. The team assists with links to services; support with treatment and probation and parole; housing; and reentry to the community.
Case managers also provide inmates with information for the county’s Mental Health Court, a voluntary program that requires individuals to acknowledge their mental health and engage in treatment. Its goal is for participants to achieve and maintain
stability in their mental health and develop skills for continued success. Northampton County has had 170 people admitted into Mental Health Court since its inception April 2, 2015; 100 have graduated.
The Northampton County Department of Corrections contracts with PrimeCare Medical to provide mental health care and treatment. PrimeCare staff — including nurses, physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health professionals and support staff — evaluates the mental health needs of all new commits. PrimeCare is tasked with assessing inmates requiring a more advanced level of care, providing medication and scheduling outside appointments.
The county’s newly established Outpatient Restoration Long Term Structured Residence adds an eight-bed program to Northampton County’s mental health continuum of care. This outpatient restoration and conditional release program will serve individuals with serious mental illness who are languishing in jail, offering treatment instead of incarceration.
Northampton County has an extensive crisis intervention team program for law enforcement and other first responders to engage with people experiencing a mental health crisis. This year there have been three six-hour trainings and a full 40-hour course. The county has 597 trained first responders.
Additionally, Northampton County Mental Health provides a one-day crisis intervention training to all new Northampton County corrections officers. The trained officers provide Northampton County Mental Health with regular communication regarding individuals in their municipality needing assistance, whether active in the county Mental Health division or not. This ongoing communication is now received from several police municipalities on a daily basis.
Northampton County is truly committed to supporting and serving individuals with serious mental illness who enter into the criminal justice system, as well as establishing a preventative system of care to reduce the number who enter the system in the first place. Our goal is to support all individuals in our county with the best possible support and programs that enhance dignity and mental health care.