Court Officials, others talk treatment options during workshop held in Union

SIM was developed in the early 2000s as a way to bring community-based responses for people with mental and substance issues in the criminal justice system, according to Policy Research Associates, one of the organizations involved with creating the SIM plan. 

Franklin County is among the first 10 counties in the state to hold such a gathering. 

“This is supposed to occur in every county across the state,” Helfrich said.

Other judges who participated include Associate Circuit Judges Sonya Brandt from Osage County, Ada Brehe-Krueger from Gasconade County and Joseph Purschke, Mark Brinkmann and Matthew Houston from Franklin County.

During the workshops, officials went over how people with mental health and substance issues move through the criminal justice system through six “intercept points,” Hellmann explained. They then identify resources that are available, gaps in service and priorities for improving service.

The first intercept involves community services, before people even deal with police. Then is law enforcement, initial detention and court hearings, jails and courts, reentry into prison or jail and community corrections, like parole and probation.

Among the goals of SIM is increased collaboration between police and behavioral health workers and specialized police responses to help officers learn to interact with people in crisis. This is desired to help get people into treatment and build partnerships between law enforcement and the community.

Along with treatment services, SIM looks to improve access to housing and employment for people leaving incarceration.

“Obviously, if we succeed in intercepts 0 and 1, Judge Helfrich and I and the other judges will never even need intercepts 2, 3, 4 and 5,” Hellmann said.

Among the issues brought up during the discussions was the need for community organizations to work better together. In some cases, that could be as simple as knowing resources are available. One law enforcement officer said the workshop was the first time in his two decades of service he had heard of the county’s Senate Bill 40 Resource Board, which uses funding from a state tax to provide resources to people with developmental disabilities.

Police officers said they have issues taking people with mental health issues to the hospital or other facilities, only to have them back on the street because there is not room for them.

One positive point discussed was the switch last year to the 988 Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline, with the three-digit number replacing a harder to remember 10-digit phone number. Representatives from Compass Health, which oversees the 988 center in Franklin and other area counties, said that since 988 went live, it has seen a 220 percent increase in calls to its crisis line in Franklin County and a 350 percent increase in mobile outreach.

The 988 line can also be reached in ways other than traditional voice calls.

“For our younger generation, they can text or they can chat,” Brittany Davis, Compass community relations coordinator, told The Missourian.

While Compass looks to provide better resources to people leaving the hospital, it ultimately seeks to provide assistance, when possible, in the home to people before they end up in hospitals or other crowded facilities, Davis said. That will reduce health care spending and the need for law enforcement with a more cost-effective early intervention.