By 1^st VP Freda Schildroth

Crisis Stabilization Units Update: Circles of Care, Inc., had 4 people waiting for a Crisis Bed before Noon Today, 12 September 2006. Wuesthoff Behavioral Health had 0 waiting for a Crisis Bed. Circles has 10 people and Wuesthoff has 1 person awaiting transfer to Northeast Florida State Hospital (NEFSH). The Past Month "Worst Case Scenario" (greatest number of people waiting to be admitted to a Crisis Bed) was 25 for Circles and 6 for Wuesthoff. The average wait in Brevard Emergency Rooms is 28-30 hours.

Parrish Medical Center received 42 Baker Act and 1 Marchman Act Clients during the month of August. Of those admitted to Parrish to wait for an open crisis bed, the "worst case" length of stay was 4 days. (Thanks to Deena Ellis, Security Supervisor, for the Parrish Medical Center report.)

Brevard County Mental Health Court Update (The Honorable Judge Cathleen Clarke presiding): As of 31 August 2006, there are 13 people who were diverted from Jail and under the supervision of the Mental Health Court. There were 17 cases reviewed by staff during the month of August 2006 for Mental Health Court referral. No Client refused the services offered by the Court. Fourteen (14) Clients did not fit the Administrative Order criteria due to charges and/or prior history. No Client was awaiting State Attorney or Court approval for acceptance. Two (2) Clients were accepted into the Mental Health Court during the month of August. Two Clients successfully completed the requirements of the Mental Health Court and Graduated during August 2006. (Thanks to Lisa Krupa, Mental Health Court Coordinator, Circles of Care, Inc., for providing the Mental Health Court statistics.)

Stats from Mental Health Services of Jail: During August 2006, there were a total of 1313 Mental Health Contacts by Mental Health Specialists. There were 433 Initial Assessments from Referrals at Booking. There were 372 Mental Health Follow-up Visits and 155 Consultations and Case Staffings. There were 130 Mental Health In-house Moves during August 2006. Two hundred sixty-six (266) Contacts for People on Special Watch Status and 0 Case Management Contacts were completed. There were a total of 107 Referrals to the Jail Psychiatrist including 98 Psychiatric Evaluation Referrals and 9 Emergency Medication Rechecks. Physician Contacts totaled 171. There were 21 Staffing Consults. There was 0 Court-ordered Mental Health Evaluations, 1 Baker Act Evaluations and Transfers from Brevard County Detention Center, 2 Case Management Placements, and no report for Inmates Released with Aftercare Plans. During the month of August 2005, Orville Clayton, the Director of Mental Health Services began a Psycho-educational Group to help Inmates learn techniques for stress management and coping skills. During the month of September 2005, 66 Inmates participated in this program, 69 Inmates participated during the month of October, and 88 Inmates participated during the month of November. During the month of December 2005, 157 Inmates participated! There were no Psycho-educational Groups during the months of January, February, March, April, or May 2006. During the month of June 2006, 65 Inmates participated in the program, 45 Inmates participated during the month of July 2006, and 10 Inmates participated during August 2006. Mental Health services were all completed by the Mental Health Services staff. The Circles of Care on-site staff member completed 84 Case Management Contacts and 13 Felony Diversion/Community Placements. There were 22 Inmate referrals to Mental Health Court. (Thanks to Tracy Higginbotham, Mental Health Secretary, Brevard County Detention Center (BCDC) for the Mental Health Services Stats.)

Stats from Jail: The official Inmate Population total for 31 August 2006 was 1722 (high 1740; low 1705). On 31 August, 63 Inmates were received and 51 Inmates were released. The MONTH AVERAGE number of Inmates in the Jail for the month of August 2006 was 1727 (1649 for July 06), the HIGH AVERAGE was 1744 (1661 for July 06) and the LOW AVERAGE was 1711 (1637 for July 06). These numbers compare to the May 2005 average high of 1440, average low of 1408; the December 2004 average high of 1262, average low of 1236; and the total Inmate population count on 29 February 2004 of 1459. (Thanks to Teresa Revel, the Administrative Assistant to the Commander of BCDC, for providing the BCDC Monthly Population Worksheet and End of Month Population Averages.)

Other interesting Jail stats from the Jail Population Worksheet are: Of the 1722 total Inmates in the Jail on 31 August 2006, 1479 (85.9%) were male and 243 (14.1%) were female. There were a total of 1344 Inmates (78% of the Jail population) awaiting trial (1160 male, 184 female) of which 1061 were for felonies (916 male; 145 female) and 283 were for misdemeanors (244 male; 39 female). Only 21 Inmates (18 male; 3 female) were awaiting sentencing. Roughly five percent (4.6%) of the Jail Population on 31 August 2006 - 80 Inmates (72 male; 8 female) - were awaiting transfer to Department of Corrections, almost five percent (4.9%) - 85 Inmates (69 male of which 5 were Juveniles; 16 female) - were being held for other jurisdictions, and 0.3% - 6 Inmates (5 male; 1 female) - were awaiting transfer to a state hospital. A total of 186 Inmates (roughly 11% of the Jail population) are sentenced to BCDC (154 male; 32 female) as of 31 August 2006. Note: 115 Inmates were sentenced to BCDC as of 31Jan06, 151 as of 28Feb06, 171 as of 31Mar06, 202 as of 30Apr06, 200 as of 31May06, 178 as of 30Jun06, and 174 Inmates were sentenced to BCDC as of 31Jul06. Of the 186 Inmates sentenced to BCDC on 31 August 2006, 125 were there for Felony convictions (102 male; 23 female) and 61 were there for Misdemeanor convictions (52 male; 9 female). Of the 1722 total Inmate population on 31 August 2006, 164 Inmates are in Jail for Violation of Probation Only and 354 Inmates are there for Violation of Probation w/Charges. Comparison of 31Aug06 vs 31 Jul06 vs 30Jun06 vs 31May06 vs 30Apr06 vs 31Mar06 vs 28Feb06 vs 31Jan06 vs 31Dec05 vs 30Nov05 vs 31Oct05 vs 30Sep05 vs 31Aug05 vs 31July05 vs 30Jun05 vs 31May05 stats - Total Inmates: 1722 vs 1708 vs 1594 vs 1641 vs 1635 vs 1596 vs 1530 vs 1527 vs 1410 vs 1574 vs 1574 vs 1610 vs 1546 vs 1514 vs 1482 vs 1506; Inmates awaiting trial: 1344 vs 1366 vs 1245 vs 1264 vs 1211 vs 1220 vs 1185 vs 1230 vs 1153 vs 1218 vs 1229 vs 1268 vs 1187 vs 1177 vs 1129 vs 1239; Inmates awaiting transfer to DOC: 80 vs 65 vs 63 vs 73 vs 94 vs 102 vs 97 vs 89 vs 75 vs 125 vs 127 vs 91 vs 121 vs 121 vs 145 vs 91; Inmates held for other jurisdictions: 85 vs 82 vs 81 vs 74 vs 88 vs 73 vs 72 vs 77 vs 71 vs 83 vs 85 vs 83 vs 86 vs 86 vs 81 vs 72. Percentage of the Inmate population awaiting transfer on 31Aug06 was 9.9% vs 9.1% on 31Jul06 vs 9.6% on 30Jun06 vs 9.6% on 31May06 vs 11.9% on 30Apr06 vs 11.5% on 31Mar06 vs 11.5% on 28Feb06 vs 11% on 31Jan06 vs 11% on 31Dec05 vs 14% on 30Nov05 vs 13.8% on 31Oct05 vs. 11.2% on 30Sep05 vs 13.8% on 31Aug05 vs 13.9% on 31Jul05 vs 15.6% on 30Jun05 vs. 11.2% on 31May05.

FACT Team Update: On 1 July 2006, Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC), Inc., a not-for-profit organization based in Jacksonville, Florida, became the provider for Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Team services in Brevard County. The Director of FACT Programs for MHRC is Cindy O'Brien, M.A. Melanie Goff, LCSW, is the Program Manager for the Brevard FACT Team. The Brevard FACT Team is fully staffed with the exception of a full-time Program Psychiatrist position that has not been filled. Interviews continue for this position.