Behavioral Health High Utilizer Pilot Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The purpose of the Behavioral Health High Utilizer Pilot (herein referred to as “High Utilizer Pilot”) is to end the cycle of recidivism, improve individual and system outcomes, and reduce associated costs for high utilizers through innovations in planning, coordination and services across the housing, behavioral health, health care and criminal justice systems. Through the High Utilizer Pilot, the County aims to minimize system-wide gaps in the behavioral health system while simultaneously providing enhanced services to high utilizer individuals. The County funded this Pilot based on the theory of change developed by community stakeholders, that if the highest utilizers of the Baker Act (involuntary institutionalization and examination of an individual as authorized by the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971 (Florida Statute 394.451-394.47891)) and criminal justice systems receive intensive behavioral health, substance abuse, housing and wrap-around case management services, then there will be a decreased need from this population to use hospital, jail, and crisis stabilization services, resulting in a system-wide cost savings. The following objectives are designed to improve the system of care for high utilizers as well as strengthen the local interagency approach for this vulnerable population: • Decrease criminal justice involvement among project participants; • Decrease Baker Act civil commitments among project participants; • Improve housing status with shorter time-to-housing than non-participants; • Improve outcomes for both primary and behavioral health indicators (reduction in substance abuse, improvement in mental health status, increased utilization of primary health care services, and improvement in health status); • Improve inter-agency coordination and operational design; and, • Provide repeated client engagement from first contact through enrollment and throughout treatment. The target population for the High Utilizer Pilot project is a pre-identified subset of 33 individuals who are frequent users of the County’s public Baker Act facility and the County jail. These individuals are frequently homeless, often have co-occurring behavioral health and medical conditions, and are often involved with the criminal justice system.