ESSEX SHERIFF ATTENDS NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SUMMIT ON MENTAL HEALTH

ESSEX SHERIFF ATTENDS NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SUMMIT ON MENTAL HEALTH
ESSEX SHERIFF ATTENDS NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SUMMIT ON MENTAL HEALTH

     Sheriff Kevin Coppinger and Assistant Superintendent Jason Faro were among a select team of national stakeholders invited to participate in "Course Corrections: National Law Enforcement Summit on Mental Health: From Crisis Intervention to Mental Health and Public Safety" held at the Los Angeles Police Department on November 13 - 14.  This summit brought together leaders and decision-makers in law enforcement, from every region of the country, to point the way toward disentangling mental health and criminal justice and help communities transition from a crisis intervention mode to a more sustainable public health and safety model.  Participants included judges, district attorneys, police chiefs, correctional leaders, mental health professionals, and social services advocates. Notable speakers included LAPD Chief Michel Moore, Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Liefman, L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey amongst other leaders from around the country.

            This distinguished group engaged in conversations ranging from Intervention and Redirection, Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Homelessness, as well as Diversion and Detention.  By developing common goals and innovative best practices, participating leaders helped create a national advocacy document which will be shared with federal, state, and local policy makers with the ultimate goal of finding the best course of care and treatment for our mentally ill populations in our communities.

            According to The Equitas Project, a co-sponsor of this event, "each year millions of Americans are incarcerated due to poorly managed mental health.  Jails and prisons are the largest mental health facilities in the United States."  Sheriff Coppinger agreed saying” In Essex County, a substantial percentage of our inmate population suffers from mental illness and often times co-occurring substance abuse disorders.  County jails are facing unprecedented challenges in this regard.  We need to find better solutions to help identify and treat mental illness before individuals enter the criminal justice system and for those that do, we need to continue to provide better services during incarceration".

           In another important development, the U. S. Department of Justice has awarded the Essex County Sheriff's Department a $750,000 grant to expand its Essex Mental Health Diversion Program for pre-trial inmates. This initiative, part of a multi-year approach, will expand the number of offenders with mental health and co-occurring disorders served from 88 to 450 participants by utilizing risk assessments made when the individual enters the prison system to help identify and prioritize the best treatment and case management services for each individual. In addition, the grant allows Sheriff’s Department to hire a Peer Specialist and Case Manager. It also provides for staff training in the areas of Mental Health First Aid, opioid recognition and overdose prevention. "Today's approach to the treatment of mental illness in our communities and in our jails is clearly changing.  While we support community-based initiatives to intervene with those suffering from mental illness before they enter the system, we will continue to proactively identify and treat individuals in our custody to the best of our abilities" said Coppinger.