Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health to continue to manage CASC

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Steve Goldsberry of GCB speaks before Commissioners on May 30, 2018.

BATAVIA, Ohio (May 30, 2018)– Clermont County Commissioners today approved a one-year contract with Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCB) to continue to manage operations at the county’s Community Alternative Sentencing Center (CASC). GCB will be paid $665,228. The contract goes from June 3, 2018, through June 2, 2019, with the option to renew for four one-year periods.

The CASC, which operates in a wing of the County Jail, is an alternative to jail for misdemeanants who are convicted of drug- or alcohol-related crimes. It includes substance abuse and mental health treatment, medication-assisted treatment, and educational and vocational services.

GCB has managed the CASC since June 2015, and began admitting male clients in September 2015. The CASC admitted its first female clients in September 2017, funded through the federal 21st Century CURES Act.

In a report to Commissioners in April, Steve Goldsberry, Vice President of Addiction Services at Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health, noted that since September 2015, the CASC has had more than 500 admissions, with an 84% completion rate. Those who complete CASC treatment are less likely to be rearrested, a GCB study shows. Clients are connected to outpatient treatment at Clermont Recovery Center after their release from CASC.

The three-year average cost per day of a client in CASC is $61 – compared to the 2017 cost of $72 per day per inmate in the County Jail.

During the April presentation, Chief Probation Officer Joe Ellison, Clermont County Municipal Court, said, “We certainly see that people released from CASC do better. They show up for probation and treatment.”

Of the $665,228 one-year contract, County Administrator Tom Eigel noted that $188,000 for the women’s wing and $86,000 for medication-assisted treatment would be covered by the 21st Century CURES Act. The county would fund the remaining $391,000, which is less that what it allocated for the 2017-18 budget — $410,000.

Goldsberry, who also spoke at today’s Session, thanked the county for its support of the CASC.

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