INDIANAPOLIS — The Assessment & Intervention Center (AIC), a first-of-its kind facility and the flagship of Mayor Joe Hogsett’s criminal justice reform efforts, opened to clients on Dec. 1. The AIC aims to divert non-violent, low-level offenders by providing mental health and addiction assessments and referral to appropriate treatment and community services as an alternative to arrest.
“The opening of the AIC represents several years of work reflecting a transformation in thinking about our criminal justice system. Our goal is to address rising mental health and addiction needs, and break the cycle of low-level, non-violent offenders trapped in the system largely due to complex social, economic, and health challenges,” said Mayor Hogsett. “The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated mental illness and substance abuse within our community, and I’m grateful that the AIC will be part of the solution.”
The AIC will serve individuals with behavioral health or substance use issues in situations where law enforcement is trying to avoid an arrest due to a low-level criminal offense or an involuntary detention to an emergency room for further behavioral health assessment.
photo courtesy Office of the Mayor, Indianapolis
The reception area of the AIC.
The center, run by Eskenazi Health, will provide 24/7 referrals and intakes, withdrawal management, skills training, engagement in daily goal development, and referral to long-term mental health and treatment services. In providing these services, it will carry forward and expand upon the work of the Reuben Engagement Center, which launched in 2017. It is a completely voluntary program, with all clients required to consent before receiving any AIC services. Due to COVID-19, the AIC will open at a reduced capacity of 30 beds. For referrals to the AIC, please contact 317-327-8733.
The building will provide office space and serve as a regional dispatch point for the Mobile Crisis Assistance Team (MCAT), a partnership between the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center that sends multidisciplinary teams to respond to certain non-violent emergency calls and enables alternatives to arrest — including referral to the new AIC. The AIC will also host an ambulance and a team from Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services.
As many as 40 percent of Marion County jail inmates have been diagnosed with mental illness, and up to 85 percent of inmates suffer from some form of addiction. Mental health challenges and addiction issues are on the rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, almost four times as many adults in the U.S. are reporting mental health challenges compared to this time last year, and emergency room departments in Indiana are seeing a nearly 80 percent rise in overdose deaths.
The other components of the Community Justice Campus, including the Adult Detention Center, Courthouse and Sheriff’s Office, are scheduled to open in 2022.
