Announcement from the Executive Director

Dear New Mexico Association of Counties Board of Directors, Detention Administrators, Sheriff’s, Managers and County Lobbyist:

I am pleased to announce that the House Joint Memorial 17 Task Force has finalized its recommendations and completed its report. Grace Philips and other members of the HJM 17 Committee will make a presentation to the Courts, Corrections, and Justice Interim Committee on November 14, 2011 at 10 AM in Room 307 at the State Capitol.

One of the greatest challenges facing county law enforcement and detention is how to respond to people with mental health disorders who are in crisis.

House Joint Memorial 17 addressed this challenge and charged the Interagency New Mexico Behavioral Health Purchasing Collaborative with convening stakeholders to develop humane and effective strategies to serve people with mental health disorders in order to reduce the number of people with mental health disorders who are in detention or require law enforcement intervention.

HJM 17 was an NMAC priority during the 2011 legislative session and because of this NMAC took a leadership role on the task force. Loss Prevention Attorney, Grace Philips, co-chaired the task force and Loss Prevention Coordinator, Jennifer Rabinowitz provided staff support. The full task force represented a broad range of disciplines and perspectives as well as urban, rural and frontier communities. The task force (which met five times) was supported by a steering committee that met weekly from May through October. The attached final report is the result of their work. Additional information, including meeting minutes, research and presentations can be reviewed on the task force website: https://sites.google.com/a/nmcounties.org/hjm17/home

The recommendations contained in the attached report set forth a road map to reduce the number of people with mental health diagnosis who are in county detention facilities or who require law enforcement intervention. Implementing the recommendations will take commitment and leadership—particularly at the local government level.

Paul Gutierrez