Alachua County endorses 'Stepping Up' approach to divert people with mental illness from jails

County Court Services on June 28 presented Alachua County’s work under the national Stepping Up initiative, a multi‑agency program that aims to reduce the number of people with serious mental illness who are held in jails by increasing diversion into community‑based treatment.

Perriette Duncan, Court Services director and local Stepping Up team lead, said the program brings together behavioral‑health, law‑enforcement and justice partners to standardize screening and prioritize those most at risk. "Stepping Up challenges counties to collect baseline data, conduct a comprehensive process inventory and prioritize policy, practice and funding to divert people from jails into treatment," Duncan said during the presentation.

Major Charlie Lee of the jail and representatives from Meridian behavioral health described changes the jail has implemented to improve early assessment and triage, and outlined training, crisis‑response and community treatment partnerships already in place. Meridian’s forensic program director described operational steps—rapid screening at booking, coordinated release planning and assertive community treatment—that help people transition from custody into care.

Commissioners discussed funding options and next steps; staff said the board had already added $150,000 in FY2016 for behavioral‑health activities and that the commission would consider funding for FY2017 following team recommendations. The board voted unanimously to receive the Stepping Up report and directed staff to continue collecting metrics and return with a progress report in January.