Orange County NC Website
33 <br /> the need for a mobile crisis unit to respond in lieu of law enforcement. She said many 911 calls <br /> could be addressed. She said they are different programs, but critical in Orange County. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked for the number of justice involved people with mental health <br /> issues. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said the self-reported number in the jail is 50%. She said it is probably <br /> closer to 75%. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if all officers have received CIT training. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said the training is offered by Alliance. She said they do this several <br /> times a year. <br /> Chair Bedford said school resource officers are a priority. <br /> Commissioner Fowler said she likes the ideas of social workers. She said she was in <br /> support of the item. <br /> Vice-Chair McKee clarified that it would be one person from each agency and not four. <br /> He said it was a great leap forward. He said he hopes they will learn a lot during the grant phase. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said law enforcement is supportive because they understand the danger <br /> to their patrol officers going on calls that may not be as trained on how to respond to a mental <br /> health problem. She said that they certainly don't have warm handoff opportunities during certain <br /> times of the day. She said hopefully it would get officers more time to do the work that they need <br /> to be doing and focusing on more serious crimes. <br /> Vice-Chair McKee said he sees the benefit of having people trained to recognize a mental <br /> health crisis event and be able to take a step back. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said as a social worker it's really nice to have positions so social <br /> workers have a group to support each other, because it is extremely hard work. She said it is <br /> only one social worker for each entity so it is also important to have officers trained. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said this is not a substitute of a 24/7 mobile crisis team. She said that <br /> the hours might be slightly different because the majority of calls from 7 to 11 pm. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said she looked forward to the data for the program. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said the data recording for the program is very specific. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if 75% of people in the criminal justice system also <br /> have a mental health illness. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said it is closer to 50% with 47% of the jail inmates self-reporting. She <br /> said it might be closer to 75% in the detention facility having a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental <br /> health illness. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how many have substance abuse issues. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said around 70% of the people in the jail have a self-reported substance <br /> abuse issue. <br /> Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about marijuana treatment restriction in the grant <br /> program and how that might restrict services. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said the grant will allow anyone that has a cooccurring disorder with a <br /> mental illness will be treated. She said if marijuana is the sole substance, there is very little <br /> success. <br /> Chair Bedford said it would be great if a social worker or the clinical person at Freedom <br /> House could be bilingual. <br /> Caitlin Fenhagen said the clinician hired in the Lantern Project is Latinx and bilingual. She <br /> said that because of restrictions at Freedom House, there are not a lot of people in the Latino <br /> population being served. She said they also hired a bilingual person in the office who will be a <br /> part time grant management employee. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Fowler, seconded by Commissioner Hamilton, to: <br />