Thrive305 > Priorities & Actions > Priority 4 > Action 5

4.5: Deploy community safety volunteers, social workers, and mental health professionals along with first responders

Issue Statement and Context

According to Judge Steve Leifman of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, Miami-Dade County’s jails are collectively the largest psychiatric facility in Florida, containing roughly as many beds for people with mental illnesses as all state civil and forensic mental health treatment facilities combined.

According to Judge Leifman, an estimated 11,000 people with serious mental illnesses requiring immediate treatment are booked into the County jail annually, mostly for low-level non-violent offenses. The County spends $636,000 per day – or $232 million per year – to house an average daily population of 2,400 individuals (57% of the overall jail population) with mental illnesses.

There is an opportunity to break the cycle of treating acute mental health challenges through the County jail system by expanding diversion programs, such as Judge Leifman’s Criminal Mental Health Project, and also by prioritizing treatment over arrests in the first place.
Volunteer helping a teenage boy use a laptop.
Mental health awareness

Detailed Action Summary

Coordinate with the soon-to-be launched national 9-8-8 mental health hotline or explore ways to create an alternative to 9-1-1 that is designed for non-police response to mental health emergencies.
  • Once established, the new mental health hotline will connect callers to operators with crisis intervention training (CIT) who can determine the most appropriate category of response to address the emergency. 
  • Advertise the hotline as a standalone service on par with 9-1-1, 3-1-1, and 2-1-1.
  • Track the usage of the new hotline to ensure that it is meeting resident needs and adjust our approach accordingly.
  • Partners will support developing and piloting the system. Partners may also contribute by funding, hosting, and publicizing the system, pending a feasibility analysis for creating it within the County communications infrastructure.