HUTCHINSON, Kan. — In the 2019 Community Health needs Assessment 12.1% of people reported that their mental health was not good on 14 or more days in the past 30 days compared to 9.7% of people in Kansas.
Stepping Up Council of Reno County was created to come up with collaborative solutions offering alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness, co-occurring substance use disorders or developmental disabilities, who encounter the criminal justice system for low-level offenses. The initiative is designed to intercede whenever possible to provide treatment or needed supports, prevent repeat encounters with the criminal justice system, improve public safety, promote a healthier community to be more cost effective and an efficient use of public funding.
The Stepping Up Council is comprised of the Reno County Sheriff’s Department, City of Hutchinson Police Department, The Reno County District Attorney, Reno County Judges, Horizons Mental Health, Community Corrections, Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, City and County Officials, NAMI and is chaired by the United Way of Reno County. The Council has met semi-monthly for the past two years.
Counties around the United States are encouraged by the national Stepping Up Initiative to gather accurate, accessible data on the prevalence of people in their jails who have serious mental illness (SMI)* to help them understand the scale of the problem in their jurisdictions. When a County meets these criteria, they can apply to become an Innovator County. The Stepping Up Council of Reno County is proud to announce that it has been named an Innovator County.
Stepping Up is highlighting counties from around the country for their ability to accurately identify people in their jails who have SMI, collect and share data on these individuals to better connect them to treatment and services, and use this information to inform local policies and practices. To gather this data, these Innovator Counties are implementing Stepping Up’s recommended three-step approach:
1. Establish a shared definition of SMI for your Stepping Up efforts that is used throughout local criminal justice and behavioral health systems.
2. Use a validated mental health screening tool on every person booked into the jail and refer people who screen positive for symptoms of SMI to a follow-up clinical assessment by a licensed mental health professional; and
3. Record clinical assessment results and regularly report on this population.
The Stepping Up Council in Reno County continues to look for ways to improve our systems, align our resources and create a shared vision to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in our jail.
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*Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Definition
Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) and Severe Mental Illness (SMI) are terms used to describe a collection of mental disorders that often affect people in early adulthood and have profound effects on a person's ability to maintain an occupation, family relations, social functioning, and often lead to hospitalization due to their mental health needs. Disorders associated with SPMI and SMI individuals are schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorders and others found in the DSM 5. These diagnoses along with assessment criteria deemed necessary by the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) determine if a person is defined as SPMI or SMI.