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Tompkins committee reviews gaps in assertive community treatment, considers residential alternatives and court process changes
Summary
Committee members and local providers reviewed gaps in ACT coverage across Tompkins County, discussed Kendra’s Law/AOT procedures and open-access clinic hours, and examined residential TASC-style programs, day reporting and reduced-incarceration work options as ways to lower jail stays. A prioritized short/long-term list and cost review were requested.
At a meeting of the CJ ATI committee, local probation and mental-health staff described gaps in assertive community treatment (ACT) coverage in Tompkins County and discussed a range of alternatives — from Kendra’s Law/AOT referrals and an open-access clinic to Albany County’s TASC residential model, day reporting and reduced-incarceration work programs — intended to reduce jail use.
Why it matters: committee members said many people who cycle through the local jail have co-occurring substance-use and mental-health needs; participants argued that better-coordinated treatment, transitional housing and streamlined court procedures could reduce repeated bookings and shorten custody time for some people.
An agency official described how local ACT teams operate and where they fall short. “The act team is based out of Watkins Glen. It’s the Elmira Psych Center, ACT team,” the agency official said, and added that teams are multidisciplinary (a psychiatrist, a master’s-level clinician, two social workers and two nurses). The official warned that…
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