Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Meeting | Nov. 6, 2026

Buncombe County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council meeting (the title identifies Nov. 6, 2026; the meeting metadata is dated Nov. 9) covered strategic-plan workgroups and coordination across courts, law enforcement, healthcare, and community services. The Courts workgroup reported progress on a proposed pre-adjudication mental-health/wellness court, first-appearance procedures, and analysis of jail and court data. Members discussed jail capacity, delays in transferring sentenced people to state custody, and the effects of state law and limited court staffing; no new court resources or purchases were approved. The Coordinated Community Response workgroup described efforts to improve connections to services for survivors and offenders of domestic and sexual violence, including a housing-authority pilot, and requested a future presentation on the pilot.

The Behavioral Health Justice Committee discussed crisis response, emergency-department crowding, inpatient and community-placement gaps, and coordination among Mission/HCA, law enforcement, and behavioral-health providers. HCA said it is developing a business case for an additional 24-bed inpatient unit and described an adolescent intensive outpatient program; these were updates, not funding or procurement approvals. Members also reviewed an existing justice-grant-funded co-response program—the grant supports qualified mental-health professionals, not law-enforcement staffing—and discussed possible future funding requests, improved data sharing, and policy options. The council approved prior meeting minutes and reviewed a proposed 2027 meeting schedule. No contract awards, RFPs, vendor selections, or purchasing decisions were identified.