1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 & Aug 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.

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

5. Jail Population Trends (MHMR Care Only) Average population
+39.5%
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.

6. 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).

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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!

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

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