Written By: Victoria Davis, Juvenile Mental Health Fellow
Community partnerships with justice systems are essential to reducing recidivism and preventing any unnecessary criminalization of individuals experiencing mental health conditions. However, it can be challenging to develop this partnership. So we ask the question, how can we get started? One first step is identifying who is available within our community. When we consider how to address the rising need for resources inside of the justice system, we must understand what resources are already available within our community.
Mark Munetz and Patricia Griffen developed the Sequential Intercept Model in 2006 as a community framework developed to help justice systems identify community resources that could be introduced at different steps within the criminal justice system to help prevent or reduce further criminalization of individuals with mental health conditions.
Why is this model useful?
The Sequential Intercept Model helps identify resources within a community that can help provide services to which justice systems are limited. We can call this ‘gaps in service.’ When justice systems have gaps in service, they miss out on providing alternative resources to individuals who need extra help.
This is natural, as no organization or system can do everything. But to better equip our justice systems and lessen the already complicated job they set out to do, finding those gaps is necessary and mutually beneficial. It not only reduces the burden on justice systems but provides individuals experiencing mental health conditions with the resources they need to get better. This is one of the reasons the Sequential Intercept Model is listed as one of the best practices to use within reentry and justice systems. To use this model, our justice system and community organizations are brought together to identify strategies, maximize resources, and develop action plans that are designed to improve service-level responses and reduce unnecessary criminalization of adults and juveniles with mental and substance use disorders. (SAHMSA, 2022).
The model consists of six intercepts that range from zero to five. These are:
- Intercept 0: Community Services
- Intercept 1: Law Enforcement
- Intercept 2: Initial Court Hearing / Initial Detention
- Intercept 3: Jails / Courts
- Intercept 4: Reentry
- Intercept 5: Community Corrections
At each intercept, gaps and opportunities are identified to showcase what interventions are available at each intercept. In action, this informs service providers of the appropriate interventions available to individuals given their current intercept in the justice system. These are called “points of interception,” and they create the opportunity for services to be provided so that individuals experiencing mental health issues can be intercepted from entering or moving deeper into the criminal justice system if appropriate. While the Sequential Intercept Model was initially developed for adult systems, counties like Hidalgo County are conducting Sequential Intercept Models for juvenile populations. Additionally, the Texas Behavioral Health and Justice Technical Assistance Center has created a Texas Youth Sequential Intercept Model Mapping guide, which highlights the best practices for organizations to take at each intercept for youth experiencing mental health conditions, substance use disorder, and intellectual or developmental disabilities.
So why is this model so beneficial?
Historically, studies have shown high percentages of youth and adults who enter the justice system have mental health conditions. For juveniles, this number can reach upwards of 70%. Furthermore, individuals experiencing mental health conditions are likely to face longer sentencing, confinement, and have a harder time rehabilitating back into their communities.
Therefore, community-based solutions are ideal for strengthening the justice system, as they provide a more holistic approach to addressing criminal and mental health-related issues while capitalizing on what is already available in the community. This is cost-effective and resourceful.
By utilizing the Sequential Intercept Model, counties can address, identify, and partner with the resources within their communities to provide services for individuals experiencing mental health conditions, lessening the burden placed on court and justice systems.
If you are interested in participating in a SIM planning workshop or would like access to planning resources, please visit the Texas Behavioral Health and Justice Technical Assistance Center for more information.
