Apply Now to Pilot New Tool for Behavioral Health Interventions in Your County

Applications Due Friday, July 31, 2026

With support from Arnold Ventures, the CSG Justice Center is now offering county leaders a chance to get free, hands-on support to identify evidence-informed behavioral health and legal interventions best suited for their community. Provided as part of our new initiative, Counties Aligning Health & Safety, leaders will have an opportunity to use a decision tool uniquely designed to help them identify the right policies and investments to improve outcomes for people with behavioral health needs at a critical and often overlooked moment: the period between booking and case resolution.

Grounded in the local challenges specific to each community and based on a new post-booking behavioral health framework, this tool will help leaders generate real cost savings and make meaningful improvements in the behavioral health outcomes of people leaving jail.  

Register for our upcoming webinar to learn more about the framework. 

Counties that are interested in participating should complete and submit their application by Friday, July 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. E.T.  

APPLY NOW

What can counties expect to accomplish?

Through the Counties Aligning Health & Safety initiative, a cohort of 10 to 12 counties will receive free, direct technical assistance to help them select and implement interventions best suited to their local context, data, and system capacity. Selected counties will work with CSG Justice Center staff to: 

• Assess their current landscape 

• Receive a locally tailored and interactive decision tool 

• Identify high-impact opportunities using the framework and tool 

• Develop a plan for action 

Users will be able to input key characteristics of their target population into the decision tool—including setting, mental health and substance use severity, levels of care, criminal justice factors, and other considerations—and it will instantly return a curated list of matched interventions for their community. Customized for each selected county, the tool is one critical aspect of the technical assistance support leaders will receive to help them translate local data into concrete investment and policy decisions.  

Selected counties will also be connected to a research partner to consult on their implementation plan and position them for future evaluation of the impact of their adopted changes—contributing to a growing evidence base that can benefit counties across the country.  

Who should apply?

A successful project requires collaboration among local stakeholders across multiple settings. Applicants must have the support of leadership within their 

• Local jail, such as sheriffs or jail administrators; 

• Behavioral health or public health agency; 

• Community-based behavioral health programs, such as counseling, recovery services, peer supports, or shelter/housing; 

• Courts, such as judges, prosecutors, and public defenders; and  

• County staff or elected officials, such as a county commissioner or county administrator. 

To be selected, applicants must also be able to demonstrate this commitment in a letter of support from a representative of their county commission or other county governing body, sheriff’s department, courts, and behavioral health system.  

Interested counties are encouraged to coordinate and apply with neighboring jurisdictions (each still submitting their own application), as joint interest from multiple counties within a state will strengthen an application. If your county shares detention, treatment, or community resources with neighboring counties, you can also apply as a regional team instead of as a county. 

What can counties expect to receive?

Technical assistance is expected to begin in September 2026 and end in December 2027. Selected counties will participate in regular calls with CSG Justice Center staff and one site visit to support planning, implementation, or data collection around the selected policy or practice change(s).  

Counties will also participate in virtual peer learning sessions with other selected counties, facilitated by CSG Justice Center staff. These sessions will provide opportunities for mutual learning through peer-to-peer support and the exchange of feedback from other counties with similar goals.  

Finally, selected counties will also work with a research partner to consult on their implementation plan and ensure appropriate data will be collected to enable future evaluation. 

APPLY NOW

NOTE: Counties that have leadership engaged but not yet a signed letter of support by July 31 can contact the CSG Justice Center to request an extension for that component of the application. A CSG Justice Center staff member will follow up with applicants by Monday, August 31, 2026.  

If you have any questions or want to request an extension, please reach out to Alison Martin at amartin@csg.org.