NYAPRS Note: The de Blasio Administration is making an extraordinary commitment to improve the way the criminal justice system addresses the needs of New York City residents with more serious mental health conditions. Yesterday, the NYC Independent Budget Office released the following details, noting that all but $40 million of the total $134 million over four years will come from the City. Here’s that report:
Where Are Funds Going Under the Mayor’s Task Force
on Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Plan?
Before the recent announcement of ThriveNYC, the de Blasio Administration’s initiatives to improve access to mental health programs for youth, adults, and seniors, the Mayor had previously launched measures to boost behavioral health programs for the city’s inmate population.
With an increasing share of inmates in the city’s jails struggling with behavioral health issues—from about 30 percent in 2010 to nearly 40 percent in 2014—the Mayor appointed a task force in June 2014 to develop a plan to improve the way the criminal justice system addresses the needs of this population.
Six months later, the task force issued a plan with five key components and a price tag of $134 million over four years, all but $40 million of it is funded by the city itself. While the task force report identified the total amount of spending, there was no breakdown of the spending for each initiative.
IBO has obtained detailed spending plans from the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, which are shown below
- On The Street: $16.5 million for expanded police training and diversion drop-off centers
- Arrest To Disposition: $16.8 million for matching people to services and pre-arraignment screening for mental health problems
- In Jail: $46.5 million for specialized services for adolescents and crisis intervention training
- Release and Re-Entry: $38.2 million for connecting inmates to Medicaid and to improve and expand discharge planning from jail
- Back in the Community: $16.1 million for a probation behavioral health services team and permanent supportive housing