The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote today on a plan to develop alternatives to incarceration for thousands of mentally ill inmates in county jails.
The proposed plan is the product of nearly a year's worth of meetings of the Alternatives to Incarceration Work Group. The group is made up of two dozen community leaders and county employees from the sheriff’s department, district attorney’s office and health department.
The Board of Supervisors commissioned the group to develop a “road map ... to scale alternatives to incarceration and diversion so care and services are provided first, and jail is a last resort.”
The group's massive list of recommendations (114 of them!) includes expanding community-based treatment and supportive housing, and training 911 operators on mental health screenings.
The Board of Supervisors will vote today on whether to adopt the final report and establish a special team inside the county CEO's office to implement the recommendations.
GO DEEPER:
