DATE:
January 28, 2025
20
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
AUTHORIZE ACCEPTANCE OF INCOMPETENT TO STAND TRIAL DIVERSION AND COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT GRANT FUNDS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
The California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) is making funding available to counties to locally serve individuals charged with a felony offense who are found Incompetent to Stand Trial (IST). This includes funding for local infrastructure, as well as funding for local diversion and community-based restoration programming to reduce the number of IST findings through upstream prevention before custody or diversion and to reduce the number of individuals with serious mental illness arrested and incarcerated for behavior connected to their illness.
The IST Diversion and Community-Based Restoration Infrastructure Project grant (IST Infrastructure Grant) will provide funding for capital infrastructure to serve individuals who have been charged with a felony, deemed IST, and who are identified by DSH as eligible for diversion or community-based services. With letters of support from the San Diego Superior Court, Public Defender's Office, District Attorney's Office, and the County of San Diego (County) Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the County applied for the maximum allocation of up to $21,375,000 for Fiscal Years 2024-25 through 2027-28.
On August 29, 2024, DSH notified the County of a preliminary award for the full amount. With today's action, and any requisite approvals by DSH and other regulatory bodies, the County will utilize funds for facility renovations to convert existing psychiatric acute inpatient beds within the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital (SDCPH) to specialized long-term care beds for patients deemed felony IST. Today's item requests the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to authorize acceptance of one-time IST Infrastructure Grant funds of up to $21,375,000.
This item supports the County vision o...
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