Resources - NACo - Familiar Faces Initiative

Familiar Faces Initiative Playbook

The Playbook is designed to help guide the development of a multi-system strategy to successfully divert frequent utilizers, when appropriate, away from the criminal justice and emergency health systems and…

Point-of-Service Information Sharing Between Justice and Behavioral Health Partners

Information sharing across behavioral health and criminal justice systems is critical to reducing the number of people with mental and substance use disorders in jails. At the point of service,…

Universal Authorization for Release of Health Information

This model universal authorization for release of health information is designed for use by service providers to obtain informed consent from people with mental health disabilities to share their medical…

Messaging to Support a Behavioral Health Continuum of Care: Intellectual and Developmental Disability Directors

This brief examines the role of intellectual and developmental disability directors (I/DD), who work to support and maximize opportunities for intellectually and developmentally disabled community members through building comprehensive continuums…

Key Stakeholders: People With Lived Experience

Key Stakeholders: People with Lived Experience This document is for PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE who want to identify ways to be involved in planning or developing a coordinated behavioral health…

Data Sharing Agreement: An Example from Colorado

This Data Sharing and License Agreement stands between the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and a Continuum of Care (CoC) agency. In this document, the Colorado Department…

Business Associate Agreement: An Example from Connecticut

This Business Associate Agreement (BAA) stands between the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH). In this example, the CCEH serves as the…

Homelessness and Health Data Sharing: Why and How Communities Are Sharing Data to Improve Outcomes for People Experiencing Homelessness

In light of growing recognition of the correlation between homelessness and high utilization of emergency services, communities are beginning to share and match data between housing and health care agencies.…

Familiar Faces Initiative: Model Jurisdictions for Improving Health outcomes Through Coordinated Health and Justice Systems

In 2022, NACo relaunched the Familiar Faces Initiative during Mental Health Awareness Month to support counties and cities in better meeting the needs of their familiar faces—individuals with complex health…

County Strategies to Provide Supportive Housing for Familiar Faces

What does it take to house and support familiar faces? Familiar faces are individuals who frequently cycle through jails, homeless shelters, emergency departments and other crisis services. Familiar faces often…

County Strategies to Recruit and Retain a Strong Behavioral Health Workforce

Counties are developing innovative solutions in response to behavioral health workforce shortages across the country. As qualified behavioral health workers seek employment in the private sector or different professions altogether,…

Case Study: Orange County, Calif.

Orange County is a Familiar Faces Initiative (FFI) Peer-Learning Site modeling effective cross-sector data sharing and familiar faces programming for the FFI community. In 2017, Orange County faced growing number…