Deschutes agencies join in mental health workshop

On Thursday, Sept. 13, stakeholders throughout Deschutes County participated in a one-day workshop for the development of integrated strategies to effectively identify and respond to the needs of justice-involved adults with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

Sequential Intercept Mapping, facilitated by SAMHSA’s GAINS Center in Delmar, New York, is a workshop designed to help communities identify existing community resources, service gaps, and opportunities for improved service coordination and communication between mental health, substance abuse, and criminal justice professionals.

According to Dr. Henry J. Steadman of the GAINS Center, “This workshop is a strategic planning session intended to foster systemic change and provide each participating community with the tools necessary to move forward to enhance services for adults with mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders in contact with the justice system.”

Key agency administrators, staff, and consumer advocates from the mental health, substance abuse, and criminal justice system in Deschutes County participated in the Sequential Intercept Mapping workshop which focuses on strategic planning efforts for cross-systems collaboration and the reduction of system and service barriers with an integrated, local action plan.

Members from the Deschutes County Crisis Intervention Team Steering Committee applied for a grant to bring the Sequential Intercept Mapping workshop to Deschutes County. There were only six grants awarded nationwide during 2012, Deschutes County earning one of them.

A planning team consisting of CIT Steering Committee members provided guidance in preparation for the program. The Planning Committee held several telephone conference calls with the facilitators to discuss current practices and potential barriers to systems change.

The Planning Committee is comprised of Bend Police Department Captain Cory Darling; Molly Wells, manager of Sage View Psychiatric Center at Charles Medical Center; Terry Schroeder, Deschutes County Behavioral Health; Roger Olson, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Brandi Shroyer; and Deschutes County Sheriff Captain Mike Espinoza.

During the workshop, participants developed a map detailing the flow of criminal justice contact from arrest to incarceration, referral and access to services, and points for diversion from the justice system across Deschutes County. Strategies for systems change implemented by other U.S. communities were considered.

Nationally, individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders are an increasing presence within the criminal justice system.

Studies have shown that 6.4% of men and 12.2% of women entering U.S. jails have a severe and persistent mental illness, compared to less than 2% of the general population. Of these individuals, 72% have a co-occurring substance use disorder.

This problem is especially pronounced in rural communities, where the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of behavioral health services prevent many from receiving the help that they need.

With more than 650,000 individuals returning to communities each year from U.S. prisons and seven million individuals returning from jails, effective linkage and access to community services for people with a mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorder is critical to reduce an often repetitious cycle of justice involvement.

For more information on Deschutes County’s Action Plan contact: Captain Cory Darling of the Bend Police Department at (541) 322-2960.

Information on the workshop is available at www.prainc.com or e-mail training@prainc.com