BE IT RESOLVED, that Agreement A189204 with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for services to individuals suffering mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorder for the period of September 30, 2018 through September 29, 2019, in the receivable amount of $286,566, be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the Agreement on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to accept and disburse funds as directed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Human Services and Public Health budget be authorized to increase their staff complement by 2.0 FTE grant position and receive a supplemental appropriation of $24,000 to the 2018 Human Services and Public Health budget; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for this program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued funding commitment by Hennepin County for this program when grant funds are no longer available.

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a grant to Hennepin County in response to a proposal submitted on March 5, 2018. Funds will support early diversion services at the 1800 Chicago Behavioral Health Center and expand co-responder services with the Minneapolis Police Department. The project was approved for the period September 30, 2018 through September 29, 2023 and the first year of funding is awarded at $286,566 for the period September 30, 2018 through September 29, 2019. Another $1,314,041 is to be awarded in succeeding years for a total five-year grant of $1,600,608.

Through this project, Hennepin County will expand and extend its co-responder services and implement an innovative Behavioral Health Care Center model that successfully diverts hundreds of individuals with severe mental illness or co-occurring disorder from arrest and detention. An additional social worker will be added to the current co-responder team that works with the Minneapolis Police Department to respond to Emotionally Disturbed Person (EDP) 911 calls and make follow-up visits for assessments and referrals to community services. Funds will expand the staff at the new Behavioral Health Center at 1800 Chicago Avenue. A grant funded case management assitant will be added to the staff at Behavioral Health Center. The Center functions as a law enforcement transfer point diverting individuals with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorder away from involvement in the criminal justice system and into immediate and ongoing community services. The patrol officer can safely hand off people to a variety of mental health and substance abuse services. Through the funding, case managers and peer recovery specialists contracted from community mental health providers will enroll an estimated 360 Center users with services and supports (approximately 80 per full year of the grant).