The Stepping Up Initiative
A National Initiative Reducing Overincarceration of People with Mental Illnesses
In May 2015, NACo and partners at the CSG Justice Center and APA Foundation launched Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails and announced a Call to Action demonstrating strong county and state leadership and a shared commitment to a multi-step planning process that can achieve concrete results for jails in counties of all sizes. As part of this Call to Action, county elected officials are being asked to pass a resolution and work with other leaders (e.g., the sheriff, judges, district attorney, treatment providers, and state and local policymakers), people with mental illnesses and their advocates and other stakeholders to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails.
Stepping Up participants receive an online resources toolkit to assist with efforts, including webinars, online tools, events and a comprehensive online resource library.
Join Stepping Up
Sign up to receive regular updates about the initiative here. To join the initiative, your county must pass a Stepping Up resolution. A template resolution is available here. Once passed, please forward a copy of the signed resolution to info@stepuptogether.org.
Participating Counties
View resolutions passed by each of the participating counties.
Stepping Up marks five years of county innovation
As counties continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, one area that cannot be ignored is the mental health of county residents. May is national Mental Health Awareness Month and also marks the five-year anniversary of Stepping Up.
Counties step up during Stepping Up Day of Action
On May 16, dozens of counties from across the country participated in the Stepping Up Day of Action. Stepping Up is a national initiative to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jails.
![Image of Day of Action Facebook Green[1].jpg](https://www.naco.org/sites/default/files/styles/385x285/public/articles/Day%20of%20Action%20Facebook%20Green%5B1%5D.webp "Day of Action Facebook Green[1].jpg")
Stepping Up initiative turns 3
This month marks three years since the launch of Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails (Stepping Up).
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