2000-23452 RESO
RESOLUTION NQJ. 2000-23452
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,
FLORIDA, RETROACTIVELY AUTHORIZING THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION FOR A
GRANT, IN THE AMOUNT OF $150,000, UNDER THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE, BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE, OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS GRANT
PROGRAM AND, IF FUNDED, AUTHORIZING THE BUDGETING AND EXPENDITURE OF
FUNDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF SAID AGREEMENT.
WHEREAS, the City is eligible to apply for grant funds from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau
of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs Grant Program; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to participate in an innovative program that will provide a coordinated and
comprehensive strategy for coping with the increasing numbers of offenders/defenders with mental health issues and
problems; and
WHEREAS, the Miami Beach Police Department will administer the grant for all the participating agencies,
which include the Miami-Dade County and Miami Police Departments; the Miami-Dade County Courts; State Attorney's
Office; Public Defender's Office; the Miami-Dade Corrections Department; the Jackson Memorial Health Trust; and
numerous public and private mental health service providers; and
WHEREAS, the total estimated funds for this Program are $150,000, all of which will be funded by the United
States Department of Justice, and there are no matching funds required; and
WHEREAS, approximately $127,000 will fund a forty (40) hour training course for police officers from the
participating agencies, and the remaining $23,000 will pay for administrative start-up costs, computer equipment, and
fund a part-time statical analyst; and
WHEREAS, this grant application was originally going to be completed by the Miami Police Department;
however, they declined at the last moment and, at the request of the courts, the Miami Beach Police Department agreed
to complete the application which was due on December 13, 1999; therefore, retroactive approval is necessary.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MA YORANDCITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission herein retroactively authorize the filing
of an application for a grant, in the amount of$150,000, under the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
Assistance, Office of Justice Programs Grant Program. and, iffunded, authorizing the budgeting and expenditure offunds
in accordance with the terms of said agreement.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 12th day of Januarv, 2000.
?Jt1
MAYOR
lttJ!v--
F:IPOLIITECHSERV\POLICIESICOM_RESOIcrisis intervention team grant application. res.wpd
APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
& fOR EXECU"nON
-it( ~. 2J1i J6()
City Qrooy ~
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
http:\\ci.miami-beach.f1.us
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO. ~l - 00
TO:
Mayor Neisen O. Kasdin and
Members of the City Commission
DATE: January 12, 2000
FROM:
Lawrence A. Levy" V
City Manager ~
SUBJECT:
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, RETROACTIVELY AUTHORIZING,
THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION FORA GRANT, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$150,000, UNDER THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE, OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS
GRANT PROGRAM, AND, IF FUNDED, AUTHORIZING THE BUDGETING
AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the Resolution.
ANALYSIS
Miami-Dade County has the highest percentage of people with mental illness in the country.
Specifically, 9% (180,000 persons) of the total population suffers from some form of mental illness.
There are twice as many people in the Miami-Dade County jail who are mentally ill than are in the
South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center, the state facility responsible for treatment of
forensic clients. At any given time, the Miami-Dade County Jail has identified and diagnosed
approximately 800 inmates as having some form of mental illness. It is estimated that another 400
inmates are in jail who are suffering from some form of mental illness but have not yet been
diagnosed and identified. In total, it is estimated that 27% of the people incarcerated in the Miami-
Dade County Jail and awaiting trial suffer from some form of mental illness.
The impact of this problem on the Criminal Justice System has been overwhelming. Current policies
and practices have placed people injail who should be in mental health facilities and not injail. This
has lead to:
1.
2.
A slow down in the processing of criminal cases while a series of diagnoses and
evaluations are conducted
Utilization of numerous beds and units to house mentally ill in the jail at the expense
of those charged exclusively with criminal acts.
Lack of diversion capability to mental health facilities as opposed to ajail admission.
3.
AGENDA ITEM C. 1 ,-
DATE~
4. The inability to identifY mentally ill criminals at the time of arrest by police due to
there being no computerized identification system between the jail, mental health
facilities and police departments.
5. Lack of training for police officers in dealing with mentally ill criminals, resulting
injail placements rather than alternative options to mental health receiving facilities.
6. The present lack of capability at the arrest scene to immediately commence with
mental health approaches to the criminally mentally ill.
This problem has never been addressed in a coordinated and cooperative effort before. The Miami
Beach Police Department, through this grant funded by the United States Department of Justice, will
administer a comprehensive program that will address this significant problem. Other agencies that
will participate in this partnership will be the Miami-Dade and Miami Police Departments, the
Miami-Dade Courts, the Miami-Dade States Attorney and Public Defenders Officer, the Miami-
Dade County Department of Corrections, the Jackson Memorial Hospital Health Trust and numerous
public and private mental health providers.
The program will provide Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for police officers from the Miami
Beach, Miami and Miami-Dade County Police Departments. In addition, it will provide
administrative liaison and support in the forms of a statistics analyst (part -time) for tracking purposes
and computer equipment for tracking and information sharing. Approximately $127,000 will be
spent on direct training of police officers in crisis intervention and the remaining $23,000 will be
spent on the administrative support.
There are no matching funds required for this grant.
This grant application was originally going to be completed by the Miami Police Department,
however, they declined at the last moment and at the request ofthe Courts, the Miami Beach Police
Department agreed to complete the application which was due on December 13, 1999, therefore,
retroactive approval is necessary.
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Commission adopt this resolution approving the
application, and if funded, the budgeting and expenditure of funds.
LAL~~/P~MS .
T:\AGENDA\2000\JANI200\CONSENT\crisis intervention team grant application.mem.wpd
Cover Page: 1999 Open Solicitation
Bureau of Justice Assistance
NOTE: All applicants must use this page as the covet' of each submission.
Topic Area:
o 1. Alcohol and Crime
o 2. Crime Prevention Among the Elderly
o 3. Improving Access to Services in Rural
and Tribal Settings
o 4. Mental Health
~ 5. Police Partnerships
o 6. Local Criminal Justice Planning
o 7. Improving Front-End
Decisionmaking
o 8. Strategies To Strengthen the
Adjudication Process
o 9. Innovations in Offender
Supervision and Reentry
Name of Agency Applying:
Address of Agency Applying:
MIAMI BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
(
Applicable Unit of Government:
(Please check only one.)
1100 WASHINGTON AVENUE
MIAMI BEACH. FLORIDA 33139
o State 0 County /Parish/Borough 0 Tnbal
iXl City /Municipality /Village/Town/Township
o Other
o Court 0 Prosecutor 0 Public Defender 0 Corrections
ao Law Enforcement D Probation/Parole D Public School
o City /County /State D Tribal 0 Other
D Adjudication D Prosecution D Indigent Defense
o Corrections asl Law Enforcement 0 Pretrial Services
o Probation/Parole 0 School-Based 0 Other
If multidisciplinary, please specify strategy types.
Type of Agency:
(Please check only one.)
Concept Paper Strategy Type:
(Primary)
Name and Title of Contact
Contact's Telephone Number.
Contact's Fax Number.
JOHN DICENSO T,TF.lTTFNANT
(305) 673-7933
(305) 673-7867
,
Contact's E-mail Address:
Is this your first federal grant proposal?
Is this your first U.S. Department of Justice proposal?
Was this concept paper submitted under
BJA's 1997 or 1998 Open Solicitations?
(If yes, please circle which year aT.both years.)
Is your jurisdiction's population less than 25,OOO?
Have you submitted this proposal to other federal agencies?
DYes ~No
DYes 31 No
DYes L!lNo
DYes ~No
DYes L!lNo
15
CONCEPT PAPER
1. What is the problem?
Miami-Dade County has the highest percentage of people with mental illness in the country.
Specifically, 9% of the total population suffers from mental illness, representing approximately
180,000 individuals. There are twice as many people in the Dade County Jail who are mentally ill
than are at the South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center, the state institution responsible
for treatment offorensic clients. At any given time, the Dade County Jail has identified and
diagnosed approximately 800 inmates as having mental illness. It is estimated an additional 400
people are in the jail who are suffering from mental illness but have not yet been identified with
mental illness. In total, 27% of the people awaiting trial in the Miami-Dade criminal courts have
mental illness.
The impact on the criminal justice system has been overwhelming. Current policies and
procedures have resulted in: 1. Placement in the jail of individuals who should be treated for
their mental illness in psychiatric facilities. 2. A slow down in the processing of criminal cases
while a series of diagnoses and evaluations are conducted. 3. Utilization of numerous beds and
units to house mentally ill in the jail at the expense of those charged exclusively with criminal acts.
4. Lack of diversion capability to mental health centers as opposed to jail admission of the
criminal mentally ill. 5. The inability to identify mentally ill criminals at the time of arrest by
police due to there being no computerized identification system between the jail, mental health
centers, and police departments. 6. Lack of training for police officers in dealing with mentally ill
criminals, resulting in jail placements rather than alternative options to mental health receiving
facilities. 7. The present lack of ability at the arrest scene to immediately commence with mental
health approaches to the criminally mentally ill.
The problem has not been addressed previously as is advocated in this concept paper. Due to
limitations of resources, training has been broad based and not specific, has been focused
differently with each of the individual police departments, and has not been coordinated with the
other elements of the criminal justice and mental health systems. This is the first attempt by the
key players in Miami-Dade to integrate service provision, providers, and components of the
criminal justice system in providing a comprehensive strategy in coping with the ever increasing
numbers of offenders/defendants with mental health issues and problems.
2. What are you proposing to do and how do you intend to do it?
The continuum of the criminal justice system commences at its genesis, the front line where police
officers make first contact with a criminal mentally ill offender. It is here that we propose the
concentration of attention be made. The Miami-Dade partners intend to implement a Crisis
Intervention Team (CIT) modeled after a very successful prototype presently in operation by the
Memphis Police Department. The CIT is made up of volunteer officers from the uniform patrol
division. These officers are called upon to respond to mental disturbance calls, which presen~
officers, face to face with complex issues relating to mental illness. CIT officers also perform
their regular duty assignment as patrol officers.
This concept, however, is new to Miami-Dade. It differs from the Memphis Plan in significant
ways. It will be innovative by coordinating the activities of three separate police departments,
two of which are municipal (Miami Beach Police Department, Miami Police Department) and the
third of which is County (Miami-Dade County Police Department). There will be a greater focus
on minority populations, in particular Hispanics and blacks, due to the demographics of the
county. These populations have traditionally been placed in jails, out of proportion to their
percentage in the general population, due to a lack of sufficient diversion alternatives. A
partnership will be developed involving police, state attorneys, public defenders, judges, and
mental providers.
The use of CIT officers will be much different than the current approach in that they will have
additional training that is in depth, focused on mentally ill criminal defendants, and specialized to
differentiate between the purely criminal and criminal mentally ill offender.
The results we are seeking will be accomplished through an immediate response to a psychiatric
crisis, officers being highly skilled in verbal de-escalation techniques, reduction in injuries to both
officers and consumers, a partnership will mental health providers, and a better relationship with
family consumer members.
The strategy will be to have these highly trained police officers responding to calls involving
criminally mentally ill, identifying them, handling them in a distinct fashion commensurate with
safety, and diverting them into the mental health system as opposed to jail.
Once the strategy is developed, the processing methodology will be changed to identify and divert
those individuals from the criminal justice system who belong in mental health treatment. Tasks
and time lines will change. Specifically: 1. Identification of mental health problems will take
place at time offirst police contact. 2. A decision will be made at time of initial contact as to
whether chargers will be filed or not. 3. Diversion will be immediate to a mental health facility
when the mental health option is chosen. 4. Diagnosis, treatment and follow up will be in the
mental health rather than criminal justice system, if appropriate.
This program will continue to be run after the initial seed money is used through continued local
appropriations.
3. What other agencies/resources will work with you?
The partners will be governmental public and/or not for profit organizations representing
municipalities, the county, and the state. Miami Beach Police Department, Miami Police
Department, Miami-Dade County Police Department; Judges/Public Defender Office/State
Attorney Office of the 11 th Judicial Circuit Court; Miami-Dade Corrections Department,
Corrections Mental Health; Bayview Mental Health Center, cm Mental Health Center, Citrus
Miami Behavioral, Douglas Gardens Mental Health Center, Locktowns Mental Health Center,
Miami Behavioral Center, New Horizons Community Health Center; Jackson Memorial Hospital
Public Health Trust.
. ..,. t
Law enforcement will run the CIT program. The judicial system will process the cases and
determine legal sufficiency. Corrections will transport to and from the cOUDS and facilities. The
mental health centers will do diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow up.
In the capacity described, this partnership is new.
4. How will you know if your concept works?
Success will be measured by: 1. A reduction in the number of people arrested suffering from
mental illness. 2. Whether there is an increase/decrease in recidivism. 3. Tracking each person
diverted from the criminal justice system to the mental health system. 4. Surveying the jail
population as to the number and percent of mentally ill. 5. Surveying the criminal court system
for the number and percent of mentally ill defendants.
The information will be gathered by the grant administrator in conjunction with the project
partners through the development of a statistical gathering system.
The information will be used to track the success of the program, determine future resource
allocations, ongoing movement of personnel, and individual success by each mental health
provider broken down by catchment area. The data will be used for planning by the chief judge,
administrative judges, directors of mental health centers, corrections, and police chiefs.
5. \Vhat are the costs and costs benefits of implementing the strategy?
Of the $150,000 it is anticipated that 15% will be used toward administrative costs to set up a
part time statistical analyst, liaisons between the partners, and computerized equipment. The
remaining 85% will be utilized for a 40 hour training curriculum, both locally and in Memphis, for
the police officers. The training will be conducted by Jackson Memorial Hospital Forensic
Outpatient and the community mental health centers.
The cost benefits of implementing this strategy are: 1. Freeing up beds in the jail for exclusive use
of criminal cases. 2. Police officer turn around time at mental health receiving facilities from the
present two to four hours to fifteen minutes. 3. Officer down time significantly reduced at crisis
scene events. 4. Officer injury during crisis events decline.
~\,41~:~