Mental Health

MENTAL HEALTH INDIGENT DEFENSE PROGRAM

BELL COUNTY, TEXAS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES | REFERENCE MANUAL

April 4, 2018 Table of Contents

Mental Health Indigent Defense Improvement Program

A. BACKGROUND

B. MISSION

This program seeks to provide indigent defendants with mental health concerns and their court appointed attorneys with access to a social work student in order to link the defendant with available community resources to provide more stability in the future, prevent recidivism and ensure public safety.

This program will prepare students with professional knowledge, values and skills for generalist social work practice by creating an environment that offers value oriented learning that emphasizes self assessment, service to the community, self-determination, social justice and respect for diversity.

C. GOALS

Provide court appointed counsel with access to expertise regarding a defendant with mental health concerns.

Provide the indigent defendant with mental health concerns access to a social work intern who can assess the needs and proffer a plan for meeting those needs within the context of the available resources in Bell County or the surrounding communities.

Provide information from the social work intern to the defense counsel regarding the needs of the defendant in an effort to secure stability and resources for the defendant such that the defendant is less apt to offend in the future.

Equip defense counsel with the ability to present a comprehensive plan for a defendant eligible for probation.

Provide a prompt and comprehensive solution for indigent defendants within Bell County Jail.

Prepare generalist social workers who are able to integrate the knowledge, values, and skills of the social work profession for competent practice in settings with individuals, families, groups, organizations, institutions, and communities.

April 4, 2018 Emphasize preparation for providing direct services to diverse populations, particularly African Americans, children, women, elderly, and those in rural areas, to alleviate poverty and oppression and to provide social and economic justice for all citizens.

Provide students with content about social, political, and global contexts of social work practice, the changing nature of those contexts, the behavior found in systems, and the dynamics of change.

D. PREPARE SOCIAL WORKERS TO ENGAGE IN PREVENTION ACTIVITIES AND PROMOTE WELL BEING. E. OBJECTIVES 1. Identify and assess problems in the relationships between indigent defendants and social institutions (including service gaps), plan for their resolution, and evaluate outcomes. 2. Understand the societal mechanisms that work against indigent defendants with mental health concerns and develop strategies for change. 3. Develop lines of communications between defendants, family/support resources, if any, community resources and defense counsel. 4. Analyze, formulate, and influence social policies and their impact on client systems, workers, and agencies. 5. Understand agency structures, allocation of role performance, and the impact of organizational power and policies on client systems, and seek necessary organizational change. 6. Evaluate research studies and apply findings to practice. 7. Use supervision and consultation appropriate to social work practice. 8. Use theoretical frameworks (supported by empirical evidence) to understand individual development and behaviors.

F. SCOPE OF WORK

G. IDENTIFICATION

H. MENTAL HEALTH ATTORNEY SPECIALIST

A. QUALIFICATION

I. TRAINING

J. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID CLASS

K. FAQS

L. MENTAL HEALTH ATTORNEY SUPPORT PROJECT

A. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE AND ROLES

April 4, 2018 B. CONTACT INFORMATION Indigent Defense Social Work Program [email protected] Phone: 254 Fax:

M. OBJECTIVES

N. PURCHASING REQUIREMENTS AND METHODS

An interlocal agreement or suitable procurement process must be complete by the County prior to engagement of the defense attorney social work support positions.

O. SCOPE OF WORK

P. CONFIDENTIALITY

The student will only report substantive information regarding a particular defendant to the court appointed defense legal counsel. Disclosures other than to the attorney will only be made with the consent and knowledge of the attorney.

Q. OPERATING GUIDE – ATTORNEY / INTERN PROCEDURES

(See Appendix)

R. ONBOARDING PROCESS FOR SOCIAL WORK INTERNS

Social work interns will be required to participate in a series of training events with the bulk of training occurring within the first two weeks followed thereafter by specific training sessions as needs are identified by the task supervisor, the field supervisor, the defense attorneys, or the participating academic partners. Initial training will include the requirement for social work interns to make contact with identified community and other related resources in order to become acquainted with available resources and to develop professional relationships necessary to enhance effective referrals and follow up. Interns will also participate in a training event in a format similar to a training conference, with a slate of speakers to cover a variety of topics as documented in the table below.

(See Appendix)

S. ELIGIBILITY CRITERION AND CASELOAD DIRECTIVES

FORMAL INTAKE PROCESS  Court Appointed Attorney (both mh specialist and non mh specialist) requesting assistance with his/her defendant.  Attorney may email Intern directly using provided specific contact information as provided.

April 4, 2018  Attorney may contact Intern directly using the mobile telephone.  Attorney may contact intern directly using the fax number.  Attorney may make an in person request for assistance on a case.  Attorney could apply for judicial consideration to add to caseload.  Court appoints a Mental Health Attorney specialist.  Receive notification of MHAS appointment as part of the regular notification process for appointments.

 Judicial request for potential case identification during specially identification courts dockets.

2) a method to screen and/or assess the defendants who are referred for representation under this program;

3) a set priority population criteria to determine which clients are to be represented if referrals are greater than caseload capacity. The priority population criteria may include factors of mental health, intellectual disability, institutionalization history, medical history, seriousness of the offense, impact on the community, or other factors related to the alleged crime or personal history of the defendant. The administrator may allow exceptions but all exceptions to the policy from the intake process must be documented and maintained;

CRITERIA TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY FOR THIS PROGRAM  Identified by jail as having mental health concern / Meet qualification of MHMR services (e.g. major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, difficulty with independent living skills)  The defense attorney has to desire the assistance of the social work intern and believe it to be an appropriate referral  Mental health issues potentially contributed to the complaint filed against them (e.g. Not on medication during time of complaint or found to have had an undiagnosed mental health concern)  “Frequent flyers” or first time offenders whose actions were related to MH concerns  No known family/ support system; or a family that could provide stable environment if they had the support needed to do so  At-risk of losing government benefits (SSI, SSDI, Medicaid) if institutionalized too long  Cannot be a veteran already enrolled in the Veteran Justice Outreach Program  Criteria to ensure appropriate representation of racial minorities and women (16 percent of men with serious mental health illness, 31 percent of women; racial minorities largely overrepresented in incarcerated population) Questions to use to evaluate existence of criteria:

 Are they on any medications?  Has a doctor given them diagnosis in the past?

April 4, 2018  Circumstances surrounding previous criminal offenses?  Do they have any known family that could provide a safe, supportive environment until their court date?  Are they receiving any government benefits such as Medicaid, SSI or are they eligible to?  Are they a veteran? Do they have VA benefits? Have they been referred to the Veteran’s Justice Outreach Program? METHOD TO SCREEN AND/OR ASSESS

Gather information directly from defense attorney

 Observe court proceedings for potential “areas”  Talk with Neutral, invested parties (Jail, PR Bond)  Research jail frequency, type of offense and other Public Information Data Sources  Consume METHOD OF SELECTING  Review caseload for current level of available capacity of intern  Priority for those defendants’ who are represented by a mental health attorney specialist as qualified by the Court.  Jail custody status  Those defendants who have transferred to a mental health facility for treatment.  Would distributed cases among MHSA be preferred or required? CASELOAD CONTROLS

The social work intern will work with the task supervisor and academic field advisor to develop a formula that would help determine the type of case load each social work intern can carry at a time. This case load will be determined using factors such as the social work intern’s educational level (e.g. BSW vs. MSW student), experience, and role in the project.

PROCESS FLOW

T. CASE MANAGEMENT – ELECTRONIC ANALYTICS

A. MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS

U. DATA REQUIRED FOR MEASUREMENTS

V. PERSPECTIVES OF SUCCESS

W. APPENDICES

April 4, 2018 A. ONBOARDING PROCESS FOR SOCIAL WORK INTERNS

APP B-Social Work Internship Onboarding v3.docx

X. OPERATING GUIDE – ATTORNEY / INTERN PROCEDURES

APP A-Social Worker Internship Operating Guide v3.docx

Y. GRAPHIC FOR MH ASSESSMENTS

April 4, 2018