Mental Health and Law Enforcement Initiative Tarrant County 9-1-1 May 30, 2018 Good morning! My name is Maggie Jones with Tarrant County Community Development and the Mayors’ Council of Tarrant County. Thank you so much for the opportunity to visit with you about our Mental Health and Law Enforcement Initiative.

About Mayors’ Council of Tarrant County Established in 1975 Comprised of the mayors of 41 cities located wholly or partly within Tarrant County Policy advisory committee to Commissioners Court Addresses a variety of issues that cross city boundaries Community development Transportation Mental health and law enforcement Legislation The Mayors’ Council of Tarrant County was established more than 40 years ago as a policy advisory committee to the Commissioners Court and addresses several issues that cross city boundaries such as community development, transportation, legislation, and mental health. As there are 41 cities in Tarrant County, the Mayors’ Council is made up of 41 mayors – and the County Judge.

Background 2 issues: Officers spending lengthy periods of time at JPS’ Psychiatric ER and/or mental health facilities Time commitment takes officers off of city streets Jail population trend 26% of the jail population currently in MHMR care Mayors’ Council hosted 2 mental health and law enforcement summits, Sept. 2016 & Aug. 2017 to look at jail and JPS and/or mental health facility alternatives Call to Action identified a Steering Committee (primarily elected officials) and Stakeholder Committee (area experts) to find a solution Our mental health and law enforcement initiative came about from 2 issues: first, cities were concerned police officers were spending lengthy periods of time at JPS’ psychiatric emergency room and/or other mental health facilities, which in turn took officers out of the line of duty. Secondly, the number of inmates in MHMR care was continuing to increase disproportionately, as I will detail in the next couple of slides. The Mayors’ Council hosted 2 mental health and law enforcement summits that were well-attended by law enforcement officials, public officials, and community experts. They included several key panel discussions on reducing the number of people with mental illness in jails, improving police response to people with mental illness, and the community cost of the criminalization of mental illness. The end result of these discussions was a defined purpose and a call to action, which identified a steering committee and a stakeholder committee, which I’ll talk about more in the next few slides.

Jail Population Trends (All Inmates) Average population +14.1% 2015-2018 Since 2015, the overall Tarrant County jail population has increased by nearly 500 folks, or about 14.1%.

Jail Population Trends (MHMR Care Only) Average population +39.5% 2015-2018 But nearly half of those folks are in MHMR care – which has pushed the total number of those in MHMR care up by nearly 40% over the same time period.

Purpose To create an integrated delivery system designed to divert mentally ill individuals from the County criminal justice system into an appropriate mental health facility; specifically, to assess the creation of stand-alone, drop-off facilities and/or crisis center(s). The defined purpose? We needed to be able to answer the question – if jail is not the most appropriate option, then where should they go? What other options should police officers have? To create an integrated delivery system designed to divert mentally ill individuals from the County criminal justice system into an appropriate mental health facility; specifically, to assess the creation of stand-alone, drop-off facilities and/or crisis center(s).

Steering Committee (11 members) County Judge B. Glen Whitley – Tarrant County Commissioner Roy C. Brooks – Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn – Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Sharen Wilson – Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Judge Brent A. Carr – Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 9 Mayor Jim Griffin – City of Bedford Mayor Pat Jacob – City of Lakeside Councilmember Brian Byrd – City of Fort Worth Councilmember Kathryn Wileman – City of Arlington Chris Ponder – Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office Catherine Olivares – Texas Health Resources The Steering and Stakeholder committees that I mentioned earlier are highlighted in the next couple of slides. The Steering Committee featured here is made up primarily of elected officials, representative of Tarrant County, the Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, criminal courts, the Mayors’ Council, cities of Fort Worth and Arlington, and Texas Health Resources.

Stakeholder Committee (27 members) Co-facilitators: Ramey Heddins & Patricia Ward Richard Brooks – MedStar Mobile Healthcare Chief Steve Niekamp – City of Hurst Police Department Chief Michael Brown – City of Euless Police Department Officer Christina O’Rear – City of Grapevine Police Department Judge Ann Y. Collins – City of Fort Worth Toby Owen – True Worth Place Vincent Cruz Jr. – Tarrant County Sgt. Marc Povero – City of Fort Worth Police Department Chief Craig Driskell – Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Marvina Robinson – Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office Julie Evans – Alliance for Children Scott Rule – JPS Health Network Chief Jeff Gibson – City of Bedford Police Department J. Greg Shugart – Tarrant County Criminal Courts Joy Griffin – Texas Health Resources Patsy Thomas – Mental Health Connection Elizabeth Harrison – Texas Health Resources Julia Webb – NAMI Tarrant County Chief Billy Earl Keadle – City of Hurst Police Department Judge Rainey Webb – Tarrant County Tammy McGhee – Tarrant County Homeless Coalition Leah White – MHMR Tarrant County Chief Tarrick McGuire – Arlington Police Department Tom Wilder – Tarrant County District Clerk Kelly McWilliams – Tarrant County Homeless Coalition Roderick Miles – Tarrant County, Precinct 1 Monica Safera Nagy – SafeHaven The Stakeholder Committee is made up primarily of area experts representative of police departments, community and nonprofit organizations, and local governments.

Next Steps Steering Committee to review data, recommendations (Summer) Steering Committee recommendations to Mayors’ Council (TBD) Mayors’ Council recommendations to Commissioners Court In alignment with our purpose, we are currently in a data gathering phase. Once that is complete, the Steering Committee will review data and recommendations and will present their findings to the Mayors’ Council. The Mayors’ Council will review and then make their recommendations to Commissioners Court.

Any other data that could be interesting/helpful? Data Requested # of calls/incidents When (time of day, days of the week) Where (blocks, County trends) Who (demographics) Whether Police Assistance Required (i.e. potential criminal activity) Any other data that could be interesting/helpful? The data we are currently requesting is as follows - # of calls/incidents, when (time of day, days of the week), where (blocks, County trends), who (demographics), and whether police assistance was required (suggesting potential criminal activity). We want to get as specific as possible, without breaking any HIPPA regulations. Additionally, if there are any other data points we should be looking at, please let me know. It is very easy to get blinders!

With that, I’ll take any questions. Thank you!

More Information Patricia Ward, Director Housing & Community Development Tarrant County Administrator’s Office 1509 B S. University Dr., Ste. 276 Fort Worth, TX 76107 817-850-7946