The Stepping Up initiative was launched in 2015 as a partnership between The Council of State Governments Justice Center, the National Association of Counties, and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation. Since then, Stepping Up has provided counties with resources and tools to effect comprehensive, cross-systems change that can address the prevalence of mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders in local justice systems.
Douglas County was one of the first counties in April of 2015 to join this national movement, zeroing in on jail-based metrics that reflect the impact of their community’s efforts to REDUCE the number of people with a serious mental illness booked into jail, SHORTEN the average length of stay of people with a serious mental illness, INCREASE the percentage of connection to care for people with a serious mental illness in jail, and LOWER rates of recidivism.
Stepping Up seeks to bolster cross-systems collaboration and build out community-based services and supports to reduce incarceration and reincarceration, respond effectively to people in crisis, and ultimately prevent contact with the justice system in the first place. The Stepping Up planning and implementation framework is designed to meet counties where they are, giving them the flexibility to select the best strategies for their local context.
To see Douglas County's data related to Stepping Up, click here.
For more information on the national initiative, click here.