Apply Now to Join Reducing Housing Barriers to Jail Diversion Community of Practice

This CoP is intended for collaborative teams consisting of leaders from the justice and housing/homeless assistance systems at the local, municipal, county, regional or Tribal level. These teams don’t need to be formalized, pre-existing collaborations. However, members must demonstrate a history of collaborative, cross-systems efforts to assess housing needs for people with behavioral health conditions in the justice system.   

Teams must be composed of two core members: one person each from the justice and housing/homeless service sectors. These members do not need to be senior leaders, but they should be people with decision-making authority. Examples include sheriff’s department managers or supervisors, police department command staff or homeless outreach team leaders, public housing authority directors, and Continuum of Care lead agency senior staff. Up to three additional team members are allowed to be on the team, representing behavioral health and social service partners; funding agencies; elected officials; people within the justice, homeless assistance, or behavioral health care systems; or other key partners.  

Session 1 will introduce key evidence-based diversion models that can be used to support people with behavioral health needs. It is designed to help participants gain a foundational understanding of the housing principles that inform the Housing First approach and break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness. Participants will be introduced to the Zero Returns to Homelessness initiative and learn how they can use it to support diversion efforts. Lastly, participants will have the opportunity to hear from one community about their efforts to divert people from jail into housing. 

Session 2 will introduce participants to diversion opportunities that can occur before people ever come into contact with the courts through community-led and law enforcement efforts. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences engaging in these kinds of efforts previously and learn how they can practically apply the Zero Returns to Homelessness initiative to support these efforts in the future. Finally, participants will hear from a panel of Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Sites to learn about their work through homeless outreach teams to connect people to housing. 

Session 3 will explore the role that courts, such as specialty courts, can play in facilitating diversion from jail. Participants will have a chance to discuss intervention models–such as Intensive Case Management–available through the courts system and their coordination with services. During this session, participants will join group discussions and engage with two guest communities to build up group knowledge and increase their understanding of court-based diversion.