RALEIGH, N.C. — Prompted by violent tragedies, the governor signed an executive order Thursday morning, geared toward strengthening the collaboration between mental health and the state’s criminal justice system.
What You Need To Know
Gov. Josh Stein signed an order Thursday to strengthen the collaboration on mental health and the criminal justice system
The order promotes collaboration between state agencies, hoping to help individuals struggling with mental health at every level
The order was prompted by violent tragedies in North Carolina, including a mass shooting in Southport and the killings of both Iryna Zarutska and teacher Zoe Welsh
A state budget has not been approved, which could make it tough to fill roles in mental health and criminal justice
Gov. Josh Stein spoke in Raleigh ahead of the signing, explaining why he felt the need to put energy behind the state’s mental health and criminal justice systems.
Stein referenced last year’s shooting in Southport and the killings of Iryna Zarutska and Raleigh teacher Zoe Welsh moments before signing this new order as instances of extreme violence that are spurring on this new measure.
He says it’s meant to strengthen the state’s behavioral health and criminal justice systems.
The order promotes collaboration between state agencies, hoping to help individuals struggling with mental health at every level.
The governor says he wants to improve treatment access when someone makes first contact with law enforcement and improve services within the department of adult corrections.
There’s also an effort, he says, to make sure people in need of mental health services do not interact with law enforcement at all.
He wants to expand the correspondence model across the state. It’s a program that pairs social workers and mental health professionals with police departments to help people in crisis.
“Everyone deserves access to care,” Stein said. “And these moments have shown us that our system needs to work better, better for the people who are suffering, better for those who are around them, and better for the entire community.”
Stein also pointed to possible mental health crisis centers that would be designed for juveniles.
For those who have been convicted of a crime, he says he wants more mental health services to help people who are reentering society.
The governor also discussed staffing at the state’s prisons, saying there’s a shortage of corrections officers. He pointed out North Carolina is ranked 49th in starting pay for that position.
However, so far a state budget hasn’t been approved, and the governor says it will be hard to fill vacancies in roles, like nurses at state mental health facilities without it. Stein is still pushing lawmakers to come to a resolution.
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