The Behavioral Health Community Action Team (BHCAT) is a partnership with the Sheriff's Office and is a co-responder model that provides proactive outreach, engagement, screening and assessment for early identification of people with mental illness or substance use issues, to encourage them to join treatment and other services, prior to or in lieu of arrest. The grant funded program began February 1, 2019. BHCAT has a goal to encounter and engage 600 individual contacts in the field and warmly hand-off 60 individuals for treatment in each year of the grant's duration.
This Behavioral Health Community Action Team (BHCAT) is funded through a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Early Diversion Grant. The County received one of seven national awards. This is a five-year grant with $1.6 million awarded to the County. The grant supports the County's "Stepping Up Initiative" to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails.
For more information, please contact Teresa Pemberton, Division Manager for Behavioral Health, at 805-781-4997, [email protected]