Tompkins committee reviews gaps in assertive community treatment, considers residential alternatives and court process changes

At a meeting of the CJ ATI committee, local probation and mental-health staff described gaps in assertive community treatment (ACT) coverage in Tompkins County and discussed a range of alternatives — from Kendra’s Law/AOT referrals and an open-access clinic to Albany County’s TASC residential model, day reporting and reduced-incarceration work programs — intended to reduce jail use.

Why it matters: committee members said many people who cycle through the local jail have co-occurring substance-use and mental-health needs; participants argued that better-coordinated treatment, transitional housing and streamlined court procedures could reduce repeated bookings and shorten custody time for some people.

An agency official described how local ACT teams operate and where they fall short. “The act team is based out of Watkins Glen. It’s the Elmira Psych Center, ACT team,” the agency official said, and added that teams are multidisciplinary (a psychiatrist, a master’s-level clinician, two social workers and two nurses). The official warned that ACT teams currently must operate within roughly a 45-mile radius of their hub, leaving parts of Tompkins County without routine coverage and limiting caseload capacity.

The committee discussed legal pathways tied to Kendra’s Law. An agency official summarized the AOT (assertive outpatient treatment) process as a court‑driven pathway that involves a SPO (single point of entry) or SPOA committee intake and, for some people, petitions routed through the county attorney and courts. The official noted eligibility requirements (recent violence or hospitalizations and other statutory criteria) and repeatedly cautioned that AOT is a legal action, not a voluntary referral.

Members also described changes intended to improve access to outpatient care. “Open access is between 9 and 3. These people can walk in… and say, ‘I want to see a mental-health treatment provider,’” the agency official said, explaining that same-day triage can reduce no-shows but that high demand may require return visits.

The group reviewed alternative program models. A presenter summarized Albany County’s long-running TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities) program — which combines court advocacy, evaluation, case management and small transitional residences — saying the model provides secure beds, on‑site programming and case monitoring. “TASC operates separate transitional residences for men and women and provides on-site parenting classes, cognitive grammar and case management,” the presenter said, noting the residential component addresses the immediate need for a safe bed on release.

Practical limits surfaced repeatedly: funding for residential beds, transportation for appointments, and supervision/staffing needs. The committee noted a local Medicaid-transportation contractor (MAS) that can mail recurring bus passes when appointments are scheduled regularly, but speakers said transportation eligibility rules and DSS funding responsibilities remain hurdles.

Court procedure and supervision were a separate focus. Magistrates and judges at the meeting described the time burden of late-night arraignments and the three-page assigned-counsel financial affidavit. One magistrate suggested presumptive or expedited initial counsel at arraignment could reduce magistrate time and improve outcomes by getting representation earlier.

Members weighed short-term vs. long-term options. Suggestions that could affect jail days quickly included streamlining arraignments, improving presumptive access to counsel, and expanding same‑day clinical intake; longer-term proposals included pursuing residential transitional housing, coordinated reentry training sites, and testing revived reduced‑incarceration community-service programs.

The meeting closed with an agreed next step: staff volunteers will consolidate the draft suggestions into a prioritized list of immediate actions and longer-term projects and return with cost and caseload estimates. “Deb and I will sit down. We will compile one list… and we’ll have some right‑away stuff that might impact,” said the organizer who will lead that follow-up.

No formal motions or votes were recorded at this meeting.