Background & Approach
Together with neighboring Sarpy County and Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare, Douglas County is part of a Criminal Justice-Mental Health Information Sharing Initiative to build data-driven strategies to reduce the number of people with mental illness in their local jails. Douglas County has been recognized as a Stepping Up Innovator County due to its robust implementation of validated jail screening for behavioral health, brain injury, and trauma, as well as data utilization and sharing. They have also built ongoing cross-system collaboration through a Familiar Faces Project, meeting the needs of individuals with serious mental illness and frequent jail contact. Through the IMPACT Network, Douglas County focuses on initial detention and court hearings, implementing the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) and a pretrial release program targeted to specific populations with frequent contact and mental health needs. They also plan to partner with Sarpy County to develop a crisis stabilization program, providing a more robust continuum of diversion options.