Analysis Area 1: Facilitate a cross-system data match between DHHS and county jails to identify the overlapping population of people who have behavioral health challenges who move through local criminal justice systems and identify high utilizers of both systems. CSG Justice Center staff will conduct an in-depth descriptive analysis of the matched Medicaid claims data to provide information on trends in services accessed in the community by people incarcerated in each participating jail. CSG Justice Center staff will also analyze county jail data related to demographic information, booking and release information, screening and assessment information, medications, and programming and treatment information to understand the criminal justice and behavioral health characteristics of locally incarcerated populations.
Update: CSG Justice Center staff facilitated regular TA meetings with both DHHS and jail stakeholders to assess and support the jail to Medicaid cross-system data match. CSG Justice Center staff revised a collection of data submission guidance documents and data sharing templates for the jail stakeholders based on feedback throughout the TA meetings and test reports pulled from the jail data management system. CSG Justice Center staff continued the extensive revision of the data use agreement (DUA) with the DHHS privacy information officer. CSG Justice Center staff also finalized a scope of work for a consultant to support the administrative data analysis and Medicaid match. By the end of July, CSG Justice Center staff provided all 10 county jails with TA to support the data request, and 8 of the 10 jails submitted administrative data to CSG Justice Center staff and are ready to submit jail data to DHHS once the DUA is finalized.
Analysis Area 2: Conduct a qualitative assessment on the availability, quality, and data collection practices of jail-based mental health and substance use disorder programming and treatment. CSG Justice Center staff will conduct interviews and focus groups with superintendents, jail staff, and contracted behavioral health providers to provide information on the identification of people with behavioral health needs, services, programming, and options within jails for care coordination to support connections to community-based care. CSG Justice Center staff will review jail policies that guide the practice of identifying, tracking, and referring people with behavioral health conditions to services. This assessment will provide qualitative data on local trends in jail populations, behavioral health needs, and participation in jail-based treatment and services.
Throughout July, CSG Justice Center staff finalized the scheduled timeline, on-site visit planning, and assessment documentation for the qualitative jail assessments. CSG Justice Center staff continued regular meetings and phone calls with jail superintendents and county stakeholders to identify the key staff or contracted providers who manage the jail’s behavioral health programming and learn about each jail’s data management system regarding behavioral health indicators and metrics. CSG Justice Center staff also rescheduled the planned July site visits due to staff illness; 8 of the 10 county jails are confirmed for an on-site jail assessment visit in August.
Analysis Area 3: Conduct a community-based behavioral health assessment with mental health center staff, substance use disorder treatment and recovery support service providers, housing and homeless service providers, and people with lived experiences. CSG Justice Center staff will identify and geographically map current behavioral health services, crisis response, and alternatives to incarceration programs to provide an overview of availability of services in each county. This assessment will inform stakeholders on the current gaps in behavioral health resources and care coordination with criminal justice systems.
Update: Throughout July, CSG Justice Center staff continued to connect with leaders, guiding associations, and additional stakeholders in the behavioral health field to provide project updates, gain insights into available resource allocation, and identify community-based providers who are either contracted to provide services to people in the criminal justice system who have behavioral health conditions or are serving populations of people who are at risk of jail incarceration due to behavioral health conditions. Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff finalized a scope of work for a contractor to conduct a thorough on-site behavioral health assessment with the county mental health centers and substance use disorder treatment providers.
Analysis Area 4: Connect with criminal justice stakeholders (law enforcement, judges, defense attorney, prosecuting attorneys, and community-based corrections) to examine the extent to which law enforcement, courts, and other criminal justice stakeholders have viable, evidence-informed community resources available for people in the criminal justice system who have behavioral health and housing needs, including access to effective crisis and treatment services. CSG Justice Center staff will also identify and geographically map current alternatives to incarceration programs to provide an overview of availability of options for criminal justice agencies in each county. This assessment will inform stakeholders on the current gaps in alternatives to criminal justice system for people with behavioral health conditions.
Update: In July, CSG Justice Center staff began planning future focus groups that will be scheduled in September and October to process the initial findings from the behavioral health assessment, learn about current successful collaborations, and further identify gaps between each county’s criminal justice and behavioral health systems.
Research Monthly Status:
Activities this month were similar to the previous month. CSG Justice Center Research staff prepared TA guidance in advance of each TA call with jail partners, prepared TA follow-up materials after each call, and answered ad-hoc questions for jail partners.
Additionally, Research staff continued to negotiate the DHHS DUA, working with CSG legal counsel, IT director, and Research deputy director to handle technical and legal questions regarding HIPAA and data security systems.
Finally, Research staff successfully collected select data files from county jails, completed initial review of data quality, and developed an initial data codebook.
Research Monthly Log:
7/8 - Meeting with Sullivan County - Donna MaGee (Program Director at Sullivan County Department of Corrections) to discuss jail data preparation and provide TA.
7/13 – Meeting with Strafford County – Raymond Bower (County Administrator), Rob Giglio (Database Administrator), and Sandy Bower (Administrator) to discuss jail data preparation and provide TA.
7/15 - Meeting with Hillsborough County – Timothy Considine (Sergeant) to discuss jail data preparation and provide TA.
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