Salt Lake County, the state, local city leaders, and service providers convened Monday with Judge Steve Leifman and The Leifman Group. The gathering is part of the next phase of a multi-year effort to strengthen how the region responds to behavioral health crises, homelessness, and justice system involvement. Judge Leifman is a national leader in behavioral health and criminal justice reform, having spent more than two decades helping implement one of the nation’s most successful models for diverting individuals with serious mental illness from the justice system into treatment and recovery in Miami-Dade County.
Hosted by Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, the meeting brought together leaders from the state of Utah, the Utah Homeless Services Board, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, the Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Legal Defenders Association, the courts, service providers, philanthropic partners, and other key stakeholders. The discussion builds on years of coordinated work already underway across the region.Â
Salt Lake County’s engagement with The Leifman Group builds on years of coordinated reform work, including the 2023 Coordinated Homeless Services Plan with state and Salt Lake City and County and the County’s Human Services, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Reform Action Plan adopted in 2024. While progress has been made, remaining coordination and service gaps prompted the County to seek external expertise to guide next-phase implementation. Â
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“Salt Lake County’s role is to serve as a convener of the many parties involved in homelessness, criminal justice, mental health, and human services, and we take this role seriously,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “We also care very much about efficiency in our system, the people—individuals facing challenges and their family and friends—impacted, as well as the overall health of our community. For these reasons, Salt Lake County has driven evidence-based solutions, and we have facilitated unprecedented partnerships with the state, Salt Lake City, other cities within the county, service providers, the justice system, and philanthropic partners—all aligned around a shared vision to do better. Judge Leifman’s work helps us harness that cohesion, focus our priorities, and move forward with a coordinated proven approach that delivers better outcomes for people and for public safety.”Â
“What stands out about Salt Lake County is how many assets are already in place—strong leadership, engaged service providers, and a community that wants solutions,” said Judge Steve Leifman. “The opportunity now is to better coordinate those assets, use shared data to guide decisions, and implement proven, evidence-based changes that we know improve outcomes. With alignment and follow-through, Salt Lake County has real potential to become a national model in its own right.”
“These challenges are not partisan,” said Salt Lake County Council Chair Dea Theodore. “Homelessness, behavioral health, and public safety affect every neighborhood in Salt Lake County. As elected officials representing all constituents, it is our responsibility is to respond with solutions that are smart, compassionate, accountable, and fiscally responsible.”
Initial Recommendations Presented for Feedback
During Monday’s meeting, The Leifman Group presented initial implementation recommendations intended to support discussion, gather feedback, and align on priorities. County leaders emphasized that the presentation represents a working framework—not final decisions—and will be refined through continued stakeholder engagement.
Key themes from the preliminary recommendations include:
- Strengthen crisis response and front-end deflectionÂ
- Implement universal jail screening and wraparound case management, with strong service connections during transitions back into the communityÂ
- Build a structured, evidence-based post-arrest diversion system, including Justice Courts, aligned with risk-needs-responsivity principlesÂ
- Expand housing resources across the continuum, while carefully reconsidering large congregate campus models to reduce risk-mixing and improve long-term outcomesÂ
National Experience Informing Local Solutions
In Miami-Dade County, the approach developed and implemented under Judge Leifman’s leadership produced measurable, long-term results by diverting individuals with serious mental illness from the criminal justice system into treatment and recovery. Over time, Miami-Dade saw arrests decline from approximately 118,000 per year to 53,000, misdemeanor recidivism drop from roughly 75% to 20%, and the average daily jail population fall from about 7,400 to 4,400. These improvements allowed the county to close one of its three jails, generating an estimated $12 million in annual savings and enabling reinvestment in community-based services.
Miami-Dade County has also reduced unsheltered homelessness from more than 8,000 people to less than 1,000 as of the 2025 Point-in-Time Count.
Salt Lake County leaders emphasized that while local conditions and systems differ, the Miami-Dade experience demonstrates what is possible when behavioral health, housing, courts, and public safety partners align around evidence-based practices, sustained collaboration, and clear pathways to stability and recovery.
What’s Next
The Leifman Group will incorporate feedback from Monday’s meeting and other stakeholder engagements into a final report and strategic implementation roadmap, expected to be completed and shared early next year. Salt Lake County anticipates continuing its partnership with The Leifman Group to support implementation in 2026 and beyond.
