Chair asks how DOC identifies people needing mental health services
Brooks-Powers asks how people in custody are identified for mental health services upon entry. Jeanette Merrill says all new admissions can be referred to CHS mental health, evaluated for level of care, and then housed in appropriate units such as PACE, MO, or STEP.
Now we can get into it.
Let's start with mental health care and specialized housing.
How does DOC currently identify people in custody who need mental health services when they enter the jail system?
So I think we can actually take that one, CHS.
So as referenced in Dr.
Otanachar's testimony, so everyone who goes through the new admission process at Rikers can be referred to the mental health service depending on their mental health needs.
They conducted an evaluation.
They're assessing the level of care that the individual will require when on Rikers.
And that can mean specialized housing units.
We referenced PACE, the mental observation units, and then our new form of housing, STEP.
And then that information is shared with the department to transfer the individual into the appropriate housing unit.
Thank you for that.