Fulton county department of behavioral health and disabilities (DBHDD) in partnership with atlanta policing alternatives & diversion initiative (pad) propose the fulton county diversion and deflection…

The Fulton County Department of Behavioral Health and Disabilities (DBHDD), in partnership with the Atlanta Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD), has been awarded a $1,599,999 Project Grant under the U.S. Department of Justice's Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substance Use Program (COSSUP). The grant will fund the Fulton County Diversion and Deflection Recovery Program (FDR) to address substance use disorders, promote public safety, and increase access to treatment and recovery services in Fulton County, Georgia. Key elements of the program include: (1) training for law enforcement on diversion to a centralized Center for Diversion & Services; (2) intensive care navigation and recovery housing for at least 425 diverted participants; (3) evidence-based mobile behavioral health services for diverted individuals; and (4) outreach to high-crime, high-usage areas to connect individuals to substance use services prior to criminal justice involvement. The 3-year grant period runs from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026. The lead applicant is the Fulton County DBHDD, with PAD serving as a subrecipient.

Fulton county department of behavioral health and disabilities (DBHDD) in partnership with atlanta policing alternatives & diversion initiative (pad) propose the fulton county diversion and deflection recovery program (FDR) to respond to substance use, promote public safety, and support access to SUD treatment and recovery services for individuals in fulton county, GA. Annually, DBHDD provides services for over 2,600 people with mental health issues and SUD/COD at five sites throughout fulton county. Services include screening, assessment, specialty outpatient treatment, and individual and group therapy provided through contracts with community-based providers. This FDR proposal builds upon the successes of dbhdds FY20 cossap to expand to fulton countys most underserved areas and increase deflection and diversion across the county. Fulton county is the largest county in georgia and has experienced a drastic increase in arrests of people with SUD for low-level offenses, delaying or denying vital treatment while also overcrowding jails and the court. In 2021, the city of atlanta and fulton county partnered to establish the center for diversion & services (the center) to provide an alternative to placing people in jail or in the detention center who suffer from behavioral health issues. The proposed FDR program will: (I) provide training to new law enforcement officers and ongoing quarterly professional development for existing officers to promote diversion to the center, expanding to several precincts within fulton county; (II) provide intensive care navigation for at least 425 diverted participants and increased access to recovery housing for those in need; (III) provide evidence-based mobile behavioral health services to diverted individuals in recovery housing; and (IV) conduct deflection outreach to targeted areas of high crime and high usage in north and south fulton to connect individuals with needed SUD services before they reach involvement with the criminal justice system. The programs expected outcomes are to increase diversion to the center year-over-year, reduce recidivism in fulton county, and increase access to evidence-based behavioral health treatments to individuals in recovery housing. Beneficiaries of this program include individuals with SUD, local law enforcement agencies, and all fulton county residents. DBHDD serves as the lead applicant and pad will be a subrecipient, if awarded. FDR will implement the following allowable activities: law enforcement deflection and diversion; naloxone for first responders; pre-booking and post-booking treatment alternative-to-incarceration programs; evidence-based SUD treatments and harm reduction activities; recovery housing and peer support; embedding peers; and field initiated projects.