By 1^st VP Freda Schildroth

Crisis Stabilization Units Update: Circles of Care, Inc., has 34 people waiting for a Crisis Bed as of 3PM today, 9 January 2007, and Wuesthoff Behavioral Health has 1 waiting for a Crisis Bed. Circles has 17 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 34 for Circles and 5 for Wuesthoff. The average wait in Brevard Emergency Rooms is 28-30 hours. (Thanks to Dr. Barry Hensel of Circles of Care and Lisa Lopez, Wuesthoff Behavioral Health, for the Crisis Stats.)

Parrish Medical Center received 31 Baker Act Clients during the month of December 2006. Of those admitted to Parrish to wait for an open crisis bed, the "worst case" verifiable length of stay was 3 days. (Thanks to Deena Ellis, Security Supervisor, Parrish Medical Center, for this report.)

There were 8 deaths by Suicide in Brevard County during the month of December 2006. Although there are no confirmed deaths by drug overdose for the month of December, there are NINE pending cases : one case with a suicide note (prescription drugs) and eight cases of overdoses with no notes and most likely accidental: 1 - evidence of illegal and prescription drugs; 3 - Cocaine - in one of these three cases, a male swallowed 4 packages of cocaine when police approached most likely to hide evidence; 3 - prescription drugs; 1 - prescription drugs and history of BiPolar Disorder. (Thanks to Nancy Slater, Brevard County Medical Examiner's Office for this report.)

Brevard County Mental Health Court Update (The Honorable Judge Cathleen Clarke presiding). As of 31 December 2006, there are 14 people who were diverted from Jail and under the supervision of the Mental Health Court. There were 15 cases reviewed during the month of December 2006 for Mental Health Court referral. Two Clients refused the services offered by the Court. No Clients were referred to the State Attorney for approval. There were no admissions to or discharges from Mental Health Court during the month of December 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 December 2006, there were a total of 1144 Mental Health Contacts by Mental Health Specialists. There were 252 Initial Assessments from Referrals at Booking. There were 373 Mental Health Follow-up Visits and 92 Consultations and Case Staffings. There were 128 Mental Health In-house Moves during December 2006. One hundred ninety-one (191) Contacts for People on Special Watch Status were completed. There were a total of 110 Referrals to the Jail Psychiatrist including 104 Psychiatric Evaluation Referrals and 6 Emergency Medication Rechecks. Physician Contacts totaled 138. There were 27 Staffing Consults.

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 2005, and 88 Inmates participated during the month of November 2005. 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 during July 2006, 10 during August 2006, 87 during September 2006, 39 during October 2006, 77 during November 2006, and 123 Inmates participated in Psycho-educational Group during the month of December 2006! Mental Health Court Report - as of 31 December 2006: 15 Misdemeanor Files Reviewed; 0 Referrals to the State Attorney; 0 Approvals by the State Attorney, 0 Referrals Awaiting Approval, and 2 Inmates Refused the Services of the Mental Health Court. Mental Health services were all completed by the Mental Health Services Unit staff. (Thanks to Brevard County Detention Center Mental Health Unit Staff Members Judy Penney, RN, for compilation of report and Tracy Higginbotham, Secretary, for computerization and dissemination of the Mental Health Services Stats.)

Stats from Jail: The official Inmate Population total for 31 December 2006 was 1734 (high 1743; low 1716). On 31 December 2006, 61 Inmates were received and 45 Inmates were released. The December 2006 MONTH AVERAGE number of Inmates in the Jail was 1705, the HIGH AVERAGE was 1719, and the LOW AVERAGE was 1691. These numbers compare to the December 2005 MO AVG of 1471, HIGH AVG of 1486, AVG LOW of 1457 and the December 2004 MO AVG of 1249, HIGH AVG of 1262, and LOW AVG of 1236. (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 1734 total Inmates in the Jail on 31 December 2006, 1469 (84.7%) were male and 265 (15.3%) were female. There were a total of 1425 Inmates (82.2% of the Jail population) awaiting trial (1218 male, 207 female) of which 1146 were for felonies (995 male; 151 female) and 279 were for misdemeanors (223 male; 56 female). Only 15 Inmates (15 male; 0 female) were awaiting sentencing. Fewer than four percent (3.46%) of the Jail Population on 31 December 2006 - 60 Inmates (53 male; 7 female) - were awaiting transfer to Department of Corrections, nearly four percent (3.86%) - 67 Inmates (45 male of which 4 were Juveniles; 22 female) - were being held for other jurisdictions, and 0.4% - 7 Inmates (3 male; 4 female) - were awaiting transfer to a state hospital. Fewer than 10% of the Jail Population (9.2%), 160 Inmates, are sentenced to BCDC (135 male; 25 female) as of 31 December 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, 174 as of 31Jul06, 186 as of 31Aug06, 181 as of 30Sep06, 173 as of 31Oct06 and 182 Inmates were sentenced to BCDC as of 30Nov06. Of the 160 Inmates sentenced to BCDC on 31 December 2006, 121 were there for Felony convictions (103 male; 18 female) and 39 were there for Misdemeanor convictions (32 male; 7 female). Of the 1734 total Inmate population on 31 December 2006, 152 Inmates are in Jail for Violation of Probation Only and 324 Inmates are there for Violation of Probation w/Charges. Comparison of 31Dec06 vs 30Nov06 vs 31Oct06 vs 30Sep06 vs 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: 1734 vs 1662 vs 1728 vs 1632 vs 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: 1425 vs 1306 vs 1378 vs 1236 vs 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: 60 vs 84 vs 73 vs 116 vs 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: 67 vs 68 vs 79 vs 75 vs 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 31Dec06 was 7.7% vs 9.6% on 30Nov06 vs 9.2% on 31Oct06 vs 12.1% on 30Sep06 vs 9.9% on 31Aug06 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. The Brevard FACT Team is fully staffed with the exception of a full-time Program Psychiatrist position. Efforts are being made to fill this position.

On 28 April 2005, the Brevard FACT Team reached capacity enrollment of 100 Clients. As of 9 January 2007, the FACT Team staff has served a total of 148 Clients since it became operational on 20 August 2001 and is currently serving 100 Clients. A FACT Team Staff Member is on call 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and promotes independent living for the FACT Team Clients.

The Brevard FACT Team is seeking volunteers to serve on the FACT Team Advisory Board which generally meets from 6:30PM - 8:00PM on the 2d Monday of each month at the FACT Office, 1050 N. Cocoa Blvd., Cocoa, FL 32922. Volunteers serve in an informational, advisory position, provide FACT Team with resources, advocate for consumers, mitigate consumer concerns/complaints, etc. Volunteers should have an interest in and an understanding of persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses and their needs within the community. Anyone interested in serving on the FACT Team Advisory Board should call Melanie Goff at 504-3888. (Thanks to FACT Team Program Manager Melanie Goff for contributions to this report.)