SUMMARY
Providing long-acting injectables to clients returning from inpatient restoration and to diagnostically-appropriate clients newly-booked into the Mesa County Jail to prevent competency involvement
BACKGROUND
Inpatient facilities operated by or contracted through the Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health utilize long-acting injectables to help medically stabilize clients. When those clients are returned to custody in the jurisdiction in which they are to be tried for their pending matter(s), they are at risk of decompensating due to discontinuity of medicine. Long-acting injectable medication is a promising modality to medically stabilize clients with a range of psychiatric conditions. Likewise, newly charged and booked clients have a high risk of decompensating where their access to the same medicine and care providers are not available in custody. In either case, preventing decompensation can also prevent either involvement with or return to in-custody restoration.
ELEMENTS
Long-acting injectable medication
PROGRAM STAFF
None
CAPACITY
10 clients per month
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES
Decrease in individuals who require admittance to the state hospital for competency restoration; Decrease in individuals who must return to the state hospital after decompensation; Decrease in time to reach competency outcome
STANDOUT ASPECTS
Utilizing existing medical resources in a county jail, this program supplies medicine which is outside of the fiscal capacity of the county to afford. Evaluation of this program will show the potential for a medicine-only intervention to reduce in-custody competency volume from the jurisdiction.
FUNDING
$360,000