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| 6 <br />3. Scope and Timeline <br />Our Approach to Your Project <br />3a. An indication of your <br />understanding of the project. <br />North Carolina is experiencing increasing <br />numbers of individuals in behavioral health <br />crisis. Local hospital emergency departments <br />(ED) and detention facilities are the most often <br />used resources during these episodes of crisis. <br />Local ED’s often do not have the capacity to <br />treat persons with primary behavioral health <br />needs resulting in individuals being “boarded” <br />for several hours or even days before a <br />placement can be located or the person is <br />safe to be discharged. This ED stay sometimes <br />occurs without effective assessment, treatment <br />or linkage to the ongoing community services <br />and support needed to prevent ED utilization for <br />future psychiatric crises. The availability of other <br />specialized community-based crisis services <br />can assess, treat, and connect individuals more <br />quickly to behavioral health specific resources <br />which support an individual’s path to recovery. <br />A number of individuals who commit crimes <br />typically do so due to their unstable and <br />untreated behavioral health concerns. This <br />is often a direct result of a lack of medication <br />and treatment options and/or lack of suitable <br />community resources, supports or referrals. <br />Charges, usually misdemeanor and nuisance <br />type charges result in incarceration. This puts <br />a strain on the local criminal justice and public <br />safety entities, particularly law enforcement, <br />detention centers and courts in Orange County. <br />This strain has negative clinical, fiscal, and <br />societal affects. <br />In 2019, Orange County participated in a <br />Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) exercise to <br />determine current Behavioral Health resources <br />and gaps. The SIM exercise resulted in creating <br />a work group and sophisticated data collection <br />resulting in the identification of needs and <br />solutions. <br />The data, current crisis continuum services, and <br />identified gaps support the need for a robust crisis <br />continuum to: <br />• Provide a safe place for de-escalation and treatment <br />including case management and linkage to the <br />assessed level of care. This will occur as the preferred <br />alternative to the jail or local emergency department. <br />• Provide multiple levels of care within the Crisis <br />Continuum in order to stabilize individuals. <br />• Decreased delays in the initiation of treatment and <br />increased engagement in the outpatient service array. <br />The availability of other specialized community-based <br />crisis services to support an individual’s path to <br />recovery. <br />A partnership and venture to develop crisis continuum <br />services will succeed in paving the path toward creating <br />a crisis center in Orange County to be the first line <br />option and alternative to ED for persons with behavioral <br />health crises. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 1920B089-58AA-4E97-8225-7BCF8DEBAAD4