Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Authority (NARBHA) Jail Diversion Project

With assistance from NARBHA, local mental health and law enforcement agencies have developed and implemented jail diversion programs in five northern Arizona counties (Navajo, Coconino, Yavapai, Apache, and Mohave). These programs serve adults with serious mental illness who have been arrested for misdemeanors or non-violent felonies. The goals of the project are to divert adults with mental illness from jails to community-based mental health treatment, provide treatment services that are based on best practices, and incorporate a comprehensive community- based service delivery system. Navajo, Coconino, and Mohave counties have implemented mental health courts, while Yavapai and Apache counties opted for jail-treatment liaisons models to decrease the length of time SMI adults spend in jail.