Lewis and clark county (l & c county) proposes to enhance the law enforcement-behavioral health cross-system collaboration to improve public health and safety, build trust in the community, and…

The Lewis and Clark County in Montana was awarded a $549,976 Project Grant from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Criminal and Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (CFDA 16.745). The grant funding will be used to enhance the county's Mobile Crisis Response Team co-response model with law enforcement to improve public health and safety, build community trust, and enhance outcomes for individuals with mental health or co-occurring disorders. Key project activities include continuing to develop the county's behavioral health system, improving law enforcement skills in co-response, and planning for the long-term sustainability of the enhanced crisis response services. The grant aims to expand the Mobile Crisis Response Team's reach across the tri-county area and strengthen community relationships.

Lewis and clark county (l & c county) proposes to enhance the law enforcement-behavioral health cross-system collaboration to improve public health and safety, build trust in the community, and improve the outcomes for individuals with mental health disorders (mhds) or CO-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (mhsuds), one of the program specific priority areas. A best practice strategy, implemented in november of 2020, to assist in l & CS local response to mental health crises is the ST. Peters hospital health mobile crisis response team (mcrt) CO-response model with law enforcement. This project is seeking $550,000 for activities to enhance l & CS mcrt which is necessary for multiple key reasons: to continue to enhance the l & c county behavioral health system as prioritized by county residents, stakeholders, and elected officials; to improve law enforcement skills in behavioral health CO-response as identified by city and county law enforcement; to improve health outcomes and reduce harm for individuals with mhds or mhsuds as identified in the data; and to plan for sustainability. This projects outcomes improve the mcrt to respond effectively and fill gaps in services, improve law enforcement capacity and plan for how to reach more citizens in the rural parts of the TRI-county area, build stronger community relationships, and improve the structure for billing and sustainability. L & c county (64,432 POP.) includes two primary municipalities, helena (34,256 POP, the largest city) and east helena, with additional small communities (