OAKLAND, CA – The “Care First, Jails Last” task force Monday presented a list of 58 recommendations, developed over a two year process, to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
The task force recommendations include a call for improvement of service delivery and access to upstream community based behavioral health resources, with a goal of decreasing overall incarceration rates for individuals suffering from mental health and substance use disorders, according to a Workers Agency article.
Since the pandemic, Alameda County voters have been concerned with public safety, said the WA story, noting these recommendations provide resources and insight to hopefully influence Alameda County public officials to address gaps within their current justice system.
In the “Care First, Jails Last” Report, some key recommendations include a push for an African-American Resource Center, “specifically targeted toward African American individuals who are justice-involved with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) or living in community with SMI/SUD.”
The recommendation “plays a crucial role in addressing unique challenges and promoting positive outcomes for this population,” said the WA story, adding the report emphasizes the importance of such centers as a way to bolster cultural competency, address racial disparities, and provide a holistic approach to education, action, and community support.
The task force asks the county to create and support ongoing funding for an African-American resource center which “provides information and culturally responsive services in the areas of education, physical health (e.g., nutrition, meal services, and medical services) and mental health services (including psychiatric support, medication management, and individual and group therapy),” said the coverage.
An additional recommendation, said WA, includes a progressive approach in understanding how behavioral health impacts an individual in all aspects of their lives, urging urges creating a central contact point for triage and communicating to clients and public defenders, and community providers to be contacted by custody staff upon intake and during service to coordinate referrals and appropriate discharge and surface coordination.
Another forward facing recommendation, write WA, includes service, training programs, and collaborations with ACH and local university, community college, and school based health systems for early identification of mental illness among older and transitional age youth.
The report states, “This service training program would train school-based mental health counselors on proper family notification, expedited referral pathways from school-based health systems to ACBH programs, and awareness about early warning indicators for other campus staff (residential advisors, educators, etc).”
The recommendations include creating a 24/7 crisis response team to all parts of Alameda county as well as post crisis services. This includes followed up check-in, peer involvement, and even clearer policies on 5150 decisions.
Of the suggestions provided, the Board of Supervisors said it will decide which recommendations will be provided funding within the 2025–2026 budget in addition to a separate task force to monitor the implementation of these recommendations, Work Agency reports.
