The clemson university police department (cupd) located in northwest south carolina requests $549,991.78 of 2022 connect and protect: law enforcement behavioral health responses funding to implement a…

The clemson university police department (cupd) located in northwest south carolina requests $549,991.78 of 2022 connect and protect: law enforcement behavioral health responses funding to implement a community law enforcement-mental health collaborative strategy to improve responses and connections to treatment for people with mental health and CO-occurring disorders. The proposed project is situated in three rural underserved counties with high-poverty (anderson, oconee, and pickens - combined population of 384,422) surrounding the university. A project team comprised of a law enforcement project coordinator, local mental health treatment service providers, and scientific consultants will participate in phase i planning meeting sessions to identify and address justice mental health training needs, resource gaps, and set response procedures for cupd. Planning work will be guided through technical assistance and community stakeholder input to be collected, synthesized, and transmitted through process evaluation feedback to cupd and regional agency stakeholders. Scientific consultants will build on a comprehensive agency assessment, a resources inventory, and analysis of mental health data (i.e., calls for services, arrests for people with MHD/cmhsud, and connections to treatment) to inform development of an agency action plan (the planning and implementation guide). Phase II of the project will include a tailored police mental health collaboration (pmhc) strategy including CIT and mhfa law enforcement training delivered to partnering agencies combined with an embedded clinician coresponder team that will provide screening, assessment, and referrals for MHD/cmhsud services toward the goal of improved public safety and diversion from the criminal justice system. The project supports OJP priorities to promote civil rights and racial equity along with connect and protect priorities with: 1) implementation of an evidence-based law enforcement justice and mental health collaboration strategy (CO-responder model) to identify and reduce the risk of harm to individuals with MHD/cmhsud, 2) referral and treatment services for female and minority individuals with mhds/mhsuds, and 3) use of interventions that are empirically validated to respond to offenders at risk of recidivism. Crisis intervention specialists (CIS) employed by accredited mental health partners will be embedded within cupd and paired with a specially trained mental health response cupd CO-responder officer (CRO) to create two CO-responder teams (CRT). The project will be supported by a scientific mixed methods program evaluation and assessment of the pmhc strategy on community satisfaction including marginalized populations. Evaluators will provide empirical feedback for program improvement and dissemination of process and outcome findings to the law enforcement and scientific communities.