The national Stepping Up Initiative is helping hundreds of counties nationwide reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails. A Michigan State University professor and her colleague have been awarded a grant to study how the program works and determine what techniques can be adopted to improve treatment for individuals with mental illnesses and keep them out of jail.
“Our primary goal is to learn more about how county agencies can work together to reduce the number of mentally ill people in county jails,” said Jennifer Johnson, a C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health at MSU College of Human Medicine. “It’s a chance to learn what works and how we can help counties address these problems.”