Orange County officials will be traveling to Washington D.C. in April for a national summit focused on reducing number of adults in jails with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders, according to a county press release.

Dubbed the National Stepping Up Summit, it is a new initiative created by the National Association of Counties, Council of State Governments’ Justice Center and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Chief Probation Officer Steven Sentman, Deputy Director of Behavioral Health Services Mary Hale, Deputy Director of Correctional Health Kim Pearson and Supervisor Todd Spitzer will attend the summit.

More than 240 counties across the country have signed on to the initiative.

Visit the Stepping Up Initiative website. 

Contact Thy Vo at tvo@voiceofoc.org or follow her on Twitter @thyanhvo.

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