Monday, April 28, 2025
4/28/2025
Expansion of the Community Response Initiative - Executive Summary Recovery Network of Programs (RNP), in partnership with the Stamford Police Department (SPD), proposes an expansion of their Community Response Initiative (CRI). Its goal is to deliver a comprehensive, multi-agency, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, evidence-based earliest point of diversion service for adults and juveniles with substance use and behavioral health disorders at risk for criminal justice involvement. The population of focus (POF) is adults and juveniles with mental illness and/or co-occurring disorders (COD) from the City of Stamford Connecticut, located in Fairfield County, who are in crisis and will benefit from a referral to community-based services prior to any arrest or booking. RNP is a behavioral health nonprofit that has operated in Fairfield County for over fifty years which, through an extensive care continuum, serves the needs of adult individuals with substance use and co-occurring disorders. The agency serves over 6,000 individuals annually and nearly 3,000 individuals daily among all programs. According to the 2020 Census, 40.7 percent of the population of Stamford are individuals of color. 19 percent of the population age 5 and older, are linguistically isolated meaning they speak English “less than very well.” Latinos and Asian Americans are more likely to be linguistically isolated than other racial/ethnic groups. The socioeconomic disparities prevalent among poorer residents include access to medical care and stable housing, employment, literacy and linguistic fluency, environmental hazards, and transportation all of which impact access to care, physical and mental health outcomes, and overall quality of life. There is a shortage of mental health professionals/facilities in Stamford represented by its Health Services and Resources (HRSA) rating of 15 (out of 26) as a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). Police officers routinely express concern about the amount of time spent waiting in hospital emergency rooms in combination with the prospect that individuals with mental disorders may not be admitted to inpatient care. Much of the increased time is due to an inability to refer people to needed service providers. Moreover, police arrest a substantial number of people with behavioral health and substance use conditions, further criminalizing what are illnesses. According to SPD statistical data for 2020, officers responded to 54,245 calls for service that were not informational, test calls, or program patrols. The SPD estimates that approximately 30 - 40% of these calls involved a person with mental illness and/or substance use disorder (SUD) to varying degrees, which is somewhat higher than national trends. For these reasons, the SPD created the specialized Behavioral Health Unit (BHU), which employs a cross-system approach. RNP and the Stamford Police Department were the first to establish a law enforcement and behavioral health partnership in Connecticut, the Community Response Initiative (CRI). RNP employs a licensed, clinical Social Worker (SW) from RNP who is embedded within the Stamford Police Department and is available to go to mental health/substance use calls freeing up police officers to attend to other, more typical situations. The SW engages with the individual in crisis or at risk of crisis and seeks to redirect them to treatment. The CRI expansion responds to a significant increase in calls involving juveniles. The CRI expansion will employ a bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and enhance collaboration with local providers that serve juveniles. The projected results of the expansion are: Additional Adult Diversions (Includes Veterans) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total 70 80 100 110 125 485 Juvenile Diversions Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total 25 45 60 75 90 295
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).