Sequential Intercept Model (SIM)
The Sequential Intercept Model is a framework that helps communities map how people with substance use disorders and mental illness move through the criminal justice system. It is used by individuals, teams, and communities to increase community collaboration and coordination. AOC provides SIM services at no cost to the community.
To request SIM services, resources, or for any inquiries, please contact the State SIM Coordinator, Alex Donnici at alexandra.donnici@courts.wa.gov
The Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) is a framework that helps map how people with substance use disorders and mental illness move through the criminal justice system. It is used by individuals, teams, and communities to increase community collaboration and coordination. Most frequently, it is used in facilitated mapping workshops. These 1.5-day workshops gather leaders and decision makers from each intercept to participate in a facilitated discussion and activity for the purpose of increasing cross-system collaboration.
In addition to workshops for communities, the model can also be applied in individual work, team conversations, organization resource planning, or to assist with stakeholder relationship building.
The model is a useful tool for categorizing resources and relationships to understand your team's role and position in a complex system. Visually mapping the resources and relationships your team maintains can help you identify areas for growth, gaps in services, or strengths to share throughout the system. For assistance applying these methods to your work, please feel free to reach out to alexandra.donnici@courts.wa.gov.
To plan a traditional community mapping, the process usually takes a minimum of 8 weeks. First, a community gathers a planning committee of about 5 people, typically including a judicial leader. From there, the planning committee works in collaboration with AOC to identify and invite relevant stakeholders from each intercept. At the 1.5-day workshop, the planning committee joins the stakeholders as equal participants to engage in facilitated discussion, mapping, and action planning.
A mapping typically results in a customized local map and report, though most communities report that the most valuable component of the process is the discussions held during the actual workshop.
If you are not sure if a SIM mapping is appropriate for your community, other resources may be available. All SIM services provided by AOC are done at no cost to the community.
