CHS answers on SMI care, SPOA referrals, and reentry tracking

Okay, so I think to start, care for the SMI population, we have seen an increase, as we referenced.

It's about 22% currently.

When we look back in prior years, range from about 16% to 20% in recent years.

And part of ensuring we meet their needs does involve these assessments that we do and then constantly evaluating based on referrals to the mental health service.

That said, we do recognize we have some very

psychologically complex patients in our care.

We do have the ability to refer those individuals to Bellevue or Elmhurst for potential hospitalization as needed.

But generally speaking, we're through the therapeutic units and then clinic appointments, we're able to address their needs while they're with us.

But that's not to say that the jail environment is in any way conducive to mental health.

In terms of work that we do with outside partners.

Sure, yes.

So we do, based on clinical criteria, refer individuals to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's single point of access, SPOA.

We're not the only ones making those referrals.

The shelter system, health and hospitals, also refers individuals.

And then they are making those determinations for appropriateness and acceptance into things like intensive mobile treatment teams, the forensic assertive community treatment.

So they would be the best position to speak to sort of numbers.

But we otherwise work with our partners in DSS HRA for housing applications.

So everyone who is homeless in our care and has serious mental illness and is interested, we will help them complete a 2010E supportive housing application.

And then we do more broadly work through our clinical court advocacy team.

They can serve as a...

Resource to Defense Bar, we can write clinical condition letters.

Those tend to skew more for the medically complex.

And then we work on the jail population review.

We're a partner in providing with consent patient information around health and mental health to help get people out of jail.

Which place?

Of the number of referrals we're making?

We would have a number of referrals in terms of placement.

I think the department would be best, but if my colleague wants to speak more directly.

If you can make the response tight, we're going to pivot to Councilmember Brewer next.

Good morning.

I'm Ellie Epstein.

I lead our reentry and transition services for Correctional Health Services.

So as you're aware, the vast majority of our patients are pretrial detainees.

When they receive a SPOA assignment while they are still in our care, we're obviously tracking that and facilitating connection to the team.

When folks are released from custody, we notify DOHMH if they have not yet been assigned so that they're aware of the release.

But no, we recognize that when patients leave our care and leave custody, they often don't want to have continued contact with our system.

So we will outreach, but we really defer to DOHMH to make those connections and to be tracking the longer-term placements.