National Association of Counties
In Miami-Dade County, Fla. roughly 9.1 percent of the population (more than 240,000 individuals) experience serious mental illnesses (SMI; e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression), yet fewer than 13 percent of these individuals receive care in the public mental health system. As a result, law enforcement and correctional officers have increasingly become the lone responders to people in crisis: an estimated 15,000 people in need of mental health treatment are arrested each year in Miami-Dade County, primarily for misdemeanors and low-level felonies. Recognizing the opportunity to do better, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP) was established to divert people with SMI or co-occurring SMI and substance use disorders from the criminal justice system into community-based treatment and support services.
<p>Counties are directing resources to programs, practices and policies to reduce the overuse and misuse of the criminal legal system, improve public safety, better serve residents with behavioral health conditions and improve communit
<p>Reducing recidivism through effective jail- and community-based services can decrease jail admissions and populations and improve outcomes for people with criminal histories.</p>
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<p>All matters pertaining to criminal justice and public safety systems, including criminal justice planning, law enforcement, courts, corrections, homeland security, community crime prevention, juvenile justice and delinquency preven
<p>NACo's Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.
NACo’s Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.
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