Apply Now to Join Stepping Up’s Set, Measure, Achieve Community of Practice

February 2, 2022

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is hosting a virtual Community of Practice focused on positioning Stepping Up counties for success in Set, Measure, Achieve, the Stepping Up Initiative’s latest call to action. Set, Measure, Achieve encourages counties to establish and reach measurable goals that demonstrate reduced prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) in jails. The Community of Practice will be led by CSG Justice Center policy and research staff, with featured presentations from peer counties. Participants will have opportunities for mutual learning and dialogue and will receive assistance in using the Stepping Up Set, Measure, Achieve County Progress Tool, which will allow counties to track their progress and analyze their data.

Upon completion of the Community of Practice, participants will be equipped with strategies they can use in their own communities to guide data collection and analysis efforts, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of people with SMI who come into contact with the justice system.

These sessions will be held in partnership with the National Association of Counties and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, with funding support from the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation.

Dates:

  • March 30, 2022
  • May 4, 2022
  • July 27, 2022
  • October 5, 2022

All sessions will take place 1:00–2:30 p.m. ET via Zoom web meeting.

Counties interested in participating should submit this application by Wednesday, February 23, 2022.

If you have any questions, contact Mark Stovell at mstovell@csg.org.

Which counties should apply?

This Community of Practice is best suited for counties that can easily access accurate data on the prevalence of SMI in their jails.

Who should participate?

We require each county to be prepared to participate as an interdisciplinary team comprising the following representatives: (1) a jail administrator; (2) county criminal justice/Stepping Up coordinator; (3) jail analyst and/or jail information technology (IT) staff member; and (4) a staff member from a community-based behavioral health treatment provider. Six team members, at most, may actively participate in each session; however, additional team members may join to listen in. The suggested attendees will vary for each session, with the exception of Stepping Up coordinators, who are advised to attend all sessions. Participating counties will coordinate with the CSG Justice Center to determine the appropriate combination of attendees for each session.

What will the sessions cover?

Session 1 will provide an overview of the Set, Measure, Achieve call to action and give counties an opportunity to share their baselines for the Stepping Up four key measures. Counties will receive assistance in determining the targets they can set based on their available baseline data. This session will also include a discussion about which tools are helpful for tracking progress and reporting outcomes, as well as a demonstration of the Stepping Up Set, Measure, Achieve County Progress Tool that can assist with tracking data for the initiative.

Session 2 will review methods for tracking (a) jail bookings of people with SMI; (b) average daily population at the jail with SMI; and (c) average length of stay at the jail. The session will focus on how to use the Stepping Up Set, Measure, Achieve County Progress Tool to track these measures. Participants will also be encouraged to share their own processes for tracking the key measures, given that these processes vary from county to county. Representatives will have an opportunity via virtual breakout rooms to discuss interventions in their counties that are having an impact on the Stepping Up measures of focus for this session.

Session 3 will review methods for tracking post-release connections to care for people with SMI and jail rebookings for people with SMI. The session will focus on how to use the Stepping Up Set, Measure, Achieve County Progress Tool to track these measures. Participants will also be encouraged to share their processes for tracking the key measures, given that these processes vary from county to county. Representatives will have an opportunity via virtual breakout rooms to discuss interventions in their counties that are having an impact on the Stepping Up measures of focus for this session.

Session 4 will be an opportunity for representatives to report out progress that they have made since the beginning of the Community of Practice. These reports can include successes and challenges with interventions addressing the four key measures, as well as upcoming goals for tracking targets over the next year.

About the author


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Deputy Program Director, Behavioral Health
Mark oversees the delivery of broad-based technical assistance products and tools to assist counties in their Stepping Up efforts. Mark has also provided technical assistance to Second Chance Act and Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grantees that serve people
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with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental illness, and he has coordinated additional projects designed to advance practices at the intersection of the criminal justice and behavioral health. Before joining the CSG Justice Center, Mark worked for the Partnership to End Addiction in New York City where he developed educational tools for state decisionmakers on improving addiction prevention and treatment through health policy. He also worked for Families USA in Washington, DC and for Hunger Free Vermont as part of the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship. Mark earned his BA in political science and sociology from Ohio University and his MPA at Baruch College.
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