To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Katherine Smith, Director, Community Resources
Prepared By:
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Brad Kamby, Division Manager, Judicial Services
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presenter
Presenter: Brad Kamby, Division Manager, Judicial Services
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Subject:
title
Pretrial Mental Health Program (PMHP) - MOU with Justice Agencies
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners endorse the PMHP MOU, which has been drafted between the State Court Administrator's Office, the Chief Judge of the 18th Judicial District, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the Arapahoe Public Defender's Office, and the Judicial Services Division. The MOU codifies the procedures by which the PMHP operates, it explicates the duties of the signatory parties with respect to the PMHP, and it clarifies the rights and duties of clients of the PMHP.
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Background and Discussion: In 2017, the Judicial Services Division started the PMHP, then called the Pretrial Navigator Program, to serve high needs individuals with mental health disorders involved with the Arapahoe County justice system. The impetus to implement the program was based on extensive research by the Criminal Justice Planning Office, at the behest of the Behavioral Health Subcommittee of the Arapahoe County Justice Coordinating Committee. Research demonstrated the potential for system cost savings, namely avoided jail bed days, for diverting from pretrial detention, and for successful program clients, from custodial sentences upon conviction. Since program inception, the program has operated without formalized agreements between the parties. The intent was always there amongst the signatory parties to enter into an MOU regarding the program, and the negotiation over the parameters of the MOU were finally completed in July 2021.
Fiscal Impact: This MOU will have no negative fiscal impact. The programming and research it permits; however, will have a ne...
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