In March 2016, the Calaveras County Board of Supervi­sors passed a resolution to join the national Stepping Up initiative and commit to safely reducing the number of adults with mental illnesses in the Calaveras County Jail by connecting them to community-based treatment whenever possible. In May 2018, Calav­eras County was selected for the inaugural cohort of Stepping Up Innovator Counties due to its efforts to accurately identify and collect data on individuals with mental illnesses coming into its jail.

In collaboration with the Stepping Up initiative, the Data-Driven Justice initiative and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) convened a Best Practices Implementation Academy to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses and Substance Use Disorders in Jails (BPIA) in April 2018 in Alexandria, Va. SAMHSA contracted with Policy Research Associates (PRA), which operates SAMHSA’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, to facilitate the BPIA. This case study is part of a series highlighting the six counties that constituted the “Best Practices” teams representing the Data-Driven Justice initiative and the Stepping Up initiative at the BPIA.