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.?
Background:?County and state officials report a high prevalence of people with behavioral health needs moving through local county department of corrections (jails) and state prisons, with an increasing reliance on using incarceration at the local level to address behavioral health challenges. In at least one of the state?s 10 county jails, a data match found a 76 percent overlap between the populations for both the county jail and the community mental health center.[i]?In another county, the majority of people held in jail reported using drugs on a regular basis;[ii]?another county estimated that about a quarter of its jail population had an opioid use problem.[iii]?Improving criminal justice and public health outcomes for people with behavioral health conditions who are high utilizers of the health and jail systems can impact public safety and state budgets.?
Update:?In August, CSG Justice Center staff met with New Hampshire DOC data staff to have a preliminary conversation about the expanded data analysis. CSG Justice Center staff learned that the New Hampshire DOC collects a number of the variables needed for the research team to do the analysis, but more conversations are needed to fully scope what is possible and to inform the data use agreements (DUAs) once the Phase II project is approved. CSG Justice Center research staff also connected with New Hampshire DHHS data staff and learned that they retained jail data from the JRI Phase I analysis, which will be incorporated into the next round of data analysis. CSG Justice Center research staff coordinated with CSG legal counsel on how the?DUAs must be crafted for the next round of analysis. CSG Justice Center staff also drafted the focus of work for new data analysis and implementation technical assistance.
[i]?Meeting between The Council of State Governments Justice Center and Sullivan County, Department of Corrections on November 18, 2020.
[ii]?Merrimack County, ANNUAL REPORT For the year ending December 31, 2019 (Concord, NH: County of Merrimack, 2020). ?69% of inmates self-reported regular drug use.? Self-reported drug use statistics were not available for all counties.
[iii]?County of Co?s, Annual Report of Co?s County for the Year Ending December 31, 2019 (Lancaster, NH: County of Co?s, 2020). Information on substance use in jails was not available for all counties.
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.?
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Background:?While less is immediately known about the nature and prevalence of behavioral health needs among people who are incarcerated in and frequently move through county jails, stakeholders have indicated, and preliminary data analyses show that people with behavioral health needs may also make up large proportions of local jail populations.?In Merrimack County, over two-thirds of people in jail in 2019 reported using drugs on a regular basis.[i]In Cheshire County, 84 percent of people in jail who received a mental health assessment in 2019 met the criteria for alcohol and/or drug abuse or dependence, and 64 percent had co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders.[ii]?However, data collection systems are not consistent across county jails and often lack behavioral health indicators and metrics. Additionally, despite the reported prevalence of behavioral health needs, there are gaps in the availability and quality of jail-based behavioral health programming.?
Update:?In August, CSG Justice Center staff met with the president of the New Hampshire Superintendents Affiliates and learned that he supports Phase II implementation but will need to get approval to sign the LOI from the Superintendents Affiliates membership in their September meeting. He did share that he is optimistic about receiving a positive response from the larger group.
[i]?Merrimack County, ANNUAL REPORT For the year ending December 31, 2019 (Concord, NH: County of Merrimack, 2020). ?69% of inmates self-reported regular drug use.? Self-reported drug use statistics were not available for all counties.
[ii]?County of Cheshire, Report of the County Commissioners County Treasurer and Other Officers of Cheshire County New Hampshire for the Year Ending December 31, 2019 (Keene, NH: County of Cheshire, 2020). Of the 1,610 people booked in calendar year 2019, 280 received a mental health evaluation. Information on mental health in jails was not available for all counties.
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.??
Background:?The behavioral health needs in New Hampshire are significant, but mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and service providers are limited in their ability to meet these needs generally, let alone for people involved in the criminal justice system.?In 2017 and 2018, an estimated nine percent of adults in New Hampshire needed substance use treatment but did not receive it, the seventh-highest rate in the nation.[i]?This assessment will inform recommendations on how to address people who have frequent contact with county jails and behavioral health systems, including increasing diversion opportunities and access to services for people reentering communities from jails, such as mental illness and SUD treatment, affordable housing, and other effective community-based support services.
Update: ?In August, CSG Justice Center staff presented data analysis- and substance use disorder-related policy recommendations to the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund and Advisory Commission (Advisory Commission). The commission members showed interest in the policy recommendations and noted that the recommendations align with others they have been considering for funding. CSG Justice Center staff also met with the chairs of relevant legislative committees that hear behavioral health and public safety topics to provide them with a project overview. The chairs found the data analysis helpful and showed enthusiasm about the recommendations of the Advisory Commission. Finally, CSG Justice Center staff had discussions with DHHS staff who expressed continued support for expanding the project to include state data.
[i]?Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2017-2018 NSDUH State Estimates of Substance Use and Mental Disorders (Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019). Percentages are annual averages for 2017 and 2018; rates for individual years were not available. Adults are people 18 years of age and older.
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 the criminal justice system for people with behavioral health conditions.?
Background:?County officials report significant gaps in how the state is currently able to respond to and provide behavioral health services to people. Without more effective and available community-based services to respond to people with SUDs or mental illnesses or both, New Hampshire has increasingly relied on incarceration in jails or prison to address behavioral health challenges, which increases fiscal pressure on counties.?
Update:?In August, CSG Justice Center staff met with a New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice to provide him with a status update on the CSG Justice Center?s presentation to the Advisory Commission, informational meetings with committee chairs, and what Phase II could look like. CSG Justice Center staff learned about his work to expand the SIM Mapping statewide, and he noted that CSG Justice Center staff?s assistance could be helpful down the line in that expansion.
Research Monthly Status:?CSG Justice Center research staff consulted with CSG legal counsel to determine the necessary data use agreements for continued data analysis. CSG Justice Center research staff briefed the DHHS on the required data use agreements and data analysis plan. To further the project, CSG Justice Center research staff met with New Hampshire DOC to provide project updates, receive feedback, and discuss data availability with DOC?s data team. Press Clips: New Hampshire Bulletin: Can off-ramps keep the 'regulars' out of jail? -?https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2023/08/08/can-off-ramps-keep-the-regu…
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