Drafter
Clerk 10/3/2007
Title
A MOTION accepting the mental illness and drug dependency action plan to prevent and reduce chronic homelessness and prevent and reduce unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice and emergency medical systems, and promote recovery for persons with disabling mental illness or drug dependency by implementing a full continuum of treatment, housing and case management services.
Body
WHEREAS, key leaders from the county criminal justice agencies and department of community and human services briefed the committee of the whole on June 19, 2006 regarding the severe problems and opportunities in caring for persons with disabling mental illness and chemical dependency, and
WHEREAS, all participants in the briefing agreed that the lack of access to ongoing treatment and housing leads to crises that, by default, require criminal justice interventions that are difficult, costly and most often not effective in resolving the problems, and
WHEREAS, there are insufficient resources currently available to adequately serve people with either mental illness or chemical dependency, or both, and
WHEREAS, when these individuals do not receive the services they need, they end up in jails, juvenile detention facilities, hospitals and other emergency services facilities that cost taxpayers and communities as much or more than the cost of appropriate treatment and supportive services, and
WHEREAS, the King County council passed Motion 12320 in July 2006 calling for the development of a three-phase action plan to prevent and reduce chronic homelessness and unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice and emergency medical systems and promote recovery for persons with disabling mental illness and chemical dependency by implementing a full continuum of treatment, housing and case management service, and
WHEREAS, phase I of the action plan, submitted to the council in September 2006, offered a description of the system improvements needed to initiate development of a full continuum of services, including short-term actions that could be taken using existing resources, and
WHEREAS, phase II of the action plan, submitted in April 2007, addressed changes in criminal justice case processing to more effectively treat people with either disabling mental illness or chemical dependency, or both, and provided separate plans for youth and for adults that acknowledge the differing needs of those populations, and
WHEREAS, phase III of the action plan, submitted in June of 2007, addresses what is needed to bring the continuum of services and the criminal justice improvements identified in the first two phases to full scale to meet the needs of the identified intended population in a cost-effective fashion, and
WHEREAS, the terms "drug" and "chemical" are used interchangeably throughout the action plan, and
WHEREAS, to consider phase I submitted in September 2006, phase II submitted in March 2007, and phase III submitted in June 2007 as a complete plan, the three phases are combined into one report named The Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Action Plan, Attachment A to this motion, and
WHEREAS the council recognizes the significant impacts, both personal and economic, that the mentally ill and drug dependent have on our society;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Action Plan, Attachment A to this motion, is accepted.