States Supporting Familiar Faces

The States Supporting Familiar Faces (SSFF) initiative builds on local and community efforts to improve public safety and better serve “familiar faces”—people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders who frequently cycle through jails, crisis services, homeless shelters, and hospitals.

Because the familiar faces population has complex behavioral health needs—and because care is often fragmented across providers and systems—they may receive inconsistent or inadequate treatment and support, causing them to cycle through health care, criminal justice, and other community-based services.

SSFF involves a collaborative process between state and local jurisdictions in New Mexico and Georgia and includes 18 months of intensive support from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center. Through this process, the CSG Justice Center will support states in adopting policy changes that build local capacity to better serve familiar faces.

This initiative, made possible through support from Arnold Ventures as part of the national Familiar Faces Initiative, will focus on community-determined models of care that are person centered and culturally affirming and meet the complex needs of people who have frequent contact with local behavioral health and criminal justice systems.