Sacramento County recognized criminal justice-involved adults with mental health disorders, substance abuse disorders, and/or trauma-related disorders did not always have prompt access to treatment and services designed to address their specific needs.
To address the gap in services by providing increased opportunities for diversion from jail and/or prison commitments, Sacramento County proposed creating the Jail Diversion and Treatment Resource Center (JDTRC), a collaboration of the Superior Court, Probation, Department of Health Services Behavioral Health Services, the Public Defender, the Department of Human Assistance, and the District Attorney.
The JDTRC project would be specifically designed to provide the target population with timely movement through the criminal justice system, prompt access to treatment, and linkage to community resources in a centralized location.
The Probation Department, acting as the lead agency for the County, began working on the California Health Facilities Financing Authority Community Services Infrastructure (CHFFA CSI) Grant application in March of 2019. CHFFA's Board selected Sacramento County to receive the grant in March of 2020. While the project's timeline was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay-at-home order, progress on the JDTRC project continued.
On June 20, 2020, The Board of Supervisors authorized the Probation Department to accept funding from the CHFFA CSI Grant Program totaling $1,690,542. The County used the funds to renovate 5,591 square feet of the first floor of 711 G Street, which is in close proximity to the Main Jail and the Sacramento Superior Court. The Probation Department coordinated facility renovation and furnishing with oversight of the JDTRC workgroup.
On December 9, 2021, the County hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony event followed by an open house during which the public was invited to tour the facility.
The JDTRC began providing services on December 13 2021.
Criteria for Participation:
JDTRC participants must meet the criteria under California Penal Code (PC) Section 1001.36 and be accepted into the Misdemeanor Mental Health Diversion Court (Departments 3 and 4).
Leveraged Staff:
Sacramento County's JDTRC project is a collaborative effort that leverages staff positions already included in our County agency partners' approved budgets to co-locate staff at the JDTRC. Sacramento County is co-locating staff because studies show geographically separated teams are more likely to fail to communicate and retain contextual information, to unevenly distribute information, and to have difficulty communicating and understanding the salience, the difference in speed of access, and interpreting of the information (Cramton 2001). By co-locating staff from County agency partners, the JDTRC increases and expands capacity for services and treatment of the target population by:
- Increasing opportunities for collaborative efforts between Sacramento County agency partners;
- Increasing communication between service providers and partnering County agencies treating mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and/or other trauma-related needs;
- Improving understanding of the varied needs of the target population;
- Increasing accessibility of necessary services for the target population;
- Decreasing barriers to access services; and
- Expanding capacity for services by providing the target population with treatment groups at the JDTRC to augment the therapeutic services already provided outside the JDTRC.
