SAM69846SOW.docx

Purpose:

SAMHSA would now like to use the experience and approach of the PIP initiative to better understand how it can be integrated in other localities that have ongoing crisis diversion programs involving criminal justice. There is a plethora of jail diversion programs around the country - mental health courts, CIT programs, pre-booking and post-booking diversion programs- all of which attempt to respond to individuals after they have become involved with the law enforcement or criminal justice system. Many of these programs are reducing arrests and incarceration among people with serious mental illness, but they at least tacitly take it as a given that these individuals will experience crises and be at risk of criminal justice involvement. Mental health crises, themselves, have obvious harms and, even if an individual is ultimately diverted from jail, the processes of arrest, booking, and appearance before a judge can be demeaning, traumatizing and costly. Diversion programs are a valuable strategy to address an immediate problem, but they should be paired with efforts to reduce the need for diversion. While these programs seek to mitigate harm in a crisis when a police encounter is imminent, an organized PI approach would attempt to rectify the service gaps and structural factors that put people in crisis in the first place. For this reason, SAMHSA is interested in better understanding how the approaches being utilized within PIP sites can be integrated with ongoing diversion programs.

For this initiative, the contractor will identify four sites where there are established or newly formed collaborations between the mental health system and law enforcement, corrections, or the courts with programs that are intended as jail diversion. The contractor will meet with leadership and relevant stakeholders within each site to conduct trainings in the PIP approach and to analyze the feasibility and receptivity of incorporating this model within these localities and elsewhere where diversion initiatives are underway.

The goal is to assess the receptivity of typical local community collaborations to use performance improvement approaches and a data-driven system to spur a culture change that leads to the treatment of psychiatric emergencies as service problems, rather than as criminal justice system issues. This will enable SAMHSA to assess the likely receptivity of the many sites that receive federal incentives for jail diversion, or that use local funds for such purposes, to either add to these programs or replace these programs with earlier interventions that are focused, effective and less costly in both human and fiscal terms.

Description of Work:

A. General Requirements

1. The contractor shall furnish all necessary personnel, facilities, equipment, materials and supplies, and perform the work set forth below.

2. All work under this project shall be monitored by the Government Project Officer (GPO).

3. All reports, statistics, or tables produced under this project shall be the property of the Federal government, which includes the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA or CMHS may utilize, print, or disseminate such material without further charge.

No other articles or publications which rely substantially on materials produced under this project shall be published by either party without prior consultation and approval.

Specific Requirements Task 1:

Meet with the GPO and other CMHS/SAMHSA staff in order to determine the best approach for accomplishing the tasks covered by this purchase order. GPO and other CMHS/SAMHSA staff will review plan for consistency with Center priorities and guidance. Modify the work plan in response to comments provided by the GPO.

Task 2:

Create an inventory of existing jail diversion initiatives, including specifically some that are mental health courts, some that are CIT program focused and some that use other jail diversion models. The inventory will include information on whether the site is interested in the initiative.

Task 3:

Identify a potential list of sites to engage and meet with the GPO to make a final decision of which sites will be involved in the initiative.

Task 4:

Sites will be contacted and preliminary information will be gathered through a conference call with each site. These calls will provide full background on the current jail diversion program efforts, collect what data may be available on these programs and identify key personnel working on the jail diversion program as well as consumers and other stakeholders in the local area who can provide information on the operation of the program.

Task 5:

A summary report of all the conference calls will be submitted to SAMHSA Task 6:

These calls will be followed by site visits to each program during which the local collaborative will be educated on the performance improvement approach and learn of the experiences of the existing performance improvement sites. It is important to cultivate buy-in and momentum for the shift in program focus.

Task 7:

Identify operational barriers to be overcome, including political barriers, inertia in the system, lack of resources for the necessary early intervention services, and other issues. Identify the characteristics of sites that see the feasibility of integrating what they are doing with a performance improvement initiative that can reduce the number of individuals who require their jail diversion program and the characteristics of sites that do not see this as possible, practical or desirable.

Task 8:

Provide ongoing technical assistance to all sites in order to assist them in launching a project improvement initiative, including assisting them to identify the data that can enable appropriate assessment of the causes of the law enforcement contacts and so identify the most effective strategies that need to be implemented to reduce such contacts.

Task 9:

Prepare a written report summarizing the findings. The final report will address barriers to implementation of performance improvement initiatives in such sites as well as local factors that make such policy and program changes possible.

Schedule of Deliverables:

A. Approval of the Work Plan after start of award in consultation with Project Officer. (Task 1)1-3 weeks after start of contract B. Identify the specific inventory of jail diversion programs, in consultation with Project Officer. (Task 2) 4-7 weeks after start of contract C. Conduct a preliminary analysis of site features and, in consultation with Project Officer, identify a representative set of sites for inclusion in this initiative.. (Task 3) 7-10 weeks after start of contracts D. Conduct phone interviews with sites and provide summary report. (Tasks 4&5) 10-15 weeks after start of contract E. Conduct site visits and analyses; provide related technical assistance. (Tasks 6,7&8) 15-40 weeks after start of contract

F. Report to SAMHSA submitted.

(Task 9) 40 - 42 weeks after start of contract