Frequent Utilizers
Highlighted Resource
How to Reduce Repeat Encounters: A Brief for Law Enforcement Executives (2019)
Produced By: Council of State Governments Justice Center
Supported By: Bureau of Justice Assistance
Description: This brief discusses "high utilizers" and four steps that law enforcement leaders can take to address the needs of the people officers frequently encounter to reduce their contact with the criminal justice system. It also lists response options to consider implementing.
Keywords: Frequent utilizers
Other Resources
Directory
I. Frequent Utilizer Overview
Team Planning for Data-Driven Justice (2018)
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Supported By: Laura and John Arnold Foundation; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Description: This resource is a workbook designed to help communities develop strategies to share data systems and be used by a workgroup or team dedicating to identifying individuals who repeatedly cycle through justice, health, and human service systems. It includes team exercises, worksheets, and an action plan template.
Keywords: Data-driven; frequent utilizer; diversion
Defining and Tracking High Utilizers: Data and Evaluation Learning Community (2019) - Webinar
Produced By: Council of State Governments Justice Center
Description: This webinar discusses "high utilizers" who have frequent contact with multiple systems, including challenges to identification and how communities have identified high utilizers and how they use data. It also includes case study examples.
Keywords: frequent utilizers; data
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Supported By: Arnold Ventures; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc.
Description: Counties across the country have committed to creating data-driven, systems-level plans to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in their jails. As part of these efforts, many communities are focusing on the small number of people who frequently cycle in and out of emergency rooms, shelters, crisis services and the justice system, a population that disproportionately contributes to the high utilization of these resources. People who come into frequent contact with these systems have some of the highest mental health and substance abuse treatment needs and utilize significant county resources, often without positive outcomes due to a lack of collaboration between the various systems.
Keywords: diversion; frequent utilizer
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Supported By: Arnold Ventures; Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc.
Description: Counties across the country are building collaborative partnerships to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in their jails. Despite the progress that counties have made, they still face challenges with sharing information across multiple systems, limiting their success in identifying people involved in these systems, coordinating services and supervision and tracking the impact of their efforts. Stepping Up and the Data-Driven Justice project are co-hosting a two-part webinar series to offer tips on managing data and information sharing for people who frequently utilize multiple systems such as emergency rooms, shelters and jails. This first webinar will focus on the collection, management and sharing of data and will address primary challenges counties often face in these efforts. Participants will hear from subject matter experts and counties that have implemented processes to collect, share, integrate and analyze data on people involved in multiple county systems. The webpage also includes case studies.
Keywords: information sharing; frequent utilizer; case study
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Description: Individuals who regularly cycle in and out of jails, emergency departments and other crisis services – who are sometimes called high utilizers or frequent utilizers – often use many county resources but still experience poor outcomes. Many of these individuals have untreated mental illnesses that contribute to homelessness, illicit substance use and involvement in illegal activities. In this workshop, hear from your peers about identifying the most frequent users of your justice, health and human services systems and targeting resources to connect them to appropriate treatment and services to improve outcomes and effectively use resources.
Keywords: Frequent utilizer
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Description: Establishing effective connections to important services for justice-involved populations, including linkages to housing, behavioral health treatment, health care and employment assistance, are part of efforts to more effectively use county resources, improve public safety and increase health and well-being. Developing the programs and policies to establish baseline data on key measures and then track and evaluate the performance of these measures are critical steps in developing data-driven systems. In this workshop, learn how counties are demonstrating the value and impact of making the right connections to care and services.
Keywords: Frequent utilizer; case management; evaluation
II. Frequent Utilizer Case Studies
Building Data-Driven Justice in McLean County, Ill. (2020)
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Supported By: Arnold Ventures
Description: In 2013, McLean County requested assistance from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to study the availability and quality of mental health services within its jail system and the community. NIC reported a direct correlation between the lack of available community-based resources and the number of people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders arrested. Based on NIC’s assessment and recommendations, the McLean County Board developed the “McLean County Mental Health Action Plan,” which identifies immediate and long-term steps for the Board, county departments and service providers. The plan’s primary goal is to understand and improve the intersection of the justice and behavioral health systems in the county, ultimately by identifying and assigning responsibilities by agency. This case study shares the steps taken by the county to address these challenges and highlights some of the initiatives and practices that have been implemented to better assist people experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
Keywords: frequent utilizer
Case Study: CRU and Familiar Faces (2020)
Produced By: Vera Institute of Justice
Description: Recent Olympia Police Department (OPD) initiatives have started to reduce officer involvement in social issues related to people experiencing homelessness and people in crisis. Building on standard CIT training, these initiatives include a Crisis Response Unit (CRU) loosely modeled after CAHOOTS and a Familiar Faces program that provides peer outreach to people who repeatedly come to the attention of police. This case study examines Olympia’s efforts in recent years to launch new alternative responder and peer navigator programs.
Keywords: frequent utilizer; peer specialists
Pinellas County, Fla. A Cost-Efficient Approach to Serving High-Need Frequent Utilizers (2018)
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Supported By: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Laura and John Arnold Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Description: This case study discusses the Pinellas County (FL) Empowerment Team whose purpose is to identify the individuals who most frequently use the county's crisis stabilization unit (CSU) and jail and provide intensive treatment. It also discusses outcomes and next steps.
Keywords: frequent utilizer; crisis stabilization unit
Building Data-Driven Justice in Bernalillo County, N.M.
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Description: Through its involvement in the Data-Driven Justice (DDJ) initiative, Bernalillo County has deepened its commitment to using data to steer and inform its policy and programming decisions. Under the direction of the Bernalillo County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the county’s dedicated DDJ team, which attended the Data-Driven Justice and Behavioral Health Design Institute, the county has prioritized building upon its existing data-driven efforts to improve service delivery and health outcomes for individuals with complex health and social needs. Ultimately, it wants to have a county-wide data integration strategy that includes the operational definition of frequent utilizers and uses a software program for aggregating and analyzing data.
Keywords: mobile crisis teams; frequent utilizer
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Supported By: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Description: This case study discusses programs in Louisville-Jefferson County to break the cycle of incarceration for individuals with the highest needs related to mental health conditions and substance use disorders.
Keywords: frequent utilizer; medication assisted treatment
High Utilizers of Multiple Systems in Sonoma County (2020)
Produced By: California Policy Lab
Description: This report describes the "high utilizers" of multiple systems (behavioral health, criminal justice, housing and homelessness, physical health, and human services) in Sonoma County from 2014 to 2018 and provides information on typical profiles of these individuals.
Keywords: frequent utilizer
Higher Users of San Francisco's Criminal Justice System (2018)
Produced By: California Policy Lab
Description: This research brief provides a description of San Francisco's "high users" and discusses how to safely reduce the number of individuals with mental health conditions and/or substance use disorders in the county's criminal justice system.
Keywords: frequent utilizer
King County Health and Human Services Transformation: The Familiar Faces Initiative (2016)
Produced By: National Association of Counties
Description: This case study discusses the Familiar Faces Initiative in King County which is designed to create a system of integrated care for complex health populations. Familiar Faces are a population of individuals who are booked into the King County jail four or more times in a 12-month period who have a mental health condition and/or substance use condition. The brief discusses system mapping, design, and improvement work and future plans for the initiative.
Keywords: frequent utilizer
Frequent Utilizers Project (2013)
Produced By: Snohomish County (WA) Human Services Research Division
Supported By: Amerigroup Foundation; Snohomish County Chemical Dependency/Mental Health Program Advisory Board
Description: This brief describes the top 29 utilizers of emergency medical services (EMS) from Snohomish County (WA) Fire District #1 and Everett Fire District over a 10-month period. It describes these 29 individuals, what behavioral/psychiatric services they receive, additional services received, and policy implications.
Keywords: Frequent utilizer
Produced By: Council of State Governments Justice Center
Description: Representatives from the Houston Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department discussed the programs they have developed to work more effectively with individuals with mental health conditions who frequently come in contact with law enforcement and emergency services personnel.
Keywords: frequent utilizer
Produced By: Urban Institute
Supported By: Bureau of Justice Assistance
Description: This research brief provides an overview of the characteristics, needs, and jail and shelter use of individuals who frequently use public crisis systems in Washington, DC. It describes the DC Frequent Users Service Enhancement (FUSE) Pilot Program which provides individuals defined as "frequent users" leaving the DC jail with prerelease reentry planning with permanent housing with supportive services among release.
Keywords: Frequent utilizer; evaluation
Produced By: Urban Institute
Supported By: Justice Grants Administration, Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia; Bureau of Justice Assistance; Foundation to Promote Open Society
Description: This research report describes the history and development of the D.C. frequent users service enhancement pilot program, characteristics of the frequent user population in D.C., program activities, and preliminary outcomes of the pilot.
Keywords: Frequent utilizer; evaluation
Strengthening Missouri's Mental Health System: Community Mental Health Liaisons (2015)
Produced By: Community Mental Health Liaisons
Description: This resource presents infographics and information about the Community Mental Health Liaisons in Missouri.
Keywords: mental health liaison; frequent utilizer