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State awards grant to Broward County
Broward County has been awarded $991,369 over three years for a Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant by the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). The State Legislature, through HB 1477, made available $3.8 million in funding to counties for the purpose of creating state, local and private partnerships to address the treatment of individuals with substance abuse and mental illness who are in a county jail, or at risk of entering the criminal justice system. The grant will fund the “Freedom House” project which will divert individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders prior to arrest and booking to a six bed “Safe House” run by a consumer organization, staffed by both Peer Specialists who are in recovery from mental illness and/or substance abuse, as well as health professionals who will provide substance abuse and mental health services, housing and educational/vocational training.
Persons brought to Freedom House may stay for 24 to 48 hours to be assessed, receive treatment services, as well as housing, counseling and other services that may be needed. The Freedom House project will cost $369 per day per episode. Compared to the cost of incarceration of these same people, Broward County will save over $1 million annually. The project also includes $360,272 from in-kind contributions, and $631,097 in matching funds from the County over the three years.
Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, District 8, created Broward County’s Mental Health Task Force. There have been 279 Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) law enforcement officers trained countywide to identify persons who have behavioral disorders which have resulted in minor, victimless, non-violent crime. This program will be a complement to and a resource for Broward Sheriff’s Office and police agencies who currently participate on the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). Collaborative partners in this proposal are: PEER Center and Broward Health, who will share staffing of the facility. Nonfunded collaborative partners providing in-kind services include Henderson Mental Health Center, which will provide a mobile crisis unit and inpatient crisis stabilization; Broward Addiction Recovery Centers (BARC), which will provide specialized treatment services for cooccurring disorders; and the County’s “HHOPE” chronic homeless collaborative, which will provide permanent supportive housing placement for eligible consumers.