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Report: Mental Health America
State of Mental Health in America
 MHA released its annual State of Mental Health in America report, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 15 mental health access and prevalence measures. The report illuminates the continuing crisis both in the prevalence of mental health conditions and in access to mental health services. MHA emphasizes that more must be done to ensure that Americans are able to lead mentally healthy lives- with a specific emphasis on mental health equity – addressing the needs of marginalized and impoverished communities who face greater risk factors for mental health conditions as well as greater challenges in access to care. Access the report.
First Responder Dispatch
Training, emergency response options, and data reporting are key areas for improvement
New research from PEW Charitable Trusts suggests that 911 call centers lack resources to  handle behavioral health crises. Every year, millions of 911 calls involve a person experiencing an emergency related to a mental health or substance use disorder. How these calls are handled can determine whether the incident ends safely, the person in crisis is arrested, or the person is connected to appropriate care. The call-takers and dispatchers answering these emergency calls make critical assessments of the health and safety of those involved in each call, decide whether help is needed, and determine whether it should be led by law enforcement officers, emergency medical services, or more specialized field responses (if available).
Currently, there is a lack of information about how call centers manage these emergencies, including how calls are assessed, what dispatch options are available, and how data on calls and outcomes is collected and shared. Those unknowns are fueled by the disjointed nature of the system, comprising more than 5,000 separate 911 call centers, each with its own standards for training staff, call-handling and dispatch protocols, and data management and reporting systems. Read more.
Key findings from the study:
- Few responding call centers have staff with behavioral health crisis training to inform how they navigate 911 calls and dispatch responses.
- Respondents indicated they had limited options to dispatch specialized responses to crisis calls.
- Some respondents did not indicate that their 911 call center and service area had any specialized resources to address mental health or substance use-related emergencies.
- While most respondents record calls as mental health and/or substance use-related in their electronic data management system, few reported on these statistics internally or publicly.
- Many respondents recognized the need to improve 911’s responses to behavioral health emergencies, and either are working to improve their systems or expressed a desire to do so.
Mental health teams increasingly dispatched to answer 911 calls
Police in New York City, Denver, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orlando, Raleigh, North Carolina and elsewhere have taught 911 operators to determine whether an emergency might involve someone with a mental health issue—and to dispatch clinicians instead of or in addition to police officers. Denver’s Support Team Assistance Response group, or STAR, for example, couples a paramedic with a mental health clinician and responded to 748 calls in the first six months after it launched in June 2020. None of those cases ended with an arrest. The initial $1.4 million funding for the program did not come out of the police department budget, which is about $230 million. Denver allocated $1 million to expand the program in 2021 due to early data, which shows that “25 percent less personnel time is required when STAR responds,” according to the city. [From CSG] Read more.
Publication: National Institute of Justice
Desistance from Crime: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
NIJ’s new publications explore critical questions surrounding the process of individuals ceasing engagement in criminal activities, referred to as “desistance.” They discuss how to conceptualize and measure desistance and offer innovative ways of using desistance-focused approaches in criminal justice practice, policy, and research. This collection of work takes important steps in describing how a desistance framework can move the field forward across key decision points in the criminal justice system. Read more.
Check this out!
Deflection and Pre-arrest Diversion to Prevent Opioid Overdose Resource Packet
With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Council for Mental Wellbeing developed a package of resources to support the adoption and implementation of deflection and pre-arrest diversion programs to better support people at risk of opioid overdose. These resources were informed by real-world experiences shared through a series of key informant interviews and an Experts’ Roundtable with diverse stakeholders across the country, including several PTACC National Leadership Council members! Access the resources.
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PTACC's Deflection Classifieds
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Job Opportunities
TASC's Center for Health and Justice
 Project Coordinator
This position at CHJ assists in the coordination of training and technical assistance activities surrounding deflection and alternatives to incarceration. Location: Chicago, IL. Apply here.
Atlanta PAD
Director of Social Services
Atlanta PAD is seeking a new member for their leadership team to lead intensive community-based case management with a harm reduction and housing first approach. Location: Atlanta, GA. Apply here.
Funding Opportunity
SAMHSA
FY22 Grants Forecast
Includes: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Expansion Grants; Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Grant Program; Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Grant; State Opioid Response Grants. Learn more.
Training Opportunities
SAMHSA- GAINS Center
Applications due November 12, 2021
The GAINS Center is offering a series of Train-the-Trainer (TTT) events to teach local trainers to deliver its How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses curriculum. The target audiences for this training program are primarily community-based criminal justice system professionals, including law enforcement, community corrections (probation, parole, and pre-trial services), and court personnel, as well as human service providers that serve adult justice-involved populations.
Apply here.
Call for Proposals
National Sheriff’s Association 
Applications due November 12, 2021
NSA is accepting proposals to present at their Winter Conference in February. Suggested proposal topics include: community engagement, de-escalation, issues for rural sheriffs, officer wellness, legal/legislative updates, recruiting/retention, court security, jail operations, leadership, law enforcement operations, technology/innovation. Learn more.
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Events
Webinar: Cordata
November 10th at 12:00 pm ET
How to Start or Enhance Pre-Arrest Deflection Programs in Your Community
More and more communities are finding innovative ways of deflecting at-risk citizens to treatment. During this webinar, you will hear from three different communities at various levels of program development. They will share how they got started, what they have learned, and where they are headed. Register here.
Event: Reimagine Crisis 
November 16-18, 2021
A Week of Action to Reimagine Our National Response to People in Crisis
People across the country will be able to access 988, a new three-digit number for mental health, substance use and suicidal crises, when it goes live nationwide by July 2022. But there is much work that must be done to ensure there is comprehensive support available when people call for help. REIMAGINE will bring together advocates from across the country to elevate crisis response -- an issue that impacts us all.
During special virtual events November 16-18, hear from speakers who have first-hand experience with the country’s current response to mental health and suicidal crises and what can be done to change it. The audience will be able to participate in conversations exploring key intersections with crisis response — equity and social justice, public safety and first responders, and youth and young adults. Register here.
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Did you see it?
 DEA Counterfeit Pill Fact Sheet
In September the DEA issued a warning https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2021/09/27/dea-issues-public-safety-alert that International and Domestic Criminal Drug Networks are Flooding the United States with Lethal Counterfeit Pills. Here is a fact sheet.
Talk. They Hear You. Talking to youth about Substance Use
SAMHSA’s “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign aims to reduce underage drinking and substance use among youths under the age of 21 by providing parents and caregivers with information and resources they need to address alcohol and other drug use with their children early. Learn more.
Model Opioid Litigation Proceeds Act
LAPPA developed a model law to assist states in their efforts to maximize funds available to address the overdose crisis. The Model Opioid Litigation Proceeds Act will guide states through the establishment of a dedicated fund, separate from the state’s general treasury fund, that is designated for substance use disorder abatement, including prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction infrastructure, programs, services, supports, and resources.
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PTACC is the NATIONAL voice of the field of deflection and pre-arrest diversion. We provide vision, leadership, advocacy, and education to facilitate the growth and practice of deflection and pre-arrest diversion in all its forms—including programs that incorporate co-responder and community responder models—across the United States. We welcome all to be part of this growing movement!
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