Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.

Date: April 30, 2024 Tue

Time: 12:46 am

Results for mentally ill offenders

162 results found

Author: Almquist, Lauren

Title: Mental Health Courts: A guide to research-informed policy and practice

Summary: This guide is intended to assist policymakers and practitioners in assessing the utility of mental health courts. After briefly describing who participates in mental health courts and how these courts function, this guide reviews research findings that address the extent to which mental health courts have been found to achieve their stated goals. Because mental health courts are relatively new, many unanswered questions remain on how they work, for whom, and under what circumstances; these outstanding research questions are highlighted in the final portion of this guide.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2009. 54p.

Source: Internet Source: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/CSG_MHC_Research.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/CSG_MHC_Research.pdf

Shelf Number: 116672

Keywords:
Mental Health
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Scotland. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland

Title: Out of Sight: Severe and Enduring Mental Health Problems in Scotland's Prisons

Summary: The aims of the inspection were to examine the scale of severe and enduring mental health problems in Scotland, the processes involved, the impact on the prison, issues on release, prison-based and community interventions, and reasons for the use of prison for people with severe mental health problems. Key findings of the inspection are presented.

Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government, 2008. 77p.

Source:

Year: 2008

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 114628

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners
Prisons

Author: Criminal Justice Joint Inspection

Title: A joint inspection on work prior to sentence with offenders with mental disorders.

Summary: This inspection focused on cases involving offenders who have been identified prior to sentence as having a mental disorder, and how these cases have been handled in practice. The inspectors found neither criminal justice nor health professionals were in favor of diverting an increased number of offenders from prosecution. Most felt that the majority should be combined with rather than instead of court action. However, in the minority of cases who were suitable for diversion, there did appear to be scope for greater efficiency by diverting these earlier in the process, before they got to the court stage. Most of the areas visited would also benefit from a better quality and more timely psychiatric report service once at the court stage. More generally, it was clear that treatment did help some current offenders to stop offending, so sustained access to treatment continues to be very important.

Details: Manchester: HM Inspectorate of Probation, 2009, 56p.

Source: Internet Source

Year: 2009

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 117573

Keywords:
Diversion
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders
Sentencing

Author: Renshaw, Judy

Title: Waiting on the Wings: A Review of the Costs and Benefits of SEcure Psychiatric Hospital Care for People in the Criminal Justice System with Severe Mental Health Problems

Summary: This report examines the prevalence of mental illness with the U.K. prison system, the costs associated with treatment of those prisoners in both prison and in medium secure hospitals and the financial savings that could be made if more prisoners received more appropriate, timely treatment.

Details: London: Laing & Buisson, 2010. 20p.

Source:

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 118158

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners

Author: Carswell, Sue

Title: Evaluation of the Mental Health Initiative at the Rotorua Police Station

Summary: The Police Consult/Liaison Nurse position at Rotorua Station (New Zealand) was regarded by interviewees as very effective for the timely assessment and facilitation of treatment for detainees/arrestees and was thought to contribute to better outcomes for these people. While the co-location of a mental health nurse with police provided the opportunities for effective intervention it was undoubtedly the way the Police Consult/Liaison Nurse at Rotorua developed and implemented her role that made it a success.

Details: Wellington: New Zealand Police, 2008. 105p.

Source:

Year: 2008

Country: New Zealand

URL:

Shelf Number: 117816

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Northern Ireland. Criminal Justice Inspection

Title: Not a Marginal Issue: Mental Health and the Criminal Justice Sysem in Northern Ireland

Summary: This report examines the treatment of people with mental health problems within the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. The report follows the treatment of people with mental health problems through the criminal justice system starting with the police, moving through prosecution and the courts and ending up with prisons and probation. The report highlights a range of deficiencies in provision across the system. Agencies struggle with the demands of dealing with people with mental health issues and find it difficult to access the expert services the need.

Details: Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2010. 68p.

Source:

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 118371

Keywords:
Mental Health Services (Northern Ireland)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Brooker, Charlie

Title: Short-Changed: Spending on Prison Mental Health Care

Summary: This report analyses public spending in the U.K. on mental health care in prisons. It compares spending between different regions, by type of prison and in comparison with spending on all types of health care in prisons and with mental health spending in the wider community.

Details: London: Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2008. 15p.

Source:

Year: 2008

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 115739

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Sinha, Maire

Title: An Investigation into the Feasibility of Collecting Data on the Involvement of Adults and Youth with Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System

Summary: This report examines the feasibility of collecting data on the involvement of adults and youths with mental health issues in the Canadian criminal justice system. The study had three main goals: 1) To provide an overview of the history of societal and legislative treatment of mental illness in Canada and studies on the relationship between individuals with mental illness and the criminal justice system; 2) to consult criminal justice stakeholders on their information priorities, data collection, barriers to data collection, and the feasibility of collecting data on the contact of individuals with mental health issues in the criminal justice system; and 3) to propose viable options for data collection involving police, courts, and corrections.

Details: Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada, 2009. 82p.

Source: Crime and Justice Research Paper Series; Internet Resource

Year: 2009

Country: Canada

URL:

Shelf Number: 118724

Keywords:
Mental Health (Canada)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Baddour, Ann

Title: Justice for Immigration's Hidden Population: Protecting the Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities in the Immigration Court and Detention System

Summary: This report documents the scope of the problems facing immigrants with mental diabilities in the state of Texas. The report presents an analysis and recommendations on five core principles integral to ensuring just treatment and due process for immigrants with mental disabilities.

Details: Austin, TX: Texas Appleseed, 2010. 88p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 118629

Keywords:
Illegal Aliens
Immigrant Detention
Immigrants
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Herrington, Victoria

Title: The Impact of the NSW Police Force Mental Health Intervention Team: Final Evaluation Report.

Summary: In January 2008, the New South Wales Police Force commenced a pilot program to provide mental health training to a number of frontline officers in three Local Area Commands. Training was developed and delivered by a central Mental Health Intervention Team Command during 2008, and provided officers with guidance and enhanced skills for dealing with individuals displying mental health-related symptoms. The program aimed to improve police capacity to respond efficiently and safey to such incidents. This report presents the findings from a two-year evaluation of the program.

Details: Manly, NSW: Charles Sturt University, Centre for Inland Health and Austrailan Graduate School of Policing, 2009. 87p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2009

Country: Australia

URL:

Shelf Number: 118595

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Services for the Mentally Ill
Police Training

Author: Clinks

Title: What Works in Local Commissioning: A 360 Degree Perspective

Summary: The Clinks London Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Development Project was established in 2006 and has worked to bring together voluntary sector organizations and commissioners to increase the range of services for offenders and ex-offenders. This report summarizes four pieces of research commissioned by Clinks to establish how a variety of services are commissioned for those leaving prison and serving sentences in the community. Each service is illustrated by case studies, giving perspectives from staff delivering the services, users of each service and those who commission the offender. The four services highlighted in this report include: 1) services provided by Adfam to support people affected by family members' drug use and crime; 2) services for people with a dual diagnosis of mental health problems along with drug or alcohol dependency; 3)a look at a variety of housing services commissioned for prison leavers; and 4) a program providing training and employment opportunities, with a focus on young black, Asian and minority ethic offenders.

Details: York, UK: Clinks, 2008. 55p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2008

Country: United Kingdom

URL:

Shelf Number: 118624

Keywords:
Drug Offenders
Employment, Ex-Offenders
Ex-Offenders, Services for
Housing
Mentally Ill Offenders
Reentry
Voluntary and Community Organizations (U.K.)

Author: Smith, Nadine

Title: Comorbid Substance and Non-Substance Mental Health Disorders and Re-Offending Among NSW Prisoners

Summary: This report examines whether released prisoners in New South Wales with mental health disorders are at increased risk of re-offending when compared with released prisoners without mental health disorders.

Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2010. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource; Crime and Justice Bulletin, No. 140

Year: 2010

Country: Australia

URL:

Shelf Number: 119142

Keywords:
Mental Health (Australia)
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners
Reoffending
Substance Abuse

Author: Van Vleet, Russell K.

Title: Evaluation of the Salt Lake County Mental Health Court: Final Report

Summary: The Salt Lake County Mental Health Court (SLCo MHC) began operations in 2001. Althought originally accepting only misdemeanor level cases, in 2002 it expanded the acceptance criteria to include felony charges. This expansion occurred when the City Prosecutor was cross designated as a Deputy District Attorney, thereby granting him authority over both felony (State) and misdemeanor (City)cases. This process and outcome evaluation sought answers to the following questions: Who does the program serve?; What services are MHC participants utilizing during participation?; What is the structure of the MHC?; Is MHC succeeding?; Who has the best outcomes in MHC?; What program components and services lead to the best outcomes?; and How does the SLCo MHC compare to the mental health court model?

Details: Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Criminal Justice Center, University of Utah, 2008. 88p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 114815

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts (Utah)
Mental Health Treatment
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Torrey, E. Fuller

Title: More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey of the States

Summary: This study found that Americans with severe mental illnesses are three times more likely to be in jail or prison than in a psychiatric hospital. The odds of a seriously mentally ill individual being imprisoned rather than hospitalized are 3.2 to 1, state data shows. The report compares statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau of Justice Statistics collected during 2004 and 2005, respectively. The report also found a very strong correlation between those states that have more mentally ill persons in jails and prisons and those states that are spending less money on mental health services.

Details: Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs' Association, 2010. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 118698

Keywords:
Jails
Mental Health
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners

Author: Bell, Robert M.

Title: Methodology for Evaluating Court-Based Mental Health Intervention in Maryland

Summary: This process evaluation report documents the goals, structure, operations, and contextual base of the court-based mental health courts in Baltimore City and Harford County, Maryland. It provides information on how the intervention evolved, what organizations provide what services to whom, and how closely the participants and activities match what was intended.

Details: Baltimore, MD: Maryland Judiciary, Administrative Office of the Courts, 2010. 49p.

Source: Internet Resource

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 119565

Keywords:
Mental Health
Mental Health Courts (Maryland)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Paulin, Judy

Title: Evaluation of the Mental Health/Alcohol and Other Drug Watch-house Nurse Pilot Initiative

Summary: The Watch-house Nurse (WHN) initiative began operating at the Christchurch Central and Counties Manukau Police station watch-houses on 1 July 2008 and 1 August 2008 respectively. The initiative is intended to run as a pilot project until 30 June 2010. The initiative places appropriately qualified nurses within these two watch-houses to assist the police to better manage the risks of those in their custody who have mental health, alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems. Where appropriate, the nurses also make referrals for detainees to treatment providers. This final evaluation report presents the findings about the WHN initiative during its first 18 months of operation. In doing so, it addresses the main objectives of the pilot, and intended outcomes of these objectives in turn.

Details: Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Police, 2010. 147p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/evaluation/2010-08-03%20WHN_evaluation_FINAL_ELECTRONIC.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: New Zealand

URL: http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/evaluation/2010-08-03%20WHN_evaluation_FINAL_ELECTRONIC.pdf

Shelf Number: 119665

Keywords:
Alcohol Abuse
Drug Offenders
Medical Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Nurses
Policing

Author: Krisberg, Barry

Title: Healthy Returns Initiative: Strengthening Mental Health Services in the Juvenile Justice System

Summary: Youth in the juvenile justice system suffer from a variety of mental illnesses, and, if not treated, these issues can become worse. The published literature shows that most of the youth in the system suffer from a debilitating mental illness. Lack of health care coverage also represents a major issue, as there are few services available to youth who do not have coverage.

Details: Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2010. 43p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 24, 2010 at: http://nccd-crc.issuelab.org/research/listing/healthy_returns_initiative_strengthening_mental_health_services_in_the_juvenile_justice_system

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://nccd-crc.issuelab.org/research/listing/healthy_returns_initiative_strengthening_mental_health_services_in_the_juvenile_justice_system

Shelf Number: 119675

Keywords:
Juvenile Justice System
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Gotsis, Tom

Title: Diverting Mentally Disordered Offenders in the NSW Local Court

Summary: Section 32 of the Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 enables mentally disordered defendants facing criminal charges in the New South Wales Local Court to be diverted by the court from the criminal justice system. Defendants diverted under s 32(3) between 2004–2006 represented only a small fraction of those who appeared in the Local court. Nearly 80% of defendants subject to a s 32(3) order were discharged conditionally into the care of a responsible person under s 32(3)(a) (55%) or for assessment and/or treatment under s 32(3)(b) (24%).ii The offences allegedly committed by these defendants were varied but traffic offences were not predominant. Magistrates expressed a reluctance to utilise s 32 orders for traffic offences.

Details: Sydney: Judicial Commission of NSW, 2008. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: Monograph 31: Accessed August 28, 2010 at: http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/research-monographs-1/monograph31/monograph31.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/research-monographs-1/monograph31/monograph31.pdf

Shelf Number: 119701

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Winstone, Jane

Title: Process Evaluation of the Mental Health Court Pilot

Summary: The aim of this study was to assess how the Mental Health Court pilot was implemented at Brighton and Stratford magistrates’ courts. This was in order to draw out areas of best practice and areas for improvement and inform future decisions on the pilot. Interviews with staff, stakeholders and offenders investigated perceptions of how well processes were embedded and gave insight into what worked well. Analysis of data from the courts in the first year of the pilot (January 2009 to January 2010) enabled assessment of the workloads at the courts, and provided some demographic information on offenders. The study found that the key elements of the model were delivered at both sites, but in different ways. The pilot yielded innovative multi-agency collaborations. A wider implementation of Mental Health Courts would require significant changes in the current patterns of multi-agency information sharing and data collection, and early consultation at senior management level.

Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2010. 38p.

Source: Internet Resource: Ministry of Justice Research Series 18/10: Accessed September 16, 2010 at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/mhc-process-evaluation.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/mhc-process-evaluation.pdf

Shelf Number: 119817

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Winstone, Jane

Title: Mental Health Court Pilot: Feasibility of an Impact Evaluation

Summary: The Mental Health Court model was piloted at magistrates’ courts in Stratford, East London, and Brighton, Sussex. The pilot aimed: to develop a clear model, which identified defendants and offenders with mental health issues, assessed the extent of those issues, and ensured that the offender/defendant received the appropriate intervention(s); and to identify the actual costs that would be incurred across the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and health services as a result of implementing the model. The study asked if it was feasible to evaluate impact of the pilots. An impact evaluation would look at what happens to those who go through the MHC, compared to what would have happened had they not. The study found that a random control trial or an area comparison would be possible, but could only measure criminal justice outcomes.

Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2010. 6p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research Summary 7/10: Accessed September 16, 2010 at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/mhc-feasibility-study-imapct-evaluation.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/mhc-feasibility-study-imapct-evaluation.pdf

Shelf Number: 119818

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Maryland Judiciary Research Consortium

Title: Process Evaluation of Harford County Mental Health Diversion Program

Summary: The Maryland Judiciary, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), under a grant awarded by Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) partnered with the University of Maryland, Institute for Governmental Service and Research (IGSR), and Morgan State University, School of Community Health and Policy, to conduct a process evaluation of the Harford County Mental Health Diversion Program (MHDP) located in District Court in Bel Air, Maryland. To assist in providing context for this report, Appendix A includes a summary of the literature concerning court-based mental health interventions. The report includes findings regarding how the Harford County MHDP was originally designed to operate and how the program has been implemented. Information on the MHDP was gathered through: face-to-face individual interviews with the MHDP team comprising 10 members, including six from the criminal justice system and four treatment providers; data on program participants compiled by the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office; and a review of program documents, which include written policies and procedures, minutes from planning meetings, and grant proposals.

Details: Baltimore: Maryland Judiciary, Administrative Office of the Courts, 2010. 88p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 21, 2010 at: http://www.courts.state.md.us/opsc/mhc/pdfs/evalutations/harfordmhdpprocessevaluation3-9-10.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.courts.state.md.us/opsc/mhc/pdfs/evalutations/harfordmhdpprocessevaluation3-9-10.pdf

Shelf Number: 119842

Keywords:
Diversion
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Appleby, Louis

Title: Prison Mental Health: Vision and Reality

Summary: The need for better mental health care in prisons has been evident for some time. Reports throughout the last two decades have shown that prisoners have dramatically higher rates of the whole range of mental health problems compared to the general population. This publication aims to examine what has been achieved in prison mental health over recent years from a number of different personal perspectives and individual observations of working in England. It looks at the specific achievements of inreach teams and of efforts to divert offenders from custody. It also looks more broadly at the rapid growth of the prison population during the same period and the treatment of offenders with mental health problems outside as well as inside prison.

Details: London: Royal College of Nursing, 2010. 25p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2010 at: http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/339379/003832.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/339379/003832.pdf

Shelf Number: 119932

Keywords:
Inmates
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisons

Author: Choate, David E.

Title: Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Recently Booked Juvenile Detainees

Summary: This special topic report examines the prevalence and characteristics of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems among juvenile detainees in Maricopa County. The findings come from the Co-occurring Disorder Addendum used during 2007. The findings reveal that almost 30 percent of juvenile detainees were at risk for a co-occurring disorder, and face significantly greater difficulties across a number of critical factors, including incarceration, homelessness, and victimization.

Details: Phoenix, AZ: Center for Violence Prevention & Community Safety, Arizona State University, 2009. 13p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://cvpcs.asu.edu/aarin/aarin-reports-1/co-occurring-disorder-addendum/co-occurring-disorders-among-juvenile-detainees/view?searchterm=juvenile detainees in maricopa county

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://cvpcs.asu.edu/aarin/aarin-reports-1/co-occurring-disorder-addendum/co-occurring-disorders-among-juvenile-detainees/view?searchterm=juvenile detainees in maricopa county

Shelf Number: 119993

Keywords:
Drug Abuse and Crime
Juvenile Inmates
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau

Title: An Evaluation: Inmate Mental Health Care: Department of Corrections, Department of Health Services

Summary: Adult inmates in Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) custody, including those with mental illnesses, are housed in 20 maximum, medium, and minimum security institutions; 16 minimum security correctional centers; and the Wisconsin Resource Center (WRC) operated by the Department of Health Services (DHS). In June 2008, 6,957 inmates were identified as mentally ill, including 299 housed at WRC. Expenditures for inmate mental health care totaled approximately $59.8 million in fiscal year (FY) 2007-08. In FY 2007-08, expenditures for inmate mental health care totaled approximately $59.8 million. Mentally ill inmates are screened and monitored regularly, but treatment programming is limited at some institutions. Mentally ill inmates account for a disproportionate share of self-harm incidents and assaults on staff. A September 2008 settlement agreement requires improvements to mental health care services at Taycheedah Correctional Institution. Concerns have been raised regarding the cost and availability of treatment for mentally ill inmates, including the services they receive while incarcerated and in preparation for release into the community. Therefore, at the request of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, this audit analyzed: staffing and expenditures for mental health services; DOC’s process for identifying mentally ill and developmentally disabled inmates, and their locations and characteristics; the monitoring and treatment of mentally ill inmates; safety and discipline, including self-harm and assaults by mentally ill inmates and their placement in segregation; placements at WRC and services provided; planning and preparation for the release of inmates into the community; and DOC’s activities to improve mental health care services, including those undertaken in response to a recent legal settlement.

Details: Madison, WI: Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau, 2009. 123p.

Source: Internet Resource: Report 09-4: Accessed October 20, 2010 at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lab/reports/09-4full.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lab/reports/09-4full.pdf

Shelf Number: 120030

Keywords:
Inmates, Mentally Ill
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice

Title: Mental Health Issues in California's Juvenile Justice System

Summary: Youth with mental health issues pose numerous challenges to California’s juvenile justice system. Despite significant resources dedicated to the provision of mental health services, California’s juvenile justice system has been unable to adequately meet the needs of this population. Youth diagnosed with mental illness have been steadily increasing in the juvenile justice system for nearly a decade, as have the numbers of youth receiving treatment (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2005). This trend, taken together with independent reports and media accounts documenting the failures of the juvenile justice system, underscores the urgent need for change. One of the difficulties in meeting the needs of youth with mental health issues is highlighted by the tensions inherent in the juvenile justice system itself. The system must respond to delinquent behavior based upon competing mandates and priorities, including the desire to rehabilitate juvenile offenders and treat any potential pathologies believed to have caused them to engage in delinquent behavior, as well as the need to hold them accountable for their behavior and protect public safety. Balancing these competing priorities is an ongoing challenge for probation staff and practitioners. The critical nature of that challenge is especially heightened when the youth has mental health issues. How systems of care respond to this population’s needs significantly impacts probation, mental health service providers, the courts, community-based organizations, and most importantly, the youth themselves and their families. By making the case for universal mental health definitions, screening and assessment, outcomes-based programs, and collaboration, this policy brief offers research-based recommendations on how juvenile justice and other systems of care can better meet the needs of youth with mental health issues. The overarching goal of these recommendations is to enhance the provision of mental health treatment in California’s juvenile justice system by improving the infrastructure that supports service delivery.

Details: Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice, University of California, Berkeley, 2010. 17p.

Source: Internet Resource: Juvenile Justice Policy Brief Series: Accessed November 1, 2010 at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/img/BCCJ_Mental_Health_Policy_Brief_May_2010.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/img/BCCJ_Mental_Health_Policy_Brief_May_2010.pdf

Shelf Number: 120140

Keywords:
Juvenile Justice Systems
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Fossey, Matt

Title: Under the Radar: Women with Borderline Personality Disorder in Prison

Summary: Women in prison are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems and self-harm. It is estimated that around a fifth of women in custody fulfil criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD), making it a significant issue for the prison health service and an expensive drain on limited prison management resources. Despite the principle of ‘equivalence of care’ in prison health care, guidelines for the management of BPD are rarely observed in prisons. In addition to health care deficits, the prison environment can be traumatic for women with BPD due to the hostile, punitive environment and the experience of incarceration. Family environments are significantly disrupted for all women on custodial sentences, with children frequently relocated and one in ten sent into social care. Women with BPD often have unstable family environments prior to being taken into custody, compounding the effect of this disruption. Looking ahead to future generations, this upset to family life may contribute to the effects of ‘transgenerational transmission’ of criminal behaviour and mental health problems. We recommend: Increased screening and appropriate diversion should be implemented to avoid custodial sentences where possible for women with BPD; Prison staff could benefit from increased training to raise awareness and improve the quality of care in prison; Where custodial sentences are necessary, evidence-based therapeutic interventions should be available to support women with BPD in prison; Where appropriate, evidence-based family interventions should be made available.

Details: London: Centre for Mental Health, 2010. 15p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 2, 2010 at: http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/pdfs/under_the_radar.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/pdfs/under_the_radar.pdf

Shelf Number: 120341

Keywords:
Female Inmates
Female Offenders (U.K.)
Health Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: United Community Services of Johnson County

Title: Mental Health and Criminal Justice: Intercept Project Report

Summary: In Johnson County, Kansas, and across the United States too often men and women with mental illness land in jail. The Johnson County Mental Health and Criminal Justice Intercept Project Report is the result of nineteen months of planning to address this problem. The project involved leaders and staff from eleven organizations that have accepted the responsibility for improving our community’s response to adults with mental health needs who come in contact with the criminal justice system. The study found that approximately 17 percent of incarcerates in Johnson County Jail were diagnosed with a mental illness. This report (with an appendix) is divided into six sections: 1) Introduction and background; 2) Project description including participants, model used, planning process, mapping and identification of issues; 3) Findings; 4) Barriers, goals and recommendations; 5) Guiding principles, key elements; 6) The future. The project recommendations, arrived at by consensus, are intended as a guide for organizations, both individually and collectively. The goal is a system that intervenes at the earliest point possible and also helps incarcerated adults with mental illness prepare for safe and successful transition to the community. Essential to intervening at the earliest point is a mental health system with adequate capacity to serve those who need help. Recommendations are presented for the six key intercept points that were investigated. (Intercept points, indicated in bold italics throughout the report, are when opportunities occur for preventative services to keep individuals from going deeper into the criminal justice system.) While every recommendation is important for overall systems improvement, a small number are identified as priorities. Common themes for every system include education about mental illness, cross-training of staff, and the involvement of family members and loved ones of persons with mental illness.

Details: Lenexa, KS: United Community Services of Johnson County, 2010. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2011 at: http://cmo.jocogov.org/CJAC/CJ%20MH%20TASK%20FORCE%20Report%20to%20CJAC.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://cmo.jocogov.org/CJAC/CJ%20MH%20TASK%20FORCE%20Report%20to%20CJAC.pdf

Shelf Number: 120674

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security

Title: Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Addiction in the Federal Correctional System

Summary: Correctional institutions in Canada, like those in many countries, including Norway and England, accommodate large numbers of inmates suffering from mental disorders and drug and alcohol addiction. In Canada, some 80% of offenders serving prison sentences of two years or more have problems with drugs and/or alcohol. Approximately one in ten male inmates (12%), and one in five female inmates (21%), suffer from serious mental disorders upon admission to a federal correctional institution. This is not a recent development. Research has clearly shown that the correctional community, here as in elsewhere, is in poorer health overall than the population at large. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (hereafter the Committee) is concerned however about the scope of this phenomenon within Canada’s federal correctional system, and the lack of resources to enable Correctional Service Canada (CSC), which is responsible for the custody of offenders sentenced to two years or more, to meet the growing mental health and addiction needs of federal offenders. This report contains the Committee’s observations and recommendations based on its review of the policies, practices and programs adopted by CSC to provide treatment and support for federal offenders affected by mental disorders or addiction. The review highlighted the urgent need for an expansion of CSC’s capacity to meet the growing needs of these offenders. The situation demands decisive federal government action; the Committee believes this should include the immediate allocation of additional financial resources to CSC for this purpose. The CSC should in turn give priority to improving how it deals with mental health disorders and addiction issues. This is a public safety issue because offenders who fail to receive appropriate treatment while in custody are more likely to reoffend after release, thus threatening the security of all Canadians. That said, the Committee agrees with those who have testified before it that as far as possible, people suffering from mental disorders and addictions should not end up in detention because of these problems or the lack of community ressources. Correctional institutions should not be serving as hospitals by default. In general, prison is not suited to caring for people affected by such problems. Indeed, mental health experts agree that the prison environment is harmful to mental health. Moreover, because of the constraints inherent in the prison setting, therapeutic interventions are complicated and expensive. Like its witnesses, the Committee has concluded that CSC alone cannot cope with mental health and addiction problems in prisons. The criminalization and incarceration of those suffering from mental disorders or addictions is part of a broader context in which various players—government and non-government agencies—are active: the healthcare, social services and justice sectors. To avoid imprisoning people inappropriately because of their mental health disorders or addictions, all participants in the system have to work more closely together. Governments will have to establish a comprehensive, integrated and efficient mental health system based on promoting mental health and preventive care, early detection of mental disorders and addictions, access in the community to effective care and treatment and, as appropriate, the reintegration of those affected. The Committee’s study has also shed light on the need for rapid intervention, well before those concerned come into conflict with the law. When a crime is committed, there must be a capacity to assess the mental health of the accused in order to refer him or her to appropriate healthcare and support services and acquaint court officials with the accused’s requirements. The Committee shares the view of most of its witnesses that such an approach is more consistent with the rights of those suffering from mental disorders and addictions and could generate substantial cost savings in the long run. Imprisonment is expensive and generally unsuited to caring for those rendered vulnerable by mental disorders and addiction issues.

Details: Ottawa: The Committee, 2010. 97p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 3, 2011 at: http://www.hsjcc.on.ca/Uploads/commons%20report%20on%20offender%20mh%20dec%202010.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.hsjcc.on.ca/Uploads/commons%20report%20on%20offender%20mh%20dec%202010.pdf

Shelf Number: 120683

Keywords:
Correctional Institutions
Inmates (Canada)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisons
Rehabilitation
Substance Abuse

Author: Offender Health Research Network

Title: A National Evaluation of Prison Mental Health In-Reach Services

Summary: This report describes a study evaluating prison mental health in-reach, comprising three inter-linked, yet discrete, elements. * A national survey of prison in-reach teams: consisting of a national survey of in-reach team leaders, concentrating on considerations of team size and professional composition; team functioning; barriers to successful operation; and relationships with the wider NHS. * Case studies of in-reach teams: consisting of detailed case studies of the operation of in-reach services in eight prisons. * Longitudinal cohort study of prison in-reach services: identifying a cohort of prisoners received into custody with severe and enduring mental illness and tracking their progress in prison, examining whether they were assessed and/or taken onto the caseloads of in-reach services. In addition, a "snapshot" view was taken of the caseloads of the in-reach teams at each of the study sites, to establish the diagnostic breakdown of their clientele.

Details: Manchester, UK: Offender Health Research Network, 2009. 159p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2011 at: http://www.ohrn.nhs.uk/resource/Research/Inreach.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.ohrn.nhs.uk/resource/Research/Inreach.pdf

Shelf Number: 121066

Keywords:
Inmates (U.K.)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners

Author: National Center for Youth Law

Title: Improving Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System-- A Review of Alameda County’s Collaborative Mental Health Court.

Summary: Studies consistently show that up to 65 or 70 percent of youths held in American juvenile detention centers have a diagnosable mental illness. Further, a congressional study concluded that every day approximately 2,000 youths are incarcerated simply because community mental health services are unavailable. In 33 states, juvenile detention centers hold mentally ill youths without charges. A majority of detention centers report holding children aged 12 and under; and 117 centers reported jailing children 10 and under. Although the causes are numerous and complex, a growing consensus among experts holds that many youths are put under court supervision due to behavior that stems from unmet mental health needs and the lack of community-based service options. Indeed, many youths with serious mental health needs are in the juvenile justice system because other service systems failed them, and because they have no place else to go. But juvenile halls and prisons are not therapeutic environments for young people with psychological disorders; the juvenile justice system is ill-equipped to meet the needs of these youths. Investigations by the US Department of Justice have called into question the ability of many juvenile justice facilities to respond adequately to the mental health needs of youths in their care. Tragically, this leads to youths languishing in detention centers without treatment, and with little hope of getting better or returning home. Additionally, juvenile justice administrators — whether they are prosecutors, judges or probation officers — generally are not equipped to meet the needs of seriously disturbed youths, and typically juvenile halls and prisons are not adequately funded to do so. Many administrators now recognize that disturbed young people do not belong in detention because their behavior is the result of their illness, and will not improve with traditional detention methods. One promising response to this crisis has been the creation of juvenile mental health courts (JMHCs). Modeled on problem-solving drug courts, these courts focus on treatment rather than punishment. They use a collaborative approach involving representatives of the juvenile court, probation, the prosecutor and public defender’s offices, and mental health liaisons. The goal is to divert mentally ill youths from detention to more appropriate community-based mental health services by providing intensive case management and supervision, rather than relying upon the usual adversarial process. Such courts increase the likelihood that young people will safely return home, re-engage in school and the community, gain ongoing access to needed home and community-based mental health services and supports, and avoid further involvement with the juvenile justice system. Alameda County established its own Juvenile Mental Health Court, called the Alameda County Juvenile Collaborative Court (ACJC), in 2007. This effort was based on the model pioneered by the first juvenile mental health court opened in Santa Clara County, California in 2001. Like other JMHCs, the ACJC (also referred to in this report as “the Court”) serves youths with serious mental illness who typically end up in long-term out-of-home placements. This report presents the organizational premises of the Court as well as its structure and procedures. It describes the factors that control admission into the Court and the demographics of the youths who participate. The report also reviews what the participants — professional collaborators as well as the youths and their families — have to say about the Court, and compares the Court’s results with its founders’ intent. Finally, the authors recommend improvements and examine the prospects for sustaining the Court at its current service level and expanding it to reach more youths.

Details: Oakland, CA: National Center for Youth Law, 2011. 76p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://fosteryouthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Improving-Outcomes-Pub.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://fosteryouthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Improving-Outcomes-Pub.pdf

Shelf Number: 121305

Keywords:
Juvenile Detention
Juvenile Justice System (California)
Juvenile Mental Health Courts
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Orihuela, Michael M.

Title: City of St. Louis Jail Diversion Project: Final Evaluation Report

Summary: The St. Louis City Jail Diversion Project was developed through a collaborative planning process among criminal justice and community treatment agencies. Through the project, individuals with mental health problems were diverted from the criminal justice system into mental health treatment services. The project was funded through a Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant from May 2006 to April 2010. Community Alternatives and BJC Behavioral Health, St. Louis City behavioral healthcare providers, provided integrated treatment services combined with best practice approaches for clients involved in the criminal justice system. The Center for Trauma Recovery of the University of Missouri St. Louis provided trauma therapy. Program participants were enrolled in services and asked to participate voluntarily in a longitudinal evaluation of services. The evaluation operated from August 2007 through April 2010. Key highlights of the evaluation report include the following: • Screenings were conducted for 477 individuals. Of these, 167 were screened in and diverted from jail to community mental health treatment. Among those screened out were 129 that met initial screening criteria but for various reasons did not complete the planning process for presentation to the courts; 89 that did not meet legal criteria; and 92 that either did not meet psychiatric criteria, were referred elsewhere, or were released from custody. • The majority (57 percent) of clients in jail diversion programs had severe and persistent mental illness. • A large majority (78 percent) of participants were also identified as having alcohol or drug abuse issues at the time of enrollment. • Of those successfully diverted, 69 percent completed a minimum of 24 weeks of supervision and community-based outpatient treatment services which utilized evidence-based integrated treatment services. • Overall improvement was observed among participants on measures of mental health symptoms (frequency and severity) and daily functioning outcomes at six months and twelve months after entering the program. • Substance use, as reported by participants, declined from 43 percent at baseline to seven percent at six months and 10 percent at twelve months, including similar patterns of improved outcomes for those reporting any alcohol use and alcohol use to intoxication. • Based on initial measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 60 percent of participants were determined to have probable PTSD at the time of enrollment. A minority (13 percent) received treatment specifically directed at trauma recovery, yet a reduction in PTSD symptoms was observed among the entire population from 60 percent at entry to 39 percent at six months and 28 percent after one year. • Clients in jail diversion program moved to more independent and desirable living situations. Among those interviewed at six months, stable housing had increased from 27 percent to 40 percent, while homelessness had decreased from 24 percent to 3 percent. • Diversion program participants who successfully completed the jail diversion program were significantly less likely to return to the criminal justice system during the 12 months following diversion. In addition, program graduates had better outcomes in other areas including stable housing, enrollment in school and engagement in mental health treatment.

Details: St. Louis, MO: Institute of Applied Research, 2010. 38p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2011 at: http://www.iarstl.org/papers/StLouisJailDiversionReport.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.iarstl.org/papers/StLouisJailDiversionReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 121738

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Community Treatment
Jail Diversion (St. Louis, MO)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Lieb, Roxanne

Title: Competency to Stand Trial and Conditional Release Evaluation: Current and Potential Role of Forensic Assessment Instruments

Summary: In response to a 2010 legislative direction, the Institute and DSHS are investigating options regarding the use of mental health assessment tools for two DSHS reports to the courts:  Competency to stand trial assessments of criminal defendants whose competency is in question, and  The Secretary’s recommendations to the courts concerning the potential conditional release of criminally insane patients from inpatient treatment. This document summarizes results of an October 2010 survey of state forensic evaluators concerning their use of assessment instruments. Thirty-one (of the 35) mental health experts who conduct forensic evaluations for the three state psychiatric hospitals (Western State, Eastern State, and Child Study and Treatment Center) responded to the online survey; this represents an 89 percent response rate. We present three options for assessment strategies and instruments, with advantages and disadvantages of each option. A detailed comparison of instruments is included.

Details: Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2011. 56p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2011 at: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/11-05-3401.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/11-05-3401.pdf

Shelf Number: 122074

Keywords:
Competence to Stand Trial
Conditional Release (Washington State)
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Title: Finding the Key to Successful Transition from Jail or Prison to the Community. An Explanation of Federal Medicaid and Disability Program Rules

Summary: Growing numbers of men and women with severe mental illnesses are in jail or prison. Many cycle through corrections facilities repeatedly, costing criminal justice systems and communities significant resources and causing great pain to themselves and their families. For people with serious mental illnesses, access to mental health and addiction services and to the income support that can pay for housing is generally through federal entitlement programs. Yet, whether because relevant federal rules are not well understood or because state implementation of them is problematic, many unnecessarily lose their federal entitlements while in jail or prison. Others who could qualify do not apply because they lack timely assistance from corrections staff or community mental health providers to file an application. Very few states and localities have adopted policies and procedures for assisting inmates with severe mental illnesses in claiming or maintaining federal benefits upon their release. Finding the Key describes the federal entitlements — income support through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs, and health coverage under Medicaid and Medicare, which together can enable someone with a severe mental illness to transition successfully from jail or prison to community life. In it we also suggest ways for states, localities and advocates to improve the situation.

Details: Washington, DC: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, 2009. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2011 at: http://www.bazelon.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Bd6LW9BVRhQ%3d&tabid=104

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://www.bazelon.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Bd6LW9BVRhQ%3d&tabid=104

Shelf Number: 122350

Keywords:
Medicaid
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoner Reentry (U.S.)

Author: Baldwin, Kevin

Title: Final Evaluation Report – Dougherty County Mental Health Court

Summary: The Dougherty Mental Health Court (DMHC) started in 2002 in response to concerns over the increasing incidence of persons with mental illness cycling in and out of the local jail. Since its inception, the court has received over six hundred referrals. The present evaluation examines data on 566 referrals, from which 167 individuals participated in the court. At the time of this report, 82 participants had successfully completed the program, 68 had left the program without completing, and 17 were still in the program. Most individuals were referred to the court by a judge or attorney while in jail pending charges for a new crime or a violation of probation. Referrals tended to be unmarried males in their mid-thirties, with an eleventh grade education. Substance abuse disorders were the most prevalent presenting problems, followed by schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Participants differed from referrals in that they were more likely to have a primary diagnosis of substance abuse and less likely to have a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and depression. The DMHC has three treatment tracks, with about half of participants assigned to the substance abuse track, 40% being assigned to the dual diagnosis track and the remaining 10% being in the mental health track. More than half of participants (55%) successfully completed the program. Those that completed the program did so in an average of 72 weeks, with non-completers spending 49 weeks in the DMHC. Successful completion of the court program was associated with a number of positive outcomes. Those that completed the court program had lower rates of arrest after their participation than before. While completers had higher rates of arrest than did non-completers prior to program entry, they had significantly lower arrest rates after beginning the court when compared to non-completers (with an average follow-up time of about three years). Program completers were less likely to fail drug screens than non-completers, both during and after participating in the court. Completers also spent fewer days in jail subsequent to their referral date than did non-completers or refusals (those referred who did not participate). Taken together, these findings suggest that participation in and completion of the DMHC is associated with increased sobriety and treatment compliance and decreased substance abuse, arrests, and jail time. The DMHC is achieving its core objectives of providing appropriate, focused treatment to mentally ill and substance abusing persons involved in the criminal justice system, resulting in decreased substance abuse, criminality, and encounters with the criminal justice system. In addition to the positive findings associated with court participation, this project also increased the capacity of the DMHC by designing and implementing an Internet-based client management and evaluation database. The court can use this system to provide real-time data on clients and the program itself, as well as perform a range of reporting functions that can be used for ongoing and periodic evaluation of court activities and outcomes. The final project objective was to increase the capacity of the local publically-funded mental health and substance abuse treatment provider by implementing the NIATx process improvement model. While outcome data on the results of NIATx implementation are not yet available, preliminary results are encouraging.

Details: Atlanta, GA: Applied Research Services, Inc., 2010. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2011 at: http://ars-corp.com/_view/PDF_Files/BJA-DoughertyCountyMentalHealthCourtEvaluation2010.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://ars-corp.com/_view/PDF_Files/BJA-DoughertyCountyMentalHealthCourtEvaluation2010.pdf

Shelf Number: 115751

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts (U.S.)

Author: Wood, Jennifer: Swanson, Jeffrey

Title: Police Interventions with Persons Affected by Mental Illnesses: A Critical Review of Global Thinking and Practice

Summary: Mental illness and substance abuse disorders constitute a global public health problem of enormous proportions. International epidemiological studies estimate that nearly 25% of the world’s population suffers from a diagnosable psychiatric or addiction disorder at some time in their lives, and mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability in the United States (US), Canada, and Europe (World Health Organization [WHO], 2001). In the US, approximately 6% of adults at any given time meet criteria for a serious mental illness that interferes with at least one important activity of daily living (Kessler et al., 1996). Moreover, mental health and substance abuse problems often overlap, as nearly 30% of people with a mental illness also have an addiction disorder (Regier et al., 1990). Until recent decades, large numbers of people who suffered from chronic, severe, and disabling mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were interned in public psychiatric hospitals for lengthy periods—often against their will and sometimes for life. In the US, by the middle of the 20th century approximately 500,000 people were confined to public mental hospitals and receiving mainly custodial care (Appelbaum, 1994). Beginning in the 1960s, however, a massive process of ‘deinstitutionalization’ unfolded and today there are fewer than 50,000 people in these institutions (Manderscheid, Atay, & Crider, 2009). Shortly after the ‘deinstitutionalization period,’ the US embarked on a quite different project of social control through incarceration. Between 1982 and 2007, the population of prisons and jails rose from 612,000 to 2.3 million (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009). The increase in people held in correctional institutions has been accompanied by a similar rise in the number of people living in the community on probation and parole, now more than 5.1 million (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009). To an unfortunate extent, ‘deinstitutionalization’ from the mental health system led to ‘reinstitutionalization’ through criminal justice. Indeed, there are now more people with serious mental disorders to be found in the largest US city jails than in any psychiatric hospital (Frank & McGuire, in press; Torrey, 1995). The historic demise of ‘the asylum’ was driven by a combination of legal and fiscal reforms, advances in pharmacotherapy, and a shift in therapeutic ideology in favor of community-based care and recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities. However, the closing of large public mental hospitals proved far easier than replacing them with an effective system of care and support in the community. The promise of definitive treatment or cure with better medications ‘just around the corner’ remains elusive. Persons with ongoing, disabling psychiatric conditions now reside in every community. A small, but visible, proportion of persons with serious mental illnesses revolve in and out of acute psychiatric hospitals, are chronically unemployed, are sometimes homeless, and are frequently involved with the police and the criminal justice system. Developing and implementing cost-effective interventions to improve the lives of people with serious mental illnesses in the community remains a challenge for multiple, interfacing service systems, from public health to social welfare to law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. This monograph aims to shed light on one key component of these systems — policing — and specifically the role of police officers in the community as front-line workers who often come into contact with persons with mental illnesses and must respond to their needs with whatever tools lie at hand. We focus on the contexts of the US, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom (UK), all of which are experiencing similar core challenges facing policing in the 21st century, especially in relation to providing effective responses to persons with mental illnesses. There are numerous questions that face the field: How do police manage their multiple, and sometimes conflicting roles in their encounters with persons with mental illnesses? To what extent are police organizations ‘accepting’ and trying to manage this unsought role? What are the current and forward-looking models of training and support for police officers in this work? How effective are these approaches —particularly in times of severe fiscal constraint in public systems—and what evidence is lacking in order to develop better and more cost-effective interventions in the future? We address these questions in this monograph and argue that there is a considerable convergence in thinking around the importance of police in more effectively managing encounters with persons in crisis. Police-led and co-response (police and mental health) crisis intervention models are especially dominant, and have diffused across the globe with great speed.

Details: New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Behavioral Health Services & Criminal Justice Research, Rutgers University, 2011. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2011 at: http://www.temple.edu/cj/people/documents/Monograph_March_2011.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: International

URL: http://www.temple.edu/cj/people/documents/Monograph_March_2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 122986

Keywords:
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Services for the Mentally Ill

Author: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Title: The Health of Ausstralia's Prisoners 2010

Summary: The health of Australia’s prisoners 2010 is the second report relating to the National Prisoner Health Indicators, which were developed to help monitor the health of prisoners, and to inform and evaluate the planning, delivery and quality of prisoner health services. The indicators presented in this report are aligned to the National Health Performance Framework. The results in this second report build on the baseline information from the first National Prisoner Health Census, and this time include some state and territory comparisons. Prisoners in Australia have high rates of mental health related issues. In 2010, 31% of prison entrants reported having ever been told that they had a mental health illness and 16% of prison entrants reported that they were currently taking mental health related medication. On entry to prison, almost one-fifth of prison entrants were referred to the prison mental health services for observation and further assessment following the reception assessment. Almost 1 in 10 prisoners in custody visited the clinic for a psychological or mental health issue, and 1 in 5 prisoners in custody was taking mental health related medication. When looking at the type of medication, 18% of all repeat medication was for depression/mood stabilisers, 9% for antipsychotics, 2% for anti-anxiety medication and 1% for sleep disturbance. Prison entrants in Australia reported previously engaging in various risky health behaviours, such as smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol at extreme levels and using illicit drugs. Four in five prison entrants reported being a current smoker, and three in four reported being a daily smoker. More than half of prison entrants reported drinking alcohol at levels that placed them at risk of alcohol-related harm, while less than twenty per cent reported that they did not drink. Further, two-thirds of prison entrants reported illicit drug use in the previous 12 months. These rates are all substantially higher than in the general community. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prison entrants were significantly over-represented in the entrant’s sample, with 43% being Indigenous, compared with 2.5% of the general population. Indigenous prison entrants reported poorer health behaviours than non-Indigenous prison entrants, and were more likely to be current smokers (89% compared with 79%) and to have consumed alcohol at levels considered to place them at risk of alcohol-related harm (73% compared with 48%) in the previous 12 months. However, Indigenous prison entrants reported lower level of mental health related issues (23% compared with 38%), use of mental health medication upon entry to prison (12% compared with 19%), and chronic conditions.

Details: Canberra: AIHW, 2011. 206p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2011 at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737420111&tab=2

Year: 2011

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737420111&tab=2

Shelf Number: 123007

Keywords:
Medical Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prison Health Care
Prisoners (Australia)

Author: Leschied, Alan W.

Title: The Treatment of Incarcerated Mentally Disordered Women Offenders: A Synthesis of Current Research

Summary: This synthesis of the research evidence in relation to the treatment of mentally disordered women offenders is prompted by recent reviews of correctional practice in the Canadian federal correctional system, and the growing awareness of the impact research can have on programs for women within the correctional system. Women offenders, in part as a function of their pre incarceration histories, will display more elevated risky behaviours as expressed through aggression, self-injury and multiple emotion-related disorders. With sex-specific programming and research-informed practice along with support for training in the context of providing adequate resources, correctional practice can have a positive impact both in the institutional management of behaviour as well as with longer-term positive outcomes. However, research also indicates that without the guide of informed practice and staff support, correctional practice tends to resort to traditional punitive measures such as the use of segregation as a means of managing the challenging and high-risk behaviours of mentally disordered women offenders.

Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2011. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: Corrections Research:
User Report 2011-03: Accessed October 25, 2011 at: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/_fl/2011-03-imdwo-eng.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/_fl/2011-03-imdwo-eng.pdf

Shelf Number: 123139

Keywords:
Female Inmates
Female Offenders (Canada)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Jurecska, Diomaris

Title: Competence to Stand Trial: Special Challenges for the Population Diagnosed With Intellectual Disabilities and Borderline Intellectual Functioning

Summary: This study contributes to the psychometric validity of the psychological tests most frequently used to determine competency to stand trial for people with intellectual disabilities. First, the relationship between The MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool (MacCAT-CA) and the Competence Assessment to Stand Trial for Defendants with Intellectual Disabilities (CAST-MR) was analyzed, including their respective determination of competency for currently adjudicated adults with intellectual disabilities. Second, the relationship between performance on the Malingered Incompetence Legal Knowledge test (MILK), a new measure designed to evaluate malingering by people with intellectual disabilities in a legal context, and the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) was explored. Additionally, this study contributes to the development of norms for both the MacCAT-CA and the MILK in a population with intellectual disabilities. Results demonstrate that was not significant agreement between the MacCAT-CA and the CAST-MR in determining adjudicative competency in the study population. The lack of convergent validity between these two commonly used measures raises questions about test validity and whether individuals with intellectual disabilities are held to a lower standard for adjudicative competence. Further, a significant correlation between the TOMM and the MILK suggests that evidence of exaggerated cognitive impairments does suggest feigned ignorance of legal knowledge. The evidence from this study suggests that CST evaluations with an ID population results in different findings based on the measure that the examiner chooses. Consequently, adherence to appropriate and standardized measures is needed in forensic psychology to ensure the quality of the evaluation.

Details: Newberg, OR: George Fox University, 2010. 59p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed November 29, 2011 at: http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/RESRCH/docs/jurecska_dissertation100628.pdf?ga=t

Year: 2010

Country: United States

URL: http://www.oregon.gov/DOC/RESRCH/docs/jurecska_dissertation100628.pdf?ga=t

Shelf Number: 123460

Keywords:
Competence to Stand Trial
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Iowa Department of Human Rights, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning,Statistical Analysis Center

Title: Process and Outcome Evaluation of the Iowa First Judicial District Department of Correctional Services Dual Diagnosis Offender Program (DDOP)

Summary: This study consists of a process and outcome evaluation of the First Judicial District’s Dual Diagnosis Offender Program (DDOP). The study was supported by Byrne funds through the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, which provided partial support for DDOP operation. The purposes of the study were to: explain the context of the program, its history and funding sources; depict the program staff; describe the program and activities; portray the beneficiaries of the program and describe who completes it; describe changes to the program; and assess participants and a comparison group on measures such as recidivism, substance abuse relapse, and justice system costs. Program The Dual Diagnosis Offender Program (DDOP) is delivered by the First District Department of Correctional Services. The residential portion is housed at the Waterloo Residential Correctional Facility and consists of a 16–bed unit for male offenders. The program began in 1998 and was created to fill a void in services for criminally-involved dual-diagnosed individuals. The goal of DDOP is to divert clients from incarceration and crime and enhance coordination of criminal justice and mental health services for the target population. The program provides integrated substance abuse and mental health group and individual treatment, which empirical research has identified as being an effective treatment model. The program also incorporates other elements that have been identified in the literature as being effective for dually-diagnosed offenders. Staff DDOP staff had varying educational and professional backgrounds and years of experience, a reflection of a program with a multidisciplinary team. Most staff had at least a Bachelor’s degree and professional background in human services or counseling with roughly half being with DDOP for up to five years. Program Clients Between January 1, 2001 and September 30, 2007, 236 males were admitted to the DDOP. Offenders were court ordered into the program for a minimum of six months and a maximum of one year. Participants spent an average of about five months in the residential program, with about 60% completing the residential program. The average participant at entry was 32 years old, white (71.6%), unmarried (86.0%) and had a GED or high school diploma (61.4%). Most had a prior prison admission (56.8%) and were under supervision for a felony (73.3%). Over one-third reported poly-drug usage (35.2%). Among the 73.3% of participants for whom data on chronic mental illnesses were available, 78% had a serious mental illness. The average score on the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) was 37.3, in the moderate/high risk category, with relatively high average sub-scores on alcohol/drugs (6.0 out of 9) and emotional/personal (4.5 out of 5) indicators. DDOP Study Group The DDOP study group included all offenders who started the program after January 1, 2001 and were discharged by September 30, 2005 (n= 144). The matched “comparison group” was comprised of individuals who entered community supervision between January 1, 2001 and December 30, 2005 (n=106). While there were some differences in characteristics between the study and comparison groups, they were sufficiently similar to permit valid comparisons. Outcomes The DDOP study group and comparison group were tracked for the three years following their entry to DDOP or community supervision. Outcome measures included recidivism and substance abuse relapse. Justice system costs were also tracked for a three year time period for the groups. Generally, on recidivism measures, the DDOP study group completers had outcomes similar to the comparison group, while non-completers fared worse. 70.9% of the completers and 73.6% of the comparison group had a new conviction compared to 86.2% of the non-completers. 19.8% of the completers and 17.9% of the comparison group had a new felony compared to 37.9% of the non-completers. 48.8% of the completers and 42.5% of the comparison group returned to prison compared to 98.3% of the non-completers. On relapse measures, the DDOP study group completers and non-completers showed similar outcomes, while the comparison group fared worse. Half of the completers and 41.1% of the non-completers had a positive drug test, compared to 64.7% of the comparison group. 18.6% of the completers and 17.2% of the non-completers had a new drug conviction, compared to 25.5% of the comparison group. 62.8% of the completers and 55.2% of the non-completers had a positive drug test or a new drug or alcohol conviction, compared to 71.7% of the comparison group. In terms of justice systems costs, DDOP non-completers had the highest three-year supervision costs, followed by DDOP completers. Longer-term study is necessary to determine the true financial impact of the program. Race Outcomes suggested that white and non-white DDOP participants benefitted equally from the program. This is noteworthy because non-whites tend to have higher rates of failure than whites in most correctional programming. There were considerable differences in outcome measures between non-white DDOP clients and their comparison group counterparts.

Details: Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Human Rights, 2011. 60p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 10, 2012 at: http://www.humanrights.iowa.gov/cjjp/images/pdf/DualDiagnosisOffenderProgram.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.humanrights.iowa.gov/cjjp/images/pdf/DualDiagnosisOffenderProgram.pdf

Shelf Number: 123536

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Correctional Programs
Drug Offenders (Iowa)
Mentally Ill Offenders
Offender Treatment
Recidivism

Author: Caring Solutions (UK)

Title: Review of the Medical Theories and Research Relating to Restraint Related Deaths

Summary: The Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) which forms the second tier of the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, commissioned this review of the medical theories and research relating to restraint related deaths. This report seeks to clarify research from national and international literature to ascertain any common findings in order to provide guidance for staff on safe and effective restraint techniques where there is no other resort in the management of violent and aggressive individuals. The methodology used was a literature review, a gap analysis and gathering expert opinion. There were 21 relevant international studies identified and 7 UK studies. There were 38 UK restraint-related deaths identified through NEXIS, INQUEST and a previous survey (which covered the period of 1979 to 2000). Of these 38, 7 were individuals detained under the Mental Health Act and 4 were informal patients in mental health care settings. Throughout the literature there is evidence that certain groups are more vulnerable to risks when being restrained, whether because of biophysiological, interpersonal or situational factors or attitudinal factors. These groups are those with serious mental illness or learning disabilities, those from Black and Minority Ethnic communities, those with a high body mass index; men age 30-40 years and young people (under the age of 20). The physiology of deaths under restraint in any setting where there is a duty of care on the state, is difficult to investigate as internationally the numbers of restraint-related deaths are small and classification by pathologists varies in different countries. Findings from experimental studies are not completely valid as there is limited generalisabilty to the real situation. The studies in this review which have increased validity are those with large numbers of retrospective case histories and autopsies but these are mostly published in literature from the USA. The frequency and acceptance of excited delirium syndrome as a cause of death in restraint incidents in this body of literature, and the use of ‘hobble’ restraint methods as the most common technique in these cases, make inferences and associations with UK deaths in custody more problematic. Simply restraining an individual in a prone position may be seen as restricting the ability to breathe, so lessening the supply of oxygen to meet the body’s demands. Restriction of the neck, chest wall or diaphragm can also occur when the head is forced downwards towards the knees. Laboured breathing and cessation of resistance may demonstrate collapse and indicate a medical emergency rather than cooperation from the individual. Other theories, besides positional asphyxia, were examined. These included acute behavioural disturbance and excited delirium, stress-related cardiomyopathy and the role of alcohol and drug abuse. Six of the thirty eight deaths noted in this report involved individuals with pre-existing conditions that may have increased the risk of cardiac arrest: e.g. ischaemic heart disease, diabetes and four people suffered from epilepsy. Sixteen cases had a history of mental illness, specifically psychosis. Positional asphyxia appears to be implicated in at least twenty six deaths (whether or not given as a verdict) because of struggle/physical stressors prior to restraint, number of staff involved and, in particular, because of the length of time of the restraint and position of the individual. Expert opinion and reviews were sought. There was consensus that there was a gap in reporting restraint-related deaths. Overall concerns were raised as to whether direct cause and effect can be determined in deaths as they often involve a mixture of complex factors and situations. The general view was that it should be assumed that everyone is at a potential risk rather than try to profile individuals only medically at risk. This is a class of death not fully understood and is multifactorial. Finally, a gap analysis was developed, including training and risk assessment issues, and implications for practice were discussed as a result of the expert opinion.

Details: United Kingdom: Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, 2011. 92p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 22, 2012 at http://iapdeathsincustody.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Caring-Solutions-UK-Ltd-Review-of-Medical-Theories-of-Restraint-Deaths.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://iapdeathsincustody.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Caring-Solutions-UK-Ltd-Review-of-Medical-Theories-of-Restraint-Deaths.pdf

Shelf Number: 123733

Keywords:
Deaths in Custody (United Kingdom)
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders
Restraint

Author: Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts

Title: Task Force for Criminal Justice Collaboration on Mental Health Issues: Final Report

Summary: The Judicial Council’s Task Force for Criminal Justice Collaboration on Mental Health Issues recommends that the Judicial Council receive its final report and recommendations and direct the Administrative Director of the Courts to prepare an implementation plan. When approved, the recommendations will provide a framework for improving practices and procedures in cases involving both adult and juvenile offenders with mental illness, for ensuring the fair and expeditious administration of justice for offenders with mental illness, and for promoting improved access to treatment for litigants with mental illness both in the community and in the criminal justice system.

Details: San Francisco, CA: Judicial Council of California, Administrative Office of the Courts, 2011. 375p.

Source: Report to the Judicial Council: Internet Resource: Accessed on February 3, 2012 at http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/20110429itemo.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/20110429itemo.pdf

Shelf Number: 123927

Keywords:
Adult Offenders
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health Services (California)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Immarigeon, Russ

Title: Diversion Works: How Connecticut Can Downsize Prisons, Improve Public Safety and Save Money with a Comprehensive Mental Health and Substance Abuse Approach

Summary: After leading the nation in prison population reduction in 2003, Connecticut's prison population reached record high levels this year, with more than 19,800 men and women behind bars. A recent prison population forecast by the Connecticut Statistical Analysis Center indicates that, unless measures are quickly taken to bring prison population levels back under control, taxpayers are likely to be burdened with excessive and rising costs to pay for capacity expansion. This report outlines how Connecticut can save money and increase public safety through diverting people with mental health and substance abuse issues away from prison.

Details: New York: Drug Policy Alliance, 2008. 19p.

Source: A Better Way Foundation Report, Commissioned by the Drug Policy Alliance: Internet Resource: Accessed February 18, 2012 at http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/DiversionWorks.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL: http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/DiversionWorks.pdf

Shelf Number: 124180

Keywords:
Corrections (Connecticut)
Diversion
Drug Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Public Safety

Author: Rossman, Shelli B.

Title: Criminal Justice Interventions for Offenders with Mental Illness: Evaluation of Mental Health Courts in Bronx and Brooklyn, New York

Summary: Mental health courts (MHCs) emerged more than a decade ago. Initially implemented in Broward County, FL, in 1997, there are more than 250 MHCs now operating in the U.S., with others planned. The spread of mental health courts is likely due to the confluence of several trends (Denckla and Berman 2001; Fisher, Silver, and Wolff 2006; Pogrebin and Poole 1987; Rossman, Roman, et al. 2011; Teplin 1984), including: • Resources available for treating populations with mental health problems systematically shifted during the 1960s and early 1970s from residential, state-run psychiatric hospitals to community-based settings, resulting in the deinstitutionalization of individuals needing mental health services, without a concomitant increase in the availability of such services. • Law enforcement agencies have increasingly encountered offenders with mental illness who must be processed under their purviews. • Problem-solving courts⎯after which mental health courts are modeled⎯have evolved from an originally grassroots response (to burgeoning drug offender arrests and prosecutions that overwhelmed the capacity of courts) into a welldocumented successful strategy, employed in numerous jurisdictions, to mitigate offenders’ substance use, prevent relapse, support crime desistance, and achieve significant reductions in crime. By the early 2000s, it had become starkly clear that the criminal justice system, de facto, was not only the primary public response to inappropriate behaviors by persons with mental illness, but also that such individuals were over-represented within criminal justice populations. In response, various federal agencies supported programming and services targeting offenders with mental disorders. In line with this increasing awareness, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) commissioned an Evaluation of Criminal Justice Interventions for Mentally Ill Offenders (now entitled Criminal Justice Interventions for Offenders With Mental Illness: Evaluation of Mental Health Courts in Bronx and Brooklyn, New York) to assess two distinct approaches to handling offenders with mental health problems in the criminal justice system: 1) the Brooklyn MHC, a specialized problem-solving court operating in the Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York, and 2) the Pinellas County Mentally-Ill Diversion Program, operating in the 6th Judicial Circuit’s Public Defender’s Office in Clearwater, Florida. Subsequently, the Florida site was replaced by a second MHC in Bronx, NY. This report provides an overview of the study funded by NIJ; summarizes key findings from the process and impact components of the evaluation; and identifies implications for practice, policy, and future research.

Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2012. 202p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/238264.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/238264.pdf

Shelf Number: 125107

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts (New York)
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Henry, Kelli

Title: Mental Health Services for Justice-Involved Youth: A Process and Outcome Evaluation of QUEST Futures

Summary: QUEST Futures began operations in October 2008 as a demonstration project designed to meet the mental health needs of justice-involved youth in Queens, New York. The program was established by the Center for Court Innovation in collaboration with the New York City Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator, the Queens Family Court, the New York City Departments of Probation and Health and Mental Hygiene, and other juvenile justice and mental health stakeholders. Researchers from the Center for Court Innovation conducted an evaluation covering the program’s planning process, which began in 2003, and its first 24 months of operations, from October 2008 through September 2010. The evaluation was designed to assess the planning process; describe key features of the program’s model; and present six in-depth case studies as well as quantitative data on participant characteristics and outcomes.

Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2012. 103p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2012 at: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/Mental_Health_Services_Youth.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/Mental_Health_Services_Youth.pdf

Shelf Number: 125109

Keywords:
Juvenile Offenders (New York)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Hornick, Joseph P.

Title: An Evaluation of Yukon's Community Wellness Court

Summary: The Yukon Community Wellness Court (CWC) is a therapeutic court model that is designed to work with offenders to address the underlying, root causes of their offending behaviour. The Court was established in May 2007 as a response to the recognition that a substantial proportion of offenders in the Yukon have underlying issues related to wellness such as alcohol and drug addictions, mental health problems, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). This report presents results of a comprehensive process and summative outcome evaluation analysis designed to monitor and test the effectiveness of the CWC. More specifically, the evaluation objectives were as follows: (1) to identify whether the Community Wellness Court and program continues to be implemented as planned; and (2) to determine the effectiveness of the Community Wellness Court process and program at achieving their objectives.

Details: Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, 2011. 129p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 14, 2012 at:

Year: 2011

Country: Canada

URL:

Shelf Number: 125263

Keywords:
Alcoholism
Drug Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts (Yukon, Canada)

Author: Bingham, Elizabeth

Title: Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading? Canada’s Treatment of Federally-sentenced Women with Mental Health Issues

Summary: The inquest into the 2007 death of Ashley Smith while in federal custody has been repeatedly delayed, but the issues that Ms. Smith’s death raises remain pressing. At its most basic level, Ms. Smith died due to the state’s conviction that solitary confinement is a legitimate response to mental illness, coupled with systemic discrimination against federally sentenced women who have inadequate mental health treatment and community support. Ms. Smith’s death should have been a wakeup call for Canada but, instead, nearly five years and at least four major reports later, Canada has shown absolutely no willingness to address human rights violations against FSW with mental health issues. This report is the culmination of a 20-month research project spearheaded by the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. It details Canada’s treatment of FSW with mental health issues, and analyzes this treatment through the lens of international human rights law. Our research indicates that the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) responds to FSW with mental health issues in a discriminatory manner. CSC equates mental health issues with increased risk and responds with excessive use of segregation (sometimes for months at a time), repeated institutional transfers (sometimes over ten times in a year), and use of force (including restraints). This treatment is exacerbated by a lack of adequate mental health care resources for FSW and training for prison staff. We find that CSC’s treatment of FSW with mental health issues is a violation of their rights under international law. Canada’s treatment of FSW with mental health issues is discriminatory; results in an unjustified deprivation of liberty without judicial oversight; violates the right to health; and, in cases where women are segregated for long periods or subject to excessive institutional transfers, constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Moreover, CSC’s refusal to provide us with basic statistics and information about the treatment of FSW with mental health issues constitutes a further violation of the CRPD.

Details: Toronto: University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, International Human Rights Program, 2012. 74p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2012 at: http://tinyurl.com/6psz4qr

Year: 2012

Country: Canada

URL: http://tinyurl.com/6psz4qr

Shelf Number: 125339

Keywords:
Female Inmates
Female Prisoners (Canada)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Ogloff, James R.P.

Title: The Identification of Mental Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

Summary: Although mental illness is widely recognised as a problem in modern society, it presents particular challenges for the criminal justice system. Research has shown that offenders have higher rates of mental illness than the general community. The Criminology Research Council commissioned a study to assess the level of screening and the instruments used across the jurisdictions by criminal justice agencies. Based on interviews and relevant documentation, the researchers found that, although assessment occurs in all jurisdictions and sectors, there is little consistency in the way offenders are assessed. As a result, the paper argues for a thorough, nationwide system of screening of all accused offenders taken into police custody, to identify those who require a comprehensive mental health assessment. Such assessments need to be repeated as an offender moves through the various stages of the criminal justice system. For there to be an effective and efficient response to mental illness, the authors recommend not only that assessments be shared between criminal justice agencies but also that there be ongoing dialogue between mental health and justice agencies. However, little will be achieved unless courts, police, and parole authorities are given training and resources to better meet the needs of the mentally ill. A more fundamental issue is why over-representation of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system occurs, and the authors call for further research on this key threshold issue.

Details: Melbourne: Monash University, Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, 2006. 69p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 27, 2012 at: http://www.criminologyresearchcouncil.gov.au/reports/2006-ogloff.html

Year: 2006

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.criminologyresearchcouncil.gov.au/reports/2006-ogloff.html

Shelf Number: 125419

Keywords:
Mental Health Services(Australia)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Royal College of Psychiatrists

Title: Prison Transfers: A Survey from the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Summary: In his review of people with mental health problems and intellectual disabilities in the criminal justice system, Lord Bradley highlighted unacceptable delays in transferring acutely unwell prisoners to hospital. He recommended the government develop a new minimum target for the National Health Service (NHS) of 14 days to transfer a prisoner with acute, severe mental illness to an appropriate healthcare setting. The Department of Health is currently working to identify some of the key barriers that have an impact on timely transfers. The Royal College of Psychiatrists consulted with its members who work within prisons and secure healthcare settings across England and Wales. The purpose of this consultation was to explore the issues around prison transfers (Section 47 and Section 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983) with the view to: 1 gauging whether a national 14-day transfer target was considered reasonable 2 identifying key barriers and possible solutions to timely prison transfers. This consultation concentrated on a number of key areas within the prison transfer process including assessments, information-sharing, bed management, remittance and commissioning. Although a clear majority of psychiatrists agree that 14 days is a reasonable target to transfer a prisoner with acute, severe mental illness to an appropriate healthcare setting to secure treatment as quickly as possible, there were some reservations about how this could practically be achieved. Many of the problems identified as contributing to the delays in the prison transfer process appear to be administrative, such as information-sharing, poor communication, etc. However, these administrative problems can lead to significant cumulative inefficiencies within the system, which can be costly and result in delays. The consultation was designed to elicit problems and barriers associated with the prison transfer process and did not explore why psychiatrists thought the target was reasonable, or why they did not think provider assessments were always necessary. So although the majority considered the target reasonable, their reasons were not given. This is an area of great concern for many psychiatrists who participated in this consultation. Therefore, a follow-up questionnaire explored these issues with some participants and their responses are included here. The College would like to build on this work and explore further some of the issues raised as a result of this consultation.

Details: London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2011. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Paper OP81: Accessed September 27, 2012 at: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/PRISON%20TRANSFERS%20OP81.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/PRISON%20TRANSFERS%20OP81.pdf

Shelf Number: 126483

Keywords:
Health Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners (U.K.)

Author: Victoria (AUS). Office of Police Integrity

Title: Policing People Who Appear to be Mentally Ill

Summary: This report sets out the findings of a review by the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) into the way Victoria Police responds to people who appear to have a mental illness. In 2009 the Victorian Auditor General’s Office completed a review into interagency coordination, preparedness and effectiveness in responding to mental health crises. OPI’s review follows on from the Auditor General’s report and assesses whether more could be done to enhance Victoria Police’s responses to people who appear to have a mental illness. The interaction between police and people who appear to be mentally ill is a well- established one. In Victoria the over-representation of people who have a mental illness in fatal police shootings is extensively documented. Although this over-representation remains concerning, it overshadows the more routine nature of interactions between police and people who appear to have a mental illness. These interactions are remarkably frequent. According to recently published research, police in Victoria report that in any average week they regularly come into contact with people who appear to have a mental illness.1 Fifty percent of police reported this occurs one to two times a week, with more than a third of police reporting between three and ten encounters. As well as occurring frequently these interactions are often time consuming and complex in nature. This is not unique to Victoria. As this report sets out, the relatively high proportion of police encounters with people who appear to have a mental illness is in large part the product of deinstitutionalisation. Beginning in the 1960s in Victoria, deinstitutionalisation rapidly escalated in the 1980s and 1990s. Whilst well intentioned, as has been the case internationally, the closure of institutionalised settings did not occur in tandem with adequate provision of community based mental health services. This has led to at times dramatic consequences. An unacceptable over-representation of mentally ill persons in fatal shootings by Victoria Police in the late 1980s and 1990s attests to this. Victoria Police responded to these concerning statistics effectively in the form of Project Beacon in 1996. The key message underpinning the philosophy of this intervention was that the success of an operation will primarily be judged by the extent to which the use of force is avoided or minimised. Following this initiative the effectiveness of this message has at times waned. This review and previous reports by OPI have emphasised this: while it is important to learn lessons, it is incumbent on Victoria Police to ensure that these lessons are remembered. The review included an examination of academic literature about established best practice in delivering policing services to people who appear to have a mental illness. Different models used by police in other jurisdictions are considered in this report. In a context of finite resources to respond to people who appear to be experiencing a mental health crisis, innovative service delivery is required to ensure that responses are effective and efficient. On this measure, Victoria Police has delivered positive initiatives on a trial basis which have improved responsiveness to people in these situations. The Police Ambulance and Clinical Early Response (PACER) program has constituted a unique and effective way to provide onsite assistance to people who appear to have a mental illness while also easing the strain on emergency departments and other mental health services. Notwithstanding this the original PACER program has concluded and its future status is uncertain. A variation was recently trialled in conjunction with the Alfred Hospital and a similar pilot is currently underway at Eastern Health. Any long-term commitment beyond the life of these pilots by the Department of Health or Area Mental Health Services remains uncertain. This emphasises the need for Victoria Police to further consider other frameworks or models to respond to people who appear to have a mental illness. PACER is only one such model. The current position of the Department of Health requires Victoria Police to consider other alternatives. This review considered the recommendations arising from a large scale collaborative research project between Monash University, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare) and Victoria Police. The ‘Police Responses to the Interface with Mental Disorder’ project investigated Victoria Police practices, policies and procedures in dealing with people who appear to have a mental illness and interactions with other mental health services. One of the key recommendations arising from this project was the establishment of a dedicated facility where people experiencing mental health crises can be taken for immediate assessment and care. OPI’s review has considered the merits of this recommendation. The establishment of such a facility could promote better care and emergency treatment for people who have an acute mental episode in metropolitan Melbourne, while easing the strain on resources that police and some emergency departments currently experience. Although this review focused on the police response to people who appear to be mentally ill, the findings of this review indicate that there is still room for improving the understanding across agencies about the different roles and responsibilities police, paramedics, hospital emergency department staff and mental health practitioners have in these situations. Police have a key responsibility to ensure the safety of people threatening harm to themselves or others. Where the person threatening harm appears to be mentally ill, the focus of any response should be on health and harm minimisation principles. In this context health practitioners have a primary responsibility to respond. The role of police is to support their response. For example, police may be required to take action to ensure the safety and welfare of not only the person appearing to be mentally ill but also mental health service providers, paramedics, staff in hospital emergency departments and members of the public in the vicinity of the person. Experience demonstrates the best responses to people experiencing a mental health crisis in the community require multi-agency cooperation and collaboration at a local, regional and state level. Ensuring cooperation across health, welfare, community support and emergency services and the provision of professional, timely and safe responses to people who have a mental illness and their carers is not the sole responsibility of police. It is a whole-of-government issue requiring whole-of-government consideration and response.

Details: Melbourne: Office of Police Integrity, 2012. 60p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2012 at: www.opi.vic.gov.au

Year: 2012

Country: Australia

URL:

Shelf Number: 126943

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons (Australia)
Police Services for the Mentally Ill

Author: Lynch, Shannon M.

Title: Women's Pathways to Jail: The Roles & Intersections of Serious Mental Illness & Trauma

Summary: This multi-site study addressed critical gaps in the literature by assessing the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders (SUD) in women in jail and pathways to offending for women with and without SMI. Using a randomly selected sample (N = 491) from rural and urban jails, this study employed a structured diagnostic interview to assess current and lifetime prevalence of SMI (e.g., major depression, bipolar, and psychotic spectrum disorders), PTSD, and SUD in women in jail. Women’s prior access to treatment and level of functional impairment in the past 12 months was also assessed. Next, qualitative Life History Calendar (LHC) interviews were conducted with a subset of the sample (N = 115) to examine how onset of different types of criminal activity and delinquency vary as a function of mental health status and trauma exposure. Finally, we also interviewed corrections staff members (N = 37) at participating jail sites to assess staff members’ perceptions about the prevalence of mental health difficulties in women in jail as well as staff beliefs about women’s pathways to jail. Notably, 43% of participants met criteria for a lifetime SMI, and 32% met SMI criteria in the past 12 months. Substance use disorders were the most commonly occurring disorders, with 82% of the sample meeting lifetime criteria for drug or alcohol abuse or dependence. Similarly, PTSD rates were high with just over half the sample (53%) meeting criteria for lifetime PTSD. Women also met criteria for multiple lifetime disorders at high rates. Finally, 30 to 45% of individuals who met criteria for a current disorder reported severely impaired functioning in the past year. Women with SMI reported greater rates of victimization and more extensive offending histories than women who did not meet criteria for lifetime SMI. In a test of our proposed model, experiences of childhood victimization and adult trauma did not directly predict offending histories; instead both forms of victimization increased the risk of poor mental health, and poor mental health predicted a greater offending history. Next, quantitative LHC data were analyzed to elucidate patterns of offending over the lifespan. SMI significantly increased women’s risk for onset of substance use, drug dealing/charges, property crime, fighting/assault, and running away. In addition, experiences of victimization predicted risk of offending. The third component of this study included interviews with corrections staff including supervisors, health practitioners, and corrections officers/deputies. These staff members indicated a general awareness that women’s experiences of victimization were linked with their entry into the criminal justice system. Further, many staff were aware of women’s mental health problems. In particular, they expressed concern that there were limited resources in jail for women struggling with mental illness, and that women were then released from jail with little to no assistance to support their attempts to change behavior and lifestyle. Understanding female offenders’ pathways to offending, including both risk for onset and risk for continued offending, helps elucidate the complexity of their experiences and identify key factors and intervening variables that may ameliorate or exacerbate risk. This type of research is critical to development of gender responsive programming, alternatives to incarceration, and problem-solving court initiatives.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2012. 91p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2013 at: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/Women_Pathways_to_Jail.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/Women_Pathways_to_Jail.pdf

Shelf Number: 127341

Keywords:
Drug Abuse and Crime
Female Offenders (U.S.)
Jails
Mentally Ill Offenders
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Substance Abuse and Crime

Author: Stageberg, Paul

Title: Comprehensive Jail Diversion Program-Mental Health Courts Study

Summary: On April 12, 2012 Governor Branstad signed Senate File 2312, an Act Relating to Persons with Mental Health Illnesses and Substance Related Disorders. Section 18. Comprehensive Jail Diversion Program-Mental Health Courts –Study. The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning of the Department of Human Rights shall conduct a study regarding the possible establishment of a comprehensive statewide jail diversion program including:  The establishment of mental health courts, for nonviolent criminal offenders who suffer from mental illness.  The division shall solicit input from the Department of Human Services, the Department of Corrections, and other members of the criminal justice system including but not limited to judges, prosecutors, and defense counsel, and mental health treatment providers and consumers.  The division shall establish the duties, scope, and membership of the study commission and shall also consider the feasibility of establishing a demonstration mental health court.  The division shall submit a report on the study and make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2012. This study draws primarily from existing reports and research findings of other programs. Included here are a review of the prevalence of mentally ill offenders in the criminal justice (CJ) system, the system’s response to the problem, findings of participant outcomes, reported costs, special considerations regarding mental health courts, the status of jail diversion programs and mental health courts in Iowa, and recommendations. One of the requirements of the legislation was to consider the feasibility of establishing a demonstration mental health court in Iowa. This directive was not examined because Iowa currently has two mental health courts in operation and one under consideration. Woodbury County has operated a mental health court since 2001 and Black Hawk County since 2009. Polk County has recently received funds from the Council of State Governments, Justice Center to review a mental health court curriculum for developing mental health courts. Recommendations for the establishment of a comprehensive statewide jail diversion program, including the establishment of mental health courts for nonviolent criminal offenders who suffer from mental illness, are limited to operational issues gleaned from existing reports and interviews. Due to limited staff resources and a lack of funding, no assessment of cost or delineation of funding responsibilities (state, local), or estimation of potential implementation timelines was undertaken.

Details: Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Human Rights, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, Statistical Analysis Center, 2012. 60p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2013 at: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/LSA/IntComHand/2013/IHJCP000.PDF

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/LSA/IntComHand/2013/IHJCP000.PDF

Shelf Number: 127399

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Community Treatment
Jail Diversion (Iowa)
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Reuland, Melissa

Title: Statewide Law Enforcement/ Mental Health Efforts Strategies to Support and Sustain Local Initiatives

Summary: Nationwide, law enforcement agencies in rapidly increasing numbers have embraced specialized policing responses (SPRs, pronounced “spurs”) to people with mental illnesses. These efforts, which prioritize treatment over incarceration when appropriate, are planned and implemented in partnership with community service providers and citizens. The two most prevalent SPR approaches are Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) and police-mental health co-responder teams. CITs, pioneered by the Memphis (TN) Police Department, draw on a self-selected cadre of officers trained to identify signs and symptoms of mental illness, to de-escalate any situation involving an individual who appears to have a mental illness, and to connect that person in crisis to treatment. The second approach, co-responder teams, forged by the Los Angeles (CA) Police Department and San Diego County (CA) Sheriff’s Department, pairs officers with mental health professionals to respond to calls involving people in mental health crisis. Other law enforcement agencies have modified or combined these strategies, but a common goal holds for all forms of specialized responses: increased safety for all individuals involved. Evidence suggests that when SPRs are appropriately implemented, departments show a decrease in officer injuries and improvements in connecting the individual involved to mental health treatment. Since the groundbreaking efforts in Memphis and California began, these programs have spread steadily to new communities, but largely by word of mouth or in response to a policeinvolved tragedy. Traditionally, practitioners and advocates have traveled to SPR locations and then adapted approaches to their own jurisdictions’ needs. But as the demand for technical assistance has increased, it has become impractical for interested communities to learn directly from the program originators. Furthermore, many agencies lack the capacity to send a team to another jurisdiction as well as the expertise to tailor the program to their distinct needs. As a result, individual states have responded to the growing need to support SPRs by assigning a public agency or nonprofit the lead role in helping local communities to design, implement, and sustain effective responses to people with mental illnesses. In other instances, this responsibility has been taken over by state government, which is especially well structured to meet the needs of interested local agencies and to make resources and technical assistance available. Specifically, state legislatures create the laws that authorize police powers for emergency mental health evaluations and custody. The allocation of many mental health resources is coordinated at the state level as well. State-level organizations have been well positioned to create incentives for innovative partnerships among law enforcement agencies, the community, and the mental health system. These incentives have distinct benefits over state mandates that may not include adequate funding support. Coordinating SPR efforts statewide can also facilitate regional pooling of resources, which helps ensure that smaller or rural agencies can implement this type of program. This paper describes how statewide coordination efforts are structured in three states—Connecticut, Ohio, and Utah—and synthesizes their successes and challenges in coordinating this work. The purpose of the document is to provide readers with a description of how statewide efforts can be organized and play a role in supporting SPRs within their borders.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments, Justice Center, 2012. 66p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2013 at: http://consensusproject.org/documents/0000/1613/1.8.12_Statewide_LE_MH_web.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://consensusproject.org/documents/0000/1613/1.8.12_Statewide_LE_MH_web.pdf

Shelf Number: 127407

Keywords:
Crisis Intervention
Mental Health Services (U.S.)
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Services for the Mentally Ill
Police Specialized Units

Author: Louden, Jennifer Eno

Title: Parolees with Mental Disorder: Toward Evidence-Based Practice

Summary: In the U.S., the rate of such serious mental disorders as major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia is about two times higher among incarcerated men and three times higher in incarcerated women than in the general population (Teplin, 1994; Teplin, Abram, & McClelland, 1996). Estimates suggest that approximately 14.5% of prison inmates have a serious mental disorder (Diamond, Wang, Holzer, Thomas, & Cruzer, 2001; Fazel & Danesh, 2002; Steadman, Osher, Robbins, Case, & Samuels, 2009). As the number of persons supervised by the criminal justice system in the United States grows—it is now at an all-time high of 7.2 million (Glaze & Bonczar, 2007)—so will the number of offenders with serious mental disorder. Although the criminal justice system was not designed to meet the needs of offenders with mental disorder, it has become an integral component of the “de facto” mental health care system. For example, Los Angeles County jail, Riker’s Island jail in New York, and Cook County jail in Chicago each hold more people with mental illness than the largest psychiatric inpatient facilities in the United States (Torrey, 1995). As noted by the Council of State Governments (2002), “the current situation not only exacts a significant toll on the lives of people with mental illness, their families, and the community in general, it also threatens to overwhelm the criminal justice system” (p. 6). Community supervision is a crucial context for beginning to address this problem. Most offenders are supervised in the community on probation or parole1 rather than being incarcerated in 1 Probation and parole are both mechanisms for community supervision, but differ in a meaningful way: probation is a sentence in itself (in lieu of jail), whereas parole is a period of supervision that occurs after a prison term (Abadinsky, 2000). Thus, parolees are generally more serious offenders than probationers. prisons or jails (Glaze & Bonczar, 2007). Compared to their relatively healthy counterparts, probationers and parolees with mental disorders (PMDs) are more likely to have their community term revoked, often for committing a technical violation (breaking of the rules of community supervision, such as associating with known criminals; Cloyes, Wong, Latimer, & Abarca, 2010; Porporino & Motiuk, 1995). This deepens their involvement in the criminal justice system. Understanding parole and mental health is particularly important in California. First, California has the largest parole population in the nation (Petersilia, 2006), in part because every individual released from prison in the state serves at least one year of parole. Second, California’s rate of return to prison for parolees is notoriously high (Grattet, Petersilia, & Lin, 2008). Third, California has long had a system in place for addressing the needs of parolees with mental disorder. The Mental Health Services Continuum Program (MHSCP) is a prison “in-reach” program designed to identify the most seriously ill parolees and refer them to Parole Outpatient Clinics (POCs) for mental health treatment. MHSCP social workers conduct pre-release needs assessments of paroling inmates with mental disorder, assist with applications for social service assistance, and refer them to the outpatient clinics. The focus is on two classes of inmates with major mental disorders identified in the prison: (a) Correctional Clinical Case Management System (CCCMS) inmates who are determined to be stable and have minimal treatment needs, and (b) Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP) who are characterized by active psychotic symptoms and substantial treatment needs. The most recent available evaluation of the MHSCP program suggests that it has strengths and weaknesses: parolees who receive the evaluation are more likely to receive psychiatric services, but many eligible parolees do not receive the services intended and many return to prison (Farabee, Bennett, Garcia, Warda, & Yang, 2006). Even with these enhanced services, a detailed analysis of all California parolees reported that EOP and CCCMS parolees were at 36% higher risk of committing a new offense than non-disordered parolees, and had an even higher rate of technical violations (70% higher risk; Grattet et al., 2008). To effect change in the recidivism rate of California’s PMDs, this group must be better understood so that recommendations can be tailored to meet their unique needs.

Details: Irvine, CA: UC Invine, Center for Evidence-Based Corrections, 2011. 9p.

Source: Internet Resource: The Bulletin, 7(1): Accessed January 30, 2013 at: http://ucicorrections.seweb.uci.edu/sites/ucicorrections.seweb.uci.edu/files/Parolees%20with%20Mental%20Disorder.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://ucicorrections.seweb.uci.edu/sites/ucicorrections.seweb.uci.edu/files/Parolees%20with%20Mental%20Disorder.pdf

Shelf Number: 127449

Keywords:
Evidence-Based Practices
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Parolees (California, U.S.)

Author: Kretschmar, Jeff M.

Title: An Evaluation of the Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) Initiative: 2006-2011

Summary: Juvenile justice-involved youth with serious behavioral health issues often have inadequate and limited access to care to address their complex and multiple needs. Ohio’s Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) initiative was intended to transform and expand the local systems’ options to better serve these youth. Recent emphasis was placed on decreasing the population of ODYS facilities while providing alternatives to incarceration. To assist with this aim, four of the previously existing BHJJ counties (Cuyahoga, Franklin, Montgomery, and Hamilton) as well as two new counties (Lucas and Summit) were funded by a partnership between the Ohio Departments of Youth Services (ODYS) and Mental Health (ODMH). The Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University provided research and evaluation services for the program. The BHJJ program diverts youth from local and state detention centers into more comprehensive, community-based mental and behavioral health treatment. The BHJJ program enrolled juvenile justice-involved youth between 10-18 years of age who met several of the following criteria: a DSM IV Axis I diagnosis, substantial mental status impairment, a co-occurring substance use/abuse problem, a pattern of violent or criminal behavior, and a history of multi-system involvement. Demographics and Youth Characteristics  1758 youth have been enrolled in BHJJ (55% males). In the two years since BHJJ has operated only in the large urban counties, more non-whites (60%) than whites (40%) have been enrolled.  Youth averaged 2.5 Axis I diagnoses. Females were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with Depressive Disorders, Alcohol-related Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Males were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Conduct Disorder.  Of youth enrolled since July 2009, 41% of females and 43% of males were diagnosed with both a mental health and substance use diagnosis.  Caregivers reported that 30% of the females had a history of sexual abuse, nearly 50% talked about suicide, and over 22% had attempted suicide. Over half the males (59%) and females (67%) had family members who were diagnosed with or showed signs of depression.  According to the OYAS, 76% of the youth served in BHJJ were moderate or high risk.  In the current BHJJ counties, 34% of youth had felony charges in the 12 months prior to enrollment, ranging from 20% in Montgomery County to 94% in Summit County.  In the current BHJJ counties, 34% of youth had felony charges in the 12 months prior to enrollment, ranging from 20% in Montgomery County to 94% in Summit County.

Details: Cleveland, OH: Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 2012. 232p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2013 at: http://mentalhealth.ohio.gov/assets/children-youth-families/system-of-care/bhjj-2011-evaluation-final-6-9-12.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://mentalhealth.ohio.gov/assets/children-youth-families/system-of-care/bhjj-2011-evaluation-final-6-9-12.pdf

Shelf Number: 127458

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Juvenile Offenders (Ohio, U.S.)
Mental Health Services, Juvenile Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Council of State Governments. Justice Center

Title: Improving Outcomes for People with Mental Illnesses Involved with New York City's Criminal Court and Correction Systems

Summary: This report, commissioned by Mayor Bloomberg and completed with support from the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Jacob & Valeria Langeloth Foundation, presents the results of an unprecedented analysis of the mental health needs, criminogenic risk, and risk of failure to appear in court for individuals admitted to the New York City Department of Correction. The report’s findings are based on tens of thousands of records from city, state, and nonprofit agencies and show important differences in outcomes for those with mental illnesses entering the New York City jail system. Based on the study’s findings and with the guidance of the Mayor’s Criminal Justice and Mental Health Initiative Steering Committee, the report also identifies a set of policy recommendations and strategies to determine the levels of risks and needs for individuals entering the jail system; to provide appropriate pretrial, plea, and sentencing options; and to establish centralized resource hubs for coordinating assessment information and community-based supervision and treatment options. As a result of this initiative, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York City will create "Court-based Intervention and Resource Teams" (CIRTs) to serve over 3,000 clients with mental health needs annually. New York City now serves as a national model for how a large urban area can use data to develop policies to increase public safety, reduce jail costs, and help connect individuals with mental illnesses to effective community-based health services.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2012. 17p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 12, 2013 at: http://consensusproject.org/jc_publications/improving-outcomes-nyc-criminal-justice-mental-health/FINAL_NYC_Report_12_22_2012.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://consensusproject.org/jc_publications/improving-outcomes-nyc-criminal-justice-mental-health/FINAL_NYC_Report_12_22_2012.pdf

Shelf Number: 127595

Keywords:
Jails
Mental Health Care (New York City)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Forsythe, Lubica

Title: Measuring Mental Health in Criminology Research: Lessons from the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia Program

Summary: Poor mental health among people in the Australian criminal justice system is increasingly being identified and targeted for remediation. This is evidenced by Australian and international governments establishing specialist services for prisoners with mental disorders such as forensic hospitals, forensic units within prisons and specialist drug treatment programs within correctional environments (eg Birgden & Grant 2010; Justice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network 2011). Drug courts, mental health courts, court liaison services and pre-court diversion schemes for drug addicted or mentally ill offenders are also increasingly being established to divert mentally disordered and/or substance dependent offenders away from the criminal justice system and towards treatment (Justice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network 2011; Payne 2006; Richardson 2008). This focus by the criminal justice system on addiction and mental health stems from evidence indicating that these factors may be related to offending behaviour and rehabilitation prospects (Andrews & Bonta 2010; Day & Howells 2008). The link between illicit drug use and criminal offending has been well established (Andrews & Bonta 2010; Bradford & Payne 2012; Kinner et al. 2009) and evidence also suggests a relationship between mental disorders and illicit drug use (Degenhardt 2008; Frisher et al. 2005; Marsh 2008; Mattick & O’Brien 2008). However, the findings regarding a relationship between mental disorders and offending behaviour are varied (Andrews & Bonta 2010), with some studies suggesting that the relationship is not a direct one but rather, may be mediated by substance abuse (Elbogen & Johnson 2009; Fazel et al. 2009). While it is arguable that mental disorders play a causal role in offending behaviour, studies have identified that imprisoned offenders experience poor mental health (AIHW 2012; Butler & Allnutt 2003; Fazel & Danesh 2002). It is also widely accepted that offenders who are mentally ill are less able to respond to offender rehabilitation programs (Andrews & Bonta 2010), thereby making mental health treatment important not only on humanitarian grounds but also to give offender rehabilitation programs the best possible chance of success. It is important to note that prisoners constitute a minority of offenders, as most people who appear in court are not given a custodial sentence (BOCSAR 2012), however recent studies of police detainees suggest that alleged offenders (ie those not yet brought before the courts) may also experience poor mental health at the time of their arrest (Baksheev, Ogloff & Thomas 2010; Forsythe & Gaffney 2012; Heffernan et al. 2003). One issue that has been highlighted by such studies is the challenge of accurately measuring mental health among people who are detained for short periods of time in police cells or watchhouses. This report is focused on describing and discussing the process and challenges inherent in measuring mental health concerns among alleged offenders in police custody. This is, in part, informed by the author’s experience as the Site Manager responsible for DUMA data collection in New South Wales from 1999–2010; a role that included evaluating and improving the mental health information collected as part of the DUMA program.

Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2013. 23p.

Source: Internet Resource: Technical and Background Paper 54: Accessed February 21, 2013 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/41-60/tbp054.html

Year: 2013

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/41-60/tbp054.html

Shelf Number: 127681

Keywords:
Drug Offenders
Mental Health Services (Australia)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Schnittker, Jason

Title: Out and Down: The Effects of Incarceration on Psychiatric Disorders and Disability

Summary: Although psychiatric disorders are common among current and former inmates, a putative causal relationship is contaminated by assorted influences, including childhood disadvantage, the early onset of most disorders, and the criminalization of substance use, which is itself comorbid with a variety of other subsequent psychiatric disorders. Using the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, this study examines the relationship after statistically adjusting for these powerful and multidimensional selection processes. The analysis reveals a positive association between incarceration and both current and lifetime psychiatric disorders, while helping to unpack its underpinnings. Results indicate that (i) some of the most common disorders found among former inmates emerge in childhood and adolescence; (ii) the effects of incarceration dissipate somewhat over time, having a smaller impact on current disorders than lifetime disorders; and (iii) substance disorders anticipate both other psychiatric disorders and incarceration. Yet the results also reveal robust incarceration effects on certain disorders, which are no less consequential for being specific. In particular, incarceration has a robust relationship with subsequent mood disorders, related to feeling “down”, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia. These disorders, in turn, are strongly related to social and economic disability. Indeed, mood disorders explain much of the additional social disability former inmates experience following release. For those concerned with prisoner reintegration, mood disorders may be an important—and generally neglected—consideration.

Details: Unpublished Paper, 2011. 50p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: http://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/110115

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/110115

Shelf Number: 127694

Keywords:
Imprisonment, Effects
Mental Health (U.S.)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Biasotti, Michael C.

Title: Management of the Severely Mentally Ill and its Effects on Homeland Security

Summary: As a result of the events of September 11, 2001, law enforcement agencies nationwide have been assigned a plethora of terrorism prevention and recovery related duties. Many federal documents outline and emphasize duties and responsibilities pertaining to local law enforcement. The prevention of acts of terrorism within communities has become a focal point of patrol activities for state and local police agencies. Simultaneously, local law enforcement is dealing with the unintended consequences of a policy change that in effect removed the daily care of our nation’s severely mentally ill population from the medical community and placed it with the criminal justice system. This policy change has caused a spike in the frequency of arrests of severely mentally ill persons, prison and jail population and the homeless population. A nationwide survey of 2,406 senior law enforcement officials conducted within this paper indicates that the deinstitutionalization of the severely mentally ill population has become a major consumer of law enforcement resources nationwide. This paper argues that highly cost-effective policy recommendations exist that would assist in correcting the current situation, which is needlessly draining law enforcement resources nationwide, thereby allowing sorely needed resources to be directed toward this nation’s homeland security concerns.

Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2011. 155p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 5, 2013 at: http://www.nychiefs.org/media/Mgmt_Severely_Mentally_Ill_Homeland_Security_Biasotti.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://www.nychiefs.org/media/Mgmt_Severely_Mentally_Ill_Homeland_Security_Biasotti.pdf

Shelf Number: 127828

Keywords:
Homeland Security
Homelessness
Law Enforcement Resources
Mental Health Services
Mental Illness (U.S.)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Zapf, Patricia

Title: Standardizing Protocols for Treatment to Restore Competency to Stand Trial: Interventions and Clinically Appropriate Time Periods

Summary: The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) was directed by the 2012 Legislature to “study and report to the legislature the benefit of standardizing treatment protocols used for restoring competency to stand trial in Washington, and during what clinically appropriate time period said treatment might be expected to be effective.” Data from Western State Hospital and Eastern State Hospital were examined to determine typical length of stay for defendants deemed incompetent and remanded for restoration. This report then summarizes the literature on treatment protocols used to restore defendants to competency throughout the United States and the literature on the time periods for restoration. Finally, the report summarizes the 2011-12 recommendations of the National Judicial College’s Best Practices Model.

Details: Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2013. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Document No. 13-01-1901): Accessed March 18, 2013 at: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/13-01-1901.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/13-01-1901.pdf

Shelf Number: 128001

Keywords:
Competence to Stand Trial (Washington State, U.S.)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Wicklund, Peter

Title: Chittenden County Rapid Intervention Community Court: Outcome Evaluation

Summary: The Chittenden Rapid Intervention Community Court (hereafter the “RICC”) is a program that is available to non-violent offenders whose crimes have been driven by untreated addiction or mental illness. The program is designed as a pre-charge system through which offenders are quickly assessed using evidence-based screening tools and offered diversion to community programming, services, and community-based accountability programs. The RICC staff work closely with the Chittenden County State’s Attorney and the Burlington Police Department to identify individuals who may benefit from a rapid intervention program, without which they may reoffend and engage in conduct that is costly both to them and to the community. The Burlington Community Justice Center accepts referrals from RICC for individuals who agree to meet with a restorative justice panel to take responsibility for the crime, learn how individuals and the community were impacted, and take steps to repair the harm caused by the crime. An outcome evaluation attempts to determine the effects that a program has on participants. In the case of the RICC the objective of this outcome evaluation was to determine the extent to which the RICC reduced recidivism among program participants. An indicator of post-program criminal behavior that is commonly used in outcome evaluations of criminal justice programs is the number of participants who recidivate -- that is, are convicted of a crime after they complete the program. An analysis of the criminal history records of the 654 subjects who entered the RICC from September 14, 2010 to December 5, 2012, was conducted using the Vermont criminal history record of participants as provided by the Vermont Criminal Information Center at the Department of Public Safety. The Vermont criminal history records on which the recidivism analysis was based included all charges and convictions prosecuted in a Vermont Superior Court – Criminal Division that were available as of September 17, 2012. The criminal records on which the study was based do not contain Federal prosecutions, out-of-state prosecutions, or traffic tickets. For this evaluation, the study cohort was divided into three segments – subjects who successfully completed the RICC program (n=470), a segment that did not complete the program and were returned to docket (n=71), and a segment that were currently in the RICC and pending outcome (n=113). Summary of Conclusions 1. The RICC appears to be a promising approach for reducing recidivism among participants who successfully complete the program. Only 7.4% of the successful participants of the RICC were reconvicted of a crime after leaving the program. In comparison, 25.4% of participants who were unsuccessful at completing the RICC were convicted of a new crime after leaving the program. Although this is a significantly higher rate of recidivism compared to the successful participants, the rate is still relatively low. This indicates that even an abbreviated exposure to the benefits of the RICC may provide a positive influence on those participants who do not complete the program. 2. The RICC was shown to be very effective in producing successful participants that remained conviction free in the community during their first year after leaving the program. Approximately 93% of the successful participants of the RICC had no arrest for any new criminal conviction within one year after program completion. The unsuccessful participants had a significantly lower success rate – only 78% remained conviction free within the first year after leaving the program. 3. The RICC appears to be a promising approach for reducing the number of post-program reconvictions for participants who successfully complete the RICC. The successful participants of the RICC had a significantly lower reconviction rate of 15 per 100 participants compared to 48 reconvictions per 100 participants for those who did not complete the program. 4. A large majority of the recidivists who completed the RICC were reconvicted in Chittenden County (91%), followed by Franklin and Addison counties. The recidivists who did not complete the RICC showed a similar pattern with most of their crimes occurring in Chittenden County (76%), and the remaining occurring in Franklin, Addison, Grand Isle, and Lamoille counties. 5. Comparing the demographic and criminal history profiles between the subjects who were successful in completing the RICC and those who were unsuccessful revealed no significant differences. This leads to the conclusion that the reduced recidivism rates observed for the successful participants compared with those who were unsuccessful at completing the program were more likely due to the benefits of the RICC program rather than to differences in characteristics of the study segments.

Details: Northfield Falls, VT: Vermont Center for Justice Research, 2013. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2013 at: http://www.vcjr.org/reports/reportscrimjust/reports/chittricc_files/Chitt%20Rapid%20Referral%20Rpt2.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.vcjr.org/reports/reportscrimjust/reports/chittricc_files/Chitt%20Rapid%20Referral%20Rpt2.pdf

Shelf Number: 128188

Keywords:
Community Courts
Drug Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts (Vermont, U.S.)
Recidivism

Author: Light, Miriam

Title: Gender differences in Substance Misuse and Mental Health Amongst Prisoners. Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners

Summary: This research explored substance misuse and mental health of male and female prisoners, using the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal survey of 1,435 newly sentenced prisoners in England and Wales in 2005 and 2006. The sample consisted of 1,303 male and 132 female prisoners. Other surveys and management information were used as secondary sources. The research examined: drug and alcohol use; rates of self-harm and suicide; the presence of specific mental health disorders; and links to reconviction. The number of women was relatively small (132), reflecting the relative size of the female prison reception population. Results based on the female prisoners’ sample are less likely to be representative than those from the larger men’s sample. The women’s sample may be too small to allow some smaller gender differences to be detected. These limitations should be taken into account when interpreting the findings in this report. The main findings were:  Patterns of alcohol consumption did not differ substantially by gender. The rate of alcohol use overall amongst prisoners was slightly lower than in the general population, when comparing those who said they drank alcohol in the last year. However, amongst those prisoners who drank alcohol in the four weeks before custody, the amount of hazardous drinking was higher than in the general population and amongst offenders on community orders. Male and female prisoners both reported high levels of hazardous drinking (reporting drinking with similar frequency and consuming similar volumes of alcohol).  Alcohol use amongst prisoners was associated with reconviction on release, although to a lesser extent than drug use. Associations between daily drinking and reconviction were observed for both male and female prisoners, and, notably, there was a higher reconviction rate amongst female binge drinkers (compared to female prisoners who did not binge drink). This association was not found amongst male prisoners.  Rates of illegal drug use amongst both male and female SPCR prisoners were higher than for offenders on community orders, the general population, and an earlier prisoner survey (the 1997 Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (PsyMS)). There were no differences in the proportions of male and female SPCR prisoners reporting ever having used drugs, nor were there any gender differences detected in overall drug use in the four weeks before custody.  Female prisoners did however report more Class A drug use in the four weeks before custody than male prisoners, and were also more likely to report that their offending was to support someone else’s (as well as their own) drug use.  Drug use was strongly associated with reconviction on release from prison (this did not differ by gender).  Reports of first use of heroin in prison by heroin users were lower in SPCR (covering interviews from 2005/6) compared with the 1997 PsyMS (19% and 30% respectively). Male and female SPCR heroin users were equally likely to report having used heroin in a prison before (55%), and there was evidence that male prisoners were more likely than female prisoners to use heroin for the first time in a prison.  Female SPCR prisoners reported poorer mental health than both women in the general population and male SPCR prisoners. This was true in relation to self harm, suicide attempts, psychosis, and anxiety and depression.  Female prisoners suffering from the combination of anxiety and depression were significantly more likely to be reconvicted in the year after release from custody compared to female prisoners without such symptoms (this relationship was not found amongst male prisoners). Both male and female prisoners suffering from depression were however more likely to be reconvicted in the year after release from custody.  Male prisoners with symptoms of psychosis were more likely to be reconvicted in the year after custody. This relationship was not found amongst female prisoners, despite more female prisoners reporting symptoms indicative of psychosis. There were some important differences between male and female prisoners’ substance misuse and mental health, but also areas of similarity. The greatest differences were observed between the general population and the prisoner population rather than between male and female prisoners.

Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2013. 36p., app.

Source: Internet Resource: Ministry of Justice Analytical Series: Accessed April 2, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/gender-substance-misuse-mental-health-prisoners.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/gender-substance-misuse-mental-health-prisoners.pdf

Shelf Number: 128192

Keywords:
Drug Offenders
Gender
Inmates (U.K.)
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners
Recidivism
Reconviction

Author: King, Salena Marie

Title: The Impact of Crisis Intervention Team Training on Law Enforcement Officers: An Evaluation of Self-Efficacy and Attitudes Toward People with Mental Illness

Summary: Law enforcement officers (LEOs) routinely respond to calls involving people with mental illness (PMI) in crisis. While LEOs have come to expect a wide spectrum of needs for assistance from PMI, there is often little to no training provided for responding to these encounters. This is an alarming fact given that 7 to 10 % of all law enforcement contacts involve PMI. It has been found that the lack of training leaves LEOs perceiving themselves as ill-equipped to manage mental health-related situations, creating a great deal of anxiety. The insufficient training has also been determined to negatively impact PMI receiving help, either through exacerbation of the problem or a dismissal of the crisis. As an answer to these difficulties, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training was developed to better inform officers about mental illnesses, provide skills useful for these encounters, and prevent unnecessary arrests. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of CIT training on officers’ (1) perceptions of self-efficacy when working with PMI and (2) attitudes toward PMI. The Self-Efficacy Scale (SES), designed specifically to assess the self-efficacy of LEOs when encountering a person with mental illness, was administered to 58 officers pre/post CIT training as well as 40 officers with no CIT training. Additionally, the Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI) was administered to the same groups of officers in order to measure attitudes along the four subscales of Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Social Restrictiveness, and Community Mental Health Ideology (CMHI). It was hypothesized that CIT training would significantly increase LEOs’ perceived self-efficacy when working with PMI, result in significantly more positive attitudes toward people with mental illness, and that LEOs with no CIT training would not significantly differ from officers assessed at the pre-CIT stage. Results, obtained through the use of an ANOVA, indicate that officers who participated in CIT training achieved a significant increase in perceived self-efficacy from pre to post measures. Contrary to expectations, a significant difference was found between officers who did not choose to participate in CIT training and officers assessed at pre-CIT – it was indicated that non-CIT officers reported a higher degree of perceived self-efficacy. Alternatively, there was no significant difference found between non-CIT officers and pre-CIT officers on measures of attitudes toward PMI. Through the use of a MANOVA, it was determined that CIT training effected the desired changes of increasing benevolent and community-inclusive attitudes toward PMI, as well as decreasing socially restrictive attitudes. The prediction that CIT training would decrease authoritarian attitudes toward PMI was not supported. Implications for these outcomes are discussed along with recommendations for law enforcement agencies and mental health advocates.

Details: Auburn, AL: Auburn University, 2011. 131p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://etd.auburn.edu/etd/bitstream/handle/10415/2580/Salena%20King%20Dissertation%20Final%20Draft.pdf?sequence=2

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://etd.auburn.edu/etd/bitstream/handle/10415/2580/Salena%20King%20Dissertation%20Final%20Draft.pdf?sequence=2

Shelf Number: 128254

Keywords:
Crisis Intervention
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Attitudes and Behaviors
Police Services for the Mentally Ill

Author: Lynch, Shannon M.

Title: Women’s Pathways to Jail: Examining Mental Health, Trauma, and Substance Use

Summary: The rate of incarceration of women has increased substantially in recent decades, with a 31 percent increase between 2000 and 2011 (Minton, 2012). Female offenders appear to have different risk factors for offending than do male offenders. In particular, female offenders report greater incidence of mental health problems and serious mental illness (SMI) than do male offenders (James and Glaze, 2006; Steadman et al., 2009). Female offenders also report higher rates of substance dependence as well as greater incidence of past physical and sexual abuse (James and Glaze, 2006). Other researchers also have noted elevated rates of experiences of interpersonal trauma, substance dependence, and associated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female offenders (Green et al., 2005; Lynch et al., 2012). This multisite study addresses critical gaps in the literature by assessing the prevalence of SMI, PTSD, and substance use disorders (SUD) in women in jail, and the pathways to jail for women with and without SMI.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2013. 4p.

Source: Internet Resource: BJA Policiy Brief: Accessed April 18, 2013 at: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/WomensPathwaysToJail.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/WomensPathwaysToJail.pdf

Shelf Number: 128414

Keywords:
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Abuse and Crime
Female Inmates
Female Offenders (U.S.)
Jail Inmates
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Brooker, Charlie

Title: An Investigation into the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorder and Patterns of Health Service Access in a Probation Population

Summary: This study was funded by an East Midlands Research for Patient Benefit grant. The research is divided into three stages, each of which is presented separately below. Stage 1 aimed to investigate the prevalence of mental health disorders, substance misuse, needs and patterns of service access amongst offenders under probation supervision in Lincolnshire, through one-toone clinical interviews with a stratified random sample of offenders. A sub-study was included in this stage which investigated the use of a brief screen for ‘likely caseness’ of Personality Disorder (PD) (SAPAS) with a probation population. This is reported here as ‘Stage 4’. Stage 2 investigated the extent to which probation staff were aware of, and recording, offenders’ mental health and substance misuse problems, and the nature of any action taken by the probation service to address these issues. In Stage 3, qualitative interviews were undertaken in order to investigate the experiences of probation staff when trying to facilitate access to health services for offenders, and the experiences of offenders trying to access health services. This stage of the study aimed to highlight models of good practice in service provision for offenders, and barriers to service access for this hard-to-reach group. This stage also includes recommendations on how access to services could be improved for offenders under probation supervision. The over-arching aim of the research is to pilot a methodology for assessing the prevalence of mental health disorder and substance misuse amongst offenders under probation supervision. In addition, the study aims to gather data which will be shared with a multi-agency steering group and used to inform both probation practice and health service provision for this hard-to-reach group.

Details: Lincoln, UK: University of Lincoln, Criminal Justice and Health Research Group, 2011. 172p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2013 at: http://www.cepprobation.org/uploaded_files/RfPB-final-report-17-9-11.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.cepprobation.org/uploaded_files/RfPB-final-report-17-9-11.pdf

Shelf Number: 128431

Keywords:
Drug Abuse Treatment
Drug Offenders
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Probation
Probationers (U.K.)

Author: Larsen, Amanda

Title: Potential Factors Influencing Leniency toward Veterans who Commit Crimes

Summary: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that occurs following a traumatic experience and has symptoms that can severely impair functioning. Military personnel are particularly likely to experience trauma, and thus are commonly diagnosed with PTSD. Importantly, because PTSD is correlated with expressions of anger and aggression, military veterans are at an increased risk of committing crimes upon returning from deployment. Although legal records have shown that veterans with PTSD are often charged with lighter crimes and/or given lighter sentences compared to people not diagnosed with PTSD, to date no psychological research has directly investigated if jurors truly are inclined to give veterans with PTSD lighter sentences than veterans without PTSD. It also remains unclear how various factors related to PTSD may influence jurors’ sentencing recommendations. The purpose of the present research was to compare judgments of guilt for veterans with PTSD to civilians and to investigate whether various factors lead to increased leniency from jurors. Participants read fictional court documents describing a crime and reported perceptions of guilt, responsibility, and feelings toward the defendant. Results indicated that the diagnosis of PTSD, timing of diagnosis, and type of combat experienced influenced various perceptions of the defendant and his sentencing. Future directions are discussed.

Details: Illinois Wesleyan University, 2013. 51p.

Source: Internet Resource: Honors Projects, Paper 157: Accessed May 13, 2013 at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&context=psych_honproj

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1156&context=psych_honproj

Shelf Number: 128722

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Veterans (U.S.)

Author: Caron, Anne

Title: Fourth Judicial District Veterans Court – Two Year Review: July 2010 – June 2012

Summary: • The Fourth Judicial District Veterans Court began in July 2010 as a voluntary problem-solving court for veteran offenders with treatable chemical dependency and/or mental health issues. It is a hybrid of the drug court and mental health court models. • Veterans Court promotes sobriety, recovery, and stability through a coordinated response that involves the cooperation and collaboration of court and probation personnel along with the addition of the VA Medical Center, VA Benefits Administration, and volunteer veteran mentors. • In its first two years of operation, 131 individuals entered Veterans Court. Nearly all (97%) are male, two-thirds are white, the average age at entry is 44 years, and nearly half have gross misdemeanor offenses. The most common offense type is gross misdemeanor DWIs (40%), followed by misdemeanor domestic offenses (20%). Nearly half (47%) have been deployed overseas at least once, most commonly to Iraq (60%). • At the end of two years, there are seventy-three active participants (56%), forty-one graduates (31%), eight individuals terminated by the Court (6%), seven who voluntarily withdrew (5%), and two who are no longer active due to other reasons (death, transfer out of state). • This review of Veterans Court includes a pre-post analysis of participants at this point in the program. A full evaluation, with a matched comparison sample, will ensue once the number of graduates reaches 100 and those graduates have one year of street-time post Veterans Court. • Since this is a program review, all goals should be considered in progress o Goal 1: Reduce criminal recidivism  During the first six months after entry into Veterans Court, 83% of participants commit fewer offenses than during the six months just prior to entry. This pattern maintains through both years of data: 72% of participants who have at least 24 months post-entry commit fewer offenses than during the 24 months just prior to entering the Court (Table 6, page 17).  The majority of Veterans Court participants have no new offenses while in the program, and those who do commit new offenses generally do so at a non-felony level (Table 8, page 18). o Goal 2: Promote participant sobriety  Not all participants are in Veterans Court for drug or alcohol related issues: indeed only two-thirds of graduates and terminated defendants were required to take alcohol and drugs tests while in the program. Graduates test positive at a lower rate than terminated defendants do (Table 9, page 19). o Goal 3: Increase compliance with treatment and other court-ordered conditions  Between two-thirds and three-fourths of all participants are ordered to complete chemical dependency treatment and/or domestic abuse programming. No graduate or active participant has failed to complete treatment, while nearly half of the non-completers do not enter treatment before terminating from the Court.  More than half (57%) of graduates complete inpatient treatment while 39% of active participants do so (Table 10, page 21). If needed, active participants may be required to complete a more intensive level of treatment prior to their graduation. o Goal 4: Improve access to VA benefits and services  Veterans Court works closely with a VA benefits specialist and the Hennepin County Veterans Service Office to assist participants in filing claims as needed to begin receiving benefits or to increase benefits to the level to which they are entitled.  Nearly three-fourths (73%) of participants already receive benefits prior to entering the Court, while others connect while in Veterans Court (21%). A few participants (5%) are not eligible for VA benefits - for example, due to income level, dishonorable discharge status, or because they are currently active in the Guard/Reserves. o Goal 5: Improve family relationships and social support connections  The Hennepin County Veterans Court has established a mentor program, in which participants are matched with veterans in the community if they so choose in order to help them navigate the court and VA Medical Center system as well as to provide support and friendship in the community. o Goal 6: Improve life stability  More than half of graduates maintain or increase their level of employment from entry to graduation (Table 11, page 23).  Nearly three-fourths of graduates live on their own in a private residence at both entry and exit from the program, while another 15% increase their housing stability from entry to graduation (Table 12, page 23). • Overall, participants are extremely satisfied with the services they receive through Veterans Court and its partners. On the uSPEQ® survey scores can range from one (strongly disagree) to four (strongly agree), and in both the first and second years of Veterans Court the average score on all five question categories (service responsiveness, informed choice, respect, overall value, and participation) was 3.8 or higher. Although slight, scores on all five measures increased in the second year (Table 13, page 25).

Details: Minneapolis: Minnesota Judicial Branch, Fourth Judicial District Research Division, 2013. 37p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2013 at: http://www.mncourts.gov/Documents/4/Public/Research/Veterans_Court_Two_Year_Review.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.mncourts.gov/Documents/4/Public/Research/Veterans_Court_Two_Year_Review.pdf

Shelf Number: 128726

Keywords:
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts
Veterans Court (U.S.)

Author: Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing

Title: Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing Report

Summary: The Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing was set up in September 2012 at the request of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Terms of reference and membership are attached at Appendix 1 on page 68. The Commission’s brief was to review the work of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) with regard to people who have died or been seriously injured following police contact or in police custody and to make recommendations to inform MPS conduct, response and actions where mental health is, or is perceived to be, a key issue. While reports like this cannot take away the anguish families have suffered, it is the hope of the Commission, and the duty of those who receive this report, to ensure that the recommendations are implemented in the name of the families as citizens who have lost loved ones in terrible circumstances. By doing so, a level of reassurance can be given to the families that others may not suffer the same loss. Although the Commission was focused on the MPS, the issues identified are national and the recommendations are likely to be applicable to all forces across the country. The Commission independently examined 55 MPS cases covering a five-year period (September 2007 — September 2012). As some cases are still to receive judicial findings in those reviewed, we have been careful to avoid making any comments that would prejudice future findings. All cases, therefore, have been made anonymous. We focused on the roles and responsibilities of the MPS in dealing with issues of mental health in custody, at street encounter and in response to calls made to police, including call handling processes when dealing with members of the public where there is an indication of mental health. 2 Cases within the report are referenced by numbers, rather than initials, to protect the identity of the individuals and families involved. Everything which follows in this report must be seen through the lens that mental health is part of the core business of policing. The role of the police is not a clinical one but mental health issues are common in the population and will often be found in suspects, victims and witnesses. A person may commit an offence or cause a public disturbance because of their mental health issues. In addition, the police may be first on the scene of a person in mental health crisis or a potential suicide. It therefore cannot be a periphery issue, but must instead inform every day practice. As existing guidance states: ‘Given that police officers and staff are often the gateway to appropriate care — whether of a criminal justice or healthcare nature — it is essential that people with mental ill health or learning disabilities are recognised and assisted by officers from the very first point of contact. The police, however, cannot and indeed are not expected to deal with vulnerable groups on their own.’

Details: The Commission, 2013. 80p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2013 at: http://www.wazoku.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/05/Independent_Commission_on_Mental_Health_and_Policing_Main_Report.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.wazoku.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/05/Independent_Commission_on_Mental_Health_and_Policing_Main_Report.pdf

Shelf Number: 128728

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Services for the Mentally Ill
Policing (U.K.)

Author: Johnston, E. Lea

Title: Humane Punishment for Seriously Disordered Offenders: Sentencing Departures and Judicial Control Over Conditions of Confinement

Summary: At sentencing, a judge may foresee that an individual with a major mental disorder will experience serious psychological or physical harm in prison. In light of this reality and offenders’ other potential vulnerabilities, a number of jurisdictions currently allow judges to treat undue offender hardship as a mitigating factor at sentencing. In these jurisdictions, vulnerability to harm may militate toward an order of probation or a reduced term of confinement. Since these measures do not affect offenders’ day-to-day experience in confinement, these expressions of mitigation fail to protect adequately those vulnerable offenders who must serve time in prison. This article argues that judges should possess the authority to tailor the conditions of vulnerable, disordered offenders’ carceral sentences to ensure that sentences are humane, proportionate, and appropriate for serving the intended aims of punishment. To equalize, at least in part, conditions of confinement for this population, judges should consider ordering timely and periodic mental health evaluations by qualified professionals, disqualifying facilities with insufficient mental health or protective resources, specifying the facility or unit where an offender will serve or begin his sentence, and mandating certain treatment in prison. Allowing judges to exercise power over correctional conditions in this way will allow judges to fulfill better their institutional function of meting out appropriate, humane, and proportionate punishments, subject prison conditions to public scrutiny and debate, and help reform the image and reality of the criminal justice system for some of society’s most vulnerable individuals.

Details: University of Florida, Levin College of Law, 2013. 57p.

Source: Internet Resource: Draft: Accessed May 29, 2013 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2267612

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2267612

Shelf Number: 128844

Keywords:
Imprisonment
Mentally Ill Offenders
Proportional Punishment
Punishment (U.S.)
Sentencing

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Bureau of Prisons: Timelier Reviews, Plan for Evaluations, and Updated Policies Could Improve Inmate Mental Health Services Oversight

Summary: During a 5-year period--fiscal years 2008 through 2012--costs for inmate mental health services in institutions run by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rose in absolute dollar amount, as well as on an annual per capita basis. Specifically, mental health services costs rose from $123 million in fiscal year 2008 to $146 million in fiscal year 2012, with increases generally due to three factors--inmate population increases, general inflationary increases, and increased participation rates in psychology treatment programs such as drug abuse treatment programs. Additionally, the per capita cost rose from $741 in fiscal year 2008 to $821 in fiscal year 2012. It is projected that these costs will continue to increase with an estimated per capita cost of $876 in fiscal year 2015, due, in part, to increased program funding and inflation. BOP conducts various internal reviews that assess institutions' compliance with its policies related to mental health services, and it also requires institutions to obtain external accreditations. BOP's internal program reviews are on-site audits of a specific program, including two that are relevant to mental health services--psychology and health services. Most institutions in GAO's sample received good or superior ratings on their psychology and health services program reviews, but these reviews did not always occur within BOP-established time frames, generally due to lack of staff availability. When reviews were postponed, delays could be lengthy, sometimes exceeding a year, even for those institutions with the lowest ratings in previous reviews. Moreover, BOP has not evaluated whether most of its psychology treatment programs are meeting their established goals and has not developed a plan to do so. BOP is developing an approach for reporting on the relative reduction in recidivism associated with major inmate programs, which may include some psychology treatment programs. Using this opportunity to develop a plan for evaluating its psychology treatment programs would help ensure that the necessary evaluation activities, as well as any needed program changes, are completed in a timely manner. Further, BOP's program statements--its formal policies--related to mental health services contain outdated information. Policy changes are instead communicated to staff through memos. By periodically updating its program statements, BOP would be better assured that staff have a consistent understanding of its policies, and that these policies reflect current mental health care practices. BOP collects information on the daily cost to house the 13 percent of federal inmates in contract facilities, but it does not track the specific contractor costs of providing mental health services. The performance-based, fixed-price contracts that govern the operation of BOP's contract facilities give flexibility to the contractors to decide how to provide mental health services and do not require that they report their costs for doing so to BOP. BOP uses several methods to assess the contractors' compliance with contract requirements and standards of care. BOP conducts on-site reviews to assess the services provided to inmates in contract facilities, including those for mental health. BOP uses results from these reviews, as well as reports from external accrediting organizations, the presence of on-site monitors, and internal reviews conducted by the contract facility, to assess contractor compliance and to ensure that the contractor is consistently assessing the quality of its operations.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2013. 76p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-13-1: Accessed July 18, 2013 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/655903.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/655903.pdf

Shelf Number: 129437

Keywords:
Costs of Corrections
Federal Bureau of Prisons (U.S.)
Health Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners

Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division

Title: Investigation of the State Correctional Institution at Cresson and Notice of Expanded Investigation

Summary: The Civil Rights Division has completed its investigation into the conditions of confinement at Pem1sylvania State Correctional Institution at Cresson ("Cresson"), conducted pursuant to the Civil Rights ofInstitutionalized Persons Act ("CRIPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 1997. CRIP A authorizes the Department of Justice to seek equitable relief where prison condition~ violate the constitutional rights of prisoners in state correctional facilities. Consistent with the statutory requirements of CRIP A, we write to inform you of our findings. After carefully reviewing the evidence, we conclude that the maill1er in which Cresson uses isolation on prisoners with serious mental illness violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We also conclude that Cresson uses isolation in a way that violates the rights of prisoners with serious mental illness, as well as prisoners with intellectual disabilities, under Title II ofthe Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 2013. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 7, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/cresson_findings_5-31-13.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/cresson_findings_5-31-13.pdf

Shelf Number: 129566

Keywords:
Correctional Administration
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners (Pennsylvania, U.S.)
Solitary Confinement

Author: Dona Sapp, Brad Ray

Title: Traumatic Brain Injury Prevalence: Indiana Department of Correction Prison Population

Summary: In Indiana, there is currently no systematic screening for traumatic brain injury (TBI) among incarcerated populations; however, a recent analysis conducted by researchers at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute (PPI) of baseline TBI screening data, collected in fall 2012 by the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC), suggests that nearly 36 percent of offenders in Indiana facilities reported some form of TBI during their lifetime.. This issue brief summarizes the results of the Indiana baseline data analysis, as well as research findings from other states and at the national level, on the prevalence of TBI among incarcerated populations. The brief concludes with a discussion of recommended best practices for diagnosing and treating TBI both pre- and post-release from prison, including recommended next steps for addressing this issue in Indiana.

Details: Indianapolis: Indiana University, Public Policy Institute, Center for Criminal Justice Research, 2013.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 7, 2013 at: https://www.policyinstitute.iu.edu/criminal/publicationDetail.aspx?publicationID=735

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: https://www.policyinstitute.iu.edu/criminal/publicationDetail.aspx?publicationID=735

Shelf Number: 129573

Keywords:
Brain Injury
Disability
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Neurological Disorders
Prisoners (Indiana, U.S.)

Author: Fontanarosa, Joann

Title: Interventions for Adult Offenders With Serious Mental Illness

Summary: Objective. To comprehensively review the evidence for treatments for offenders with serious mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression) in jail, prison, or forensic hospital, or transitioning from any of these settings to the community (e.g., home, halfway house). Data sources. We searched 12 internal and external databases including MEDLINE, PreMEDLINE, and Embase for the time period January 1, 1990, through August 20, 2012. Review methods. We refined the topic, Key Questions, and protocol with experts in the field and determined the study inclusion criteria and risk-of-bias items a priori. Abstract and full-text review and the risk-of-bias assessment were done in duplicate. A second reviewer verified data extraction. Extracted study information included study design, patient enrollment and baseline characteristics, risk-of-bias items, and outcome data. Because of the nature of the available evidence, we chose to perform a qualitative synthesis rather than meta-analysis. We graded the strength of evidence for each treatment comparison and outcome based on the size, risk of bias, and results of the evidence base. We discussed applicability by focusing on the populations, interventions, and settings of the studies. Results. We included 19 publications describing 16 comparative trials. The studies were conducted in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. The risk of bias for all reported outcomes was medium for 15 trials and low for 1 trial. For incarceration-based interventions, evidence of low strength favored antipsychotics other than clozapine over treatment with clozapine for improving psychiatric symptoms. For all other incarceration-based interventions assessed - other pharmacologic therapies, cognitive therapy, and modified therapeutic community - evidence was insufficient to draw any conclusions. For individuals transitioning from the incarceration setting to the community, evidence of low strength supported discharge planning with benefit-application assistance and integrated dual disorder treatment compared with standard of care for increasing mental health service use and/or reducing psychiatric hospitalizations. Evidence was insufficient for comparing interventions administered by a forensic specialist with interventions administered by mental health professionals and for comparing interpersonal therapy with psychoeducation for offenders transitioning from incarceration to the community. More comparative trials are needed to increase our confidence in the findings for which the strength of evidence is low and to address the questions for which the evidence was insufficient. Conclusions. We identified some promising treatments for individuals with serious mental illness during incarceration or during transition from incarceration to community settings. Treatment with antipsychotics other than clozapine appears to improve psychiatric symptoms more than clozapine in an incarceration setting. Two interventions, discharge planning with Medicaid-application assistance and integrated dual disorder treatment programs, appear to be effective interventions for seriously mentally ill offenders transitioning back to the community. The applicability of our findings may be limited to the populations and settings in the included studies.

Details: Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013. 249p.

Source: Internet Resource: Comparative Effectiveness Review Number 121; Accessed November 13, 2013 at: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/406/1644/mental-illness-adults-prisons-report-130820.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ehc/products/406/1644/mental-illness-adults-prisons-report-130820.pdf

Shelf Number: 131643

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Harrington, Richard

Title: Mental Health Needs and Effectiveness of Provision for Young Offenders in Custody and in the Community

Summary: Although there is growing literature on the mental health needs of adolescents in the youth justice system, there remain many unanswered questions. Epidemiological cross-sectional studies have revealed high levels of mental health and social needs. However, many of these studies have been small, focusing on specific populations - for example, those in secure care. These young people frequently move within the youth justice system between community and secure sites, but there have been few longitudinal studies describing how their needs change. Such studies - although difficult to conduct - are vital when considering what mental health resources are necessary to meet changing needs. What is also unclear is how the different professional organisations can work together in order to provide effective interventions, both to reduce offending behaviour and also improve the mental health and wellbeing of young offenders. The research described here was conducted during a period of rapid change in the youth justice system. For example, our previous study commented on the lack of mental health and educational provision in secure facilities (Kroll et al, 2002). At the time of the study, youth offending teams (Yots) had only just been established. However, since then, there have been numerous changes. Yots are now well established, with their own national standards and targets, and the sentencing of young offenders has changed considerably - for example, with the introduction of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) and Detention and Training Orders (DTOs). There is also increasing emphasis on mental health screening, and providing interventions to reduce offending. In this context of continuing change, the Youth Justice Board commissioned us to conduct a national study on the mental health needs of young offenders in custody and in the community. We were also asked to describe models of service provision, and to comment on examples of good practice - particularly, what interventions work to reduce mental health needs and offending behaviour. The specific aims of the study were: 􀂃 to describe the overall mental health and psychosocial needs of young offenders - both in custody and in the community - and to identify how needs vary according to gender, ethnicity and placement (custody versus community) 􀂃 to describe models of mental health provision available for young offenders, and examples of good practice 􀂃 to evaluate continuity of care, and how needs change as young offenders move from custody into the community 􀂃 to identify whether mental health needs predict future offending 􀂃 to assess financial costs for service provision for young offenders 􀂃 to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce offending behaviour and address mental health needs. This report is divided into three sections. a. current models of service provision and principles of good practice b. costs and needs data from the research survey c. a summary of what works with young offenders in addressing mental health needs and offending behaviour.

Details: London: Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, 2005. 103p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2013 at: http://www.yjb.gov.uk/publications/Resources/Downloads/MentalHealthNeedsfull.pdf

Year: 2005

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.yjb.gov.uk/publications/Resources/Downloads/MentalHealthNeedsfull.pdf

Shelf Number: 131658

Keywords:
Juvenile Offenders (U.K.)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Lewis, Cath

Title: Health Needs Assessment of Young Offenders in the Youth Justice System on Merseyside

Summary: This is a health needs assessment (HNA) of young offenders aged 10-19 on Merseyside. It covers the areas of Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral, and, Halton. It includes young offenders in secure children's homes (SCH), secure training centres (STC), and young offender institutions (YOI), as well as those who are being managed in the community by Merseyside Youth Offending Services (YOSs). The National Institute for Clinical excellence (NICE) defines health needs assessment (HNA) as 'a systematic method for reviewing the health issues facing a population, leading to agreed priorities and resource allocation that will improve health and reduce inequalities'. A HNA is a vital part of planning and commissioning health care and other services and support to promote well-being. It builds up a clear baseline of current needs and services, so that decisions can be made about how to reduce any mismatch between what is needed and what is provided. Background information This HNA assessment covers young people up to the age of 19, as some 18 year olds remain in the secure estate for children and young people until the age of 19 if they only have a short period of their sentence still to serve. According to the Youth Justice Board, in November 2012, 1,692 children aged 18 or under were in custody, with 1,551 of these under the age of 18. 96% of the latter were male, and 4% were female, so males are over-represented in this population. Young people from ethnic minority backgrounds are over-represented among children in custody - 58.6% of these young people were white, 20.5% were Black, 8.2% were of Mixed ethnicity, and 7.0% were Asian. Young offenders experience health that is worse than other people of their age, particularly in terms of behavioural and mental health problems. The Bradley Report highlighted the disproportionately high number of people with learning disabilities and mental health problems in the criminal justice system. Of prisoners aged 16-20, around 85% show signs of a personality disorder and 10% show signs of psychotic illness, which is far higher than in the population as a whole.

Details: Liverpool: Liverpool Public Health Observatory. 2013. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Liverpool Public Health Observatory report series number 92: Accessed November 13, 2013 at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/PublicHealth/obs/publications/report/92%20Health%20needs%20assessment%20for%20young%20offenders%20on%20Merseyside.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.liv.ac.uk/PublicHealth/obs/publications/report/92%20Health%20needs%20assessment%20for%20young%20offenders%20on%20Merseyside.pdf

Shelf Number: 131659

Keywords:
Health Services
Juvenile Offenders ( U.K.)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Sarteschi, Christine Marie

Title: Assessing the Effectiveness of Mental Health Courts: A Meta-Analysis of Clinical and Recidivism Outcomes

Summary: Mental health courts (MHC) are treatment oriented court diversion programs that seek to redirect individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI), such as those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, who have committed a crime, into court mandated treatment programs instead of the criminal justice system. It is believed that individuals with SMI commit and re-commit offenses as a result of their illness and if directed to the appropriate treatments, would be less likely to offend. Currently, there are over 150 MHCs nationally operating in at least 35 states, yet a gap remains in the scientific literature concerning their ability to reduce recidivism and clinical outcomes. To determine their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and improving clinical outcomes, the first meta-analytic study of these courts was conducted. A systematic search of the literature through May 2008, as well as an e-mail survey, generated 23 studies representing 129 outcomes with over 11,000 MHC participants. Aggregate effects for recidivism revealed a mean effect size of -0.52. MHCs had a small to medium positive effect of 0.28 on a participant's quality of life. Among quasi-experimental studies, there was a small effect size of - 0.14 for clinical outcomes indicating a positive improvement. Based on this analysis, MHCs are effective interventions for reducing recidivism and improving clinical and quality of life outcomes.

Details: Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, 2009. 166p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 14, 2014 at: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/9275/1/CMSarteschiAug2009Dissertation.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/9275/1/CMSarteschiAug2009Dissertation.pdf

Shelf Number: 131917

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Treatment
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem Solving Courts

Author: Perry, Amanda E.

Title: Interventions for Drug-Using Offenders with Co-occurring Mental Illness (Review)

Summary: Interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness Background A number of policy directives are aimed at enabling people with drug problems to live healthy, crime-free lives. Drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental health problems represent a group of people who access treatment for a variety of different reasons. The complexity of the two problems makes the treatment and rehabilitation of this group of people particularly challenging. Study characteristics The review authors searched scientific databases and internet resources to identify randomised controlled trials (where participants are allocated at random to one of two or more treatment groups) of interventions to reduce, eliminate, or prevent relapse or criminal activity of drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness. We included people of any gender, age or ethnicity. Key results We identified eight trials (three of which are awaiting classification) evaluating treatments for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness. The interventions included case management via a mental health court, a therapeutic community and an evaluation of motivational interviewing techniques and cognitive skills (a person's ability to process thoughts) in comparison to relaxation training. Overall, the combined interventions were not found to reduce self report drug use, but did have some impact on re-incarceration rates, but not re-arrest. A specific analysis of therapeutic community interventions did subsequently reduce re-incarceration but proved to be less effective for re-arrest and self report drug use. Two single studies evaluating case management via a mental health drug court and motivational interviewing and cognitive skills did not show significant reductions in criminal activity and self report drug use respectively. Little information is provided on the costs and cost-effectiveness of such interventions and trial evaluations focusing specifically on the needs of drug misusing offenders with co-occurring mental health problems are required. Quality of the evidence This review was limited by the lack of information reported in this group of trials and the quality of the evidence is unclear. The evidence is current to March 2013.

Details: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014, Issue 1. 90p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 19, 2014 at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010901/pdf

Year: 2014

Country: International

URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010901/pdf

Shelf Number: 131966

Keywords:
Drug Abuse Treatment
Drug Offenders
Intervention
Mentally Ill Offenders
Treatment Programs

Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado

Title: Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Colorado's continued warehousing of mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement

Summary: This report examines past and continued use of solitary confinement by the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) to manage mentally ill prisoners; considers the moral, fiscal, safety and legal implications of CDOC's continued warehousing of mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement; and makes recommendations to bring Colorado's prisons in line with modern psychiatric, correctional and legal standards. The report draws on 18 months of research by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado, which included correspondence with mentally ill prisoners housed in solitary confinement by CDOC; analysis of data provided by the CDOC in response to over a dozen public records requests by the ACLU, as well as other publicly available CDOC records; in-depth review of several prisoner mental health files; extensive written and in-person dialogue with CDOC's executive team; on site visits to CDOC; and multiple consultations with correctional and psychiatric experts.

Details: Denver: ACLU of Colorado, 2013, 25p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2014 at: http://aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/files/imce/ACLU-CO%20Report%20on%20Solitary%20Confinement_2.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://aclu-co.org/wp-content/uploads/files/imce/ACLU-CO%20Report%20on%20Solitary%20Confinement_2.pdf

Shelf Number: 132013

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders
Solitary Confinement

Author: Torrey, E. Fuller

Title: The Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails: A State Survey

Summary: Prisons and jails have become America's "new asylums": The number of individuals with serious mental illness in prisons and jails now exceeds the number in state psychiatric hospitals tenfold. Most of the mentally ill individuals in prisons and jails would have been treated in the state psychiatric hospitals in the years before the deinstitutionalization movement led to the closing of the hospitals, a trend that continues even today. The treatment of mentally ill individuals in prisons and jails is critical, especially since such individuals are vulnerable and often abused while incarcerated. Untreated, their psychiatric illness often gets worse, and they leave prison or jail sicker than when they entered. Individuals in prison and jails have a right to receive medical care, and this right pertains to serious mental illness just as it pertains to tuberculosis, diabetes, or hypertension. This right to treatment has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails is the first national survey of such treatment practices. It focuses on the problem of treating seriously mentally ill inmates who refuse treatment, usually because they lack awareness of their own illness and do not think they are sick. What are the treatment practices for these individuals in prisons and jails in each state? What are the consequences if such individuals are not treated? To address these questions, an extensive survey of professionals in state and county corrections systems was undertaken. Sheriffs, jail administrators, and others who were interviewed for the survey expressed compassion for inmates with mental illness and frustration with the mental health system that is failing them.

Details: Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center, 2014. 116p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2014 at: http://www.tacreports.org/storage/documents/treatment-behind-bars/treatment-behind-bars.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://www.tacreports.org/storage/documents/treatment-behind-bars/treatment-behind-bars.pdf

Shelf Number: 132260

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners

Author: Torrey, E. Fuller

Title: Justifiable Homicides by Law Enforcement Officers: What is the Role of Mental Illness?

Summary: As a consequence of the failed mental illness treatment system, an increasing number of individuals with untreated serious mental illness are encountering law enforcement officers, sometimes with tragic results. "Justifiable homicides," in which an individual is killed by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, may occur when criminals are being pursued, as in a bank robbery, or when an officer is threatened with a weapon, in other situations. We assessed available data on justifiable homicides between 1980 and 2008 and found the following: - Although the total number of justifiable homicides decreased by 5% between 1980 and 2008, those resulting from an attack on a law enforcement officer increased by 67%, from an average of 153 to 255 such homicides per year. - Although no national data is collected, multiple informal studies and accounts support the conclusion that "at least half of the people shot and killed by police each year in this country have mental health problems." - There are suggestions that many of the mentally ill individuals who were shot were not taking their medications. Some of them were also well-known to the law enforcement officers from previous encounters. - Studies suggest that approximately one-third of the shootings by law enforcement officers results from the victim attempting to commit "suicide-by-cop." - The transfer of responsibility for persons with mental illness from mental health professionals to law enforcement officers is both illogical and unfair and harms both the patients and the officers. In view of these conditions, it is recommended that: - The Department of Justice resolve to collect more complete and detailed information on justifiable homicides. - Mental health agencies be clearly assigned the ultimate responsibility for the care of persons with mental illness in their communities and held accountable for providing it. - More widespread use be made of assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) under which at-risk individuals who meet criteria established by the state are court-ordered to remain in treatment as a condition of living in the community - in the 45 states where it is authorized. - The five states without AOT laws on their books (Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Tennessee) enact and use them.

Details: Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center and National Sheriffs' Association, 2013. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2014 at: http://tacreports.org/storage/documents/2013-justifiable-homicides.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://tacreports.org/storage/documents/2013-justifiable-homicides.pdf

Shelf Number: 132264

Keywords:
Homicides
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Use of Force

Author: Stevens, Jack

Title: Aftercare Services for Juvenile Parolees with Mental Disorders: A Collaboration Between the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) and Columbus Children�s Research Institute

Summary: The purpose of this study was to examine aftercare services available to juvenile parolees after release from correctional facilities. Youth (162) assigned to a mental health caseload were interviewed and assessed within 60 days of release. A declining number were also interviewed at one (60), three (38), and six (24) months post release. About two thirds of youth met criteria for one or more disorder diagnoses prior to release. About 40% of the initial sample were rearrested within six months of release. About two thirds of those interviewed had received some sort of mental health services one month after release.

Details: Final report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2007. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2014 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/245574.pdf

Year: 2007

Country: United States

URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/245574.pdf

Shelf Number: 132270

Keywords:
Juvenile Aftercare
Juvenile Offenders
Juvenile Parolees
Juvenile Reentry
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Sowerwine, Sam

Title: Sentencing contradictions - Difficulties faced by people living with mental illness in contact with the criminal justice system

Summary: This discussion paper focuses on the need to ensure the diversion of people who are homeless and those with a mental illness out of the criminal justice system. Where such diversion does not occur, sentencing options should be focused on addressing the underlying causes of criminal activity. There is a public interest in reducing recidivism and supporting 'justice reinvestment' approaches that move funds away from more expensive, end-of-process crime control options, such as incarceration, towards programs that target the factors that cause offenders to commit crime. This reinvestment should take place both internally and external to the criminal justice system. However, it is imperative that community service organisations - generally the core service providers of such programs - are adequately resourced. There is also a need for specially tailored services to meet the complex needs of people with mental illness. For this reason, it is important that treatment and care under diversionary programs take a multi-disciplinary and multi-stranded approach.

Details: Sydney: Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Ltd., 2013. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2014 at: http://www.piac.asn.au/sites/default/files/publications/extras/13.10.15_sentencing_contradictions_-_difficulties_faced_by_people_living_with_mental_illness_and_the_criminal_justice_system_-_briefing_paper.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.piac.asn.au/sites/default/files/publications/extras/13.10.15_sentencing_contradictions_-_difficulties_faced_by_people_living_with_mental_illness_and_the_criminal_justice_system_-_briefing_paper.pdf

Shelf Number: 132288

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Homeless Persons
Homelessness (Australia)
Justice Reinvestment
Mentally Ill
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Desai, Anita

Title: Towards an Integrated Network. Working Together to Avoid Criminalization of People with Mental Health Problems. 2nd ed.

Summary: In 2006, St. Leonard's Society of Canada (SLSC) and the Canadian Criminal Justice Association (CCJA) designed a national initiative to identify the elements and means that can contribute to reducing the criminalization of individuals with mental health problems. This initiative, Towards a Model Community Mental Health Strategy, was an interactive community-based project that brought together service providers, researchers and academics to share experiences and knowledge about mental health programs and services. In 2007, four fora were held in Vancouver, Calgary, Kingston and Halifax that brought together concerned experts from health, mental health, law, corrections and law enforcement. The participants met to learn, innovate, and become familiar with services in their region. During the sessions, participants also contributed to the development of a community-based approach to stimulate cohesive, integrated, knowledge-based responses that would reduce the criminalization of people with mental health problems. Participants and advisors identified a perspective of change, reduction of stigma and discrimination, development of community capacity, and promotion of a continuum of care as the core tenets underlying the necessary first steps to addressing the intersections between criminal justice and mental health. This broad-based approach, presented and explored here, must be credited to the rich dialogue and national collaboration that took place among everyone involved. This edition of Towards an Integrated Network features updated information and promising practices. It also includes an updated research section as well as policy considerations which affect the criminalization of persons with mental health problems and illnesses. This section outlines some of the background issues faced by the service delivery systems, which contribute to the challenge of creating an integrated network. It is our hope that the information contained in this report will help to forge new routes towards this goal.

Details: Ottawa: St. Leonard's Society of Canada, 2013. 111p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2014 at: http://www.stleonards.ca/sitefiles/Towards%20an%20Integrated%20Network%20Second%20Edition_2013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.stleonards.ca/sitefiles/Towards%20an%20Integrated%20Network%20Second%20Edition_2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 132360

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill (Canada)
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Kretschmar, Jeff M.

Title: An Evaluation of the Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) Initiative: 2006-2013

Summary: Juvenile justice-involved youth with serious behavioral health issues often have inadequate and limited access to care to address their complex and multiple needs. Ohio��s Behavioral Health/Juvenile Justice (BHJJ) initiative was intended to transform and expand the local systems�� options to better serve these youth. Recent emphasis was placed on decreasing the population of ODYS facilities while providing alternatives to incarceration. Six counties participated in BHJJ in the newest biennium: Cuyahoga, Franklin, Montgomery, Hamilton, Lucas and Summit. BHJJ was funded by a partnership between the Ohio Departments of Youth Services (ODYS) and Mental Health and Addiction Services (ODMHAS). The Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University provided research and evaluation services for the program. The BHJJ program diverts youth from local and state detention centers into more comprehensive, community-based mental and behavioral health treatment. The BHJJ program enrolled juvenile justice-involved youth between 10-18 years of age who met several of the following criteria: a DSM IV Axis I diagnosis, substantial mental status impairment, a co-occurring substance use/abuse problem, a pattern of violent or criminal behavior, and a history of multi-system involvement. Demographics and Youth Characteristics �� 2,545 youth have been enrolled in BHJJ (58% males, 52% Caucasian). In the past two years, more non-whites (57%) than whites (43%) and males (67%) than females (33%) have been enrolled. �� Youth averaged 2.3 Axis I diagnoses. Females were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with Depressive Disorders, Alcohol-related Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Adjustment Disorders. Males were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Cannabis-Related Disorders, and Conduct Disorder. �� Over 40% of males and 34% of females were diagnosed with both a mental health and substance use diagnosis. �� Caregivers reported that 28% of the females had a history of sexual abuse, nearly 50% talked about suicide, and over 22% had attempted suicide. Over 60% of males and 68% of females had family members who were diagnosed with or showed signs of depression. �� According to the OYAS, 71% of the youth served in BHJJ were moderate or high risk. �� In the current BHJJ counties, 35% of youth had felony charges in the 12 months prior to enrollment, ranging from 17% in Montgomery County to 90% in Summit County. Educational Information �� Nearly 70% of the youth were suspended or expelled from school in the year prior to their enrollment. At termination, 83% of youth were attending school. At intake, 36% of youth earned mostly A��s, B��s, or C��s while at termination, 49% of youth earned mostly A��s, B��s, or C��s. �� At termination, workers reported that 94% of youth were attending school more or about the same amount as they were before starting treatment. Mental/Behavioral Health Outcomes �� BHJJ youth reported a significant decrease in trauma symptoms from intake to termination. �� Results from the Ohio Scales indicated the caregiver, worker, and youth all reported increased youth functioning and decreased problem severity while in BHJJ treatment. �� Both males and females reported decreased substance use with respect to most of the commonly used substances, including alcohol and marijuana. �� Youth demonstrated a 50% reduction in the risk for out of home placement at the time of termination. Seven percent of successful completers and 57% of unsuccessful completers were at risk for out of home placement at termination. �� Over 92% of caregivers agreed that they were satisfied with the services their child received through BHJJ and 95% agreed that the services received were culturally and ethnically sensitive. Termination and Recidivism Information �� Sixty-five percent (65.1%) of the youth terminated from the BHJJ program were identified locally as successful treatment completers. Nearly 72% (71.9%) of youth enrolled in the past biennium were identified as successful treatment completers. The average length of stay in the program was approximately 7 months (5.5 months for youth enrolled during previous biennium). �� Successful treatment completion in BHJJ produced lower percentages of subsequent juvenile court charges, felonies, misdemeanors, and delinquent adjudications than unsuccessful completion, although both groups demonstrated decreased juvenile court involvement after termination from BHJJ compared to before enrollment. �� One year after termination, 15% of successful treatment completers and 21% of unsuccessful treatment completers had a new felony charge. Of the youth entering BHJJ with at least one felony charge, 23% of successful treatment completers and 32% of unsuccessful treatment completers were charged with a new felony in the 12 months following BHJJ termination. �� Eighty-two of the 2336 youth (3.5%) enrolled in BHJJ for whom we had recidivism data were sent to an ODYS facility at any time following their enrollment in BHJJ. �� In a matched comparison, 2.2% of youth who completed BHJJ successfully were committed to an ODYS institution 12 months after their termination while 19.0% of youth released from an ODYS facility were re-committed to an ODYS facility in the 12 months following their release. �� Using only the direct State contribution to BHJJ of $12.6 million since 2006, the average cost per youth enrolled in BHJJ was $4954. The FY12 per diem to house a youth at an ODYS institution was $466 and the average length of stay was 11.8 months. Based on these numbers, the estimated cost of housing the average youth at an ODYS facility in FY12 was approximately $167,000.

Details: Cleveland, OH: Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 2014. 257p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 14, 2014 at: http://schubert.case.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/35/files/2014/02/BHJJ-Evaluation-Report-2013.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://schubert.case.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/35/files/2014/02/BHJJ-Evaluation-Report-2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 132449

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Juvenile Offenders (Ohio, U.S.)
Mental Health Services, Juvenile Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Southern Poverty Law Center

Title: Cruel Confinement: Abuse, Discrimination and Death Within Alabama's Prisons

Summary: An investigation by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) has found that for many people incarcerated in Alabama's state prisons, a sentence is more than a loss of freedom. Prisoners, including those with disabilities and serious physical and mental illnesses, are condemned to penitentiaries where systemic indifference, discrimination and dangerous - even life-threatening - conditions are the norm.

Details: Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center, 2014. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 17, 2014 at: http://www.adap.net/Alabama%20Prison%20Report_final.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://www.adap.net/Alabama%20Prison%20Report_final.pdf

Shelf Number: 132495

Keywords:
Disabilities
Health Care
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prison Administration
Prison Conditions
Prisoners

Author: Thompson, R. Alan

Title: Perceptions of Defendants with Mental Illness

Summary: During the 1980's and into the 1990's publicly supported institutions devoted to providing care for the mentally ill began closing due to large-scale budgetary crises, thereby shifting affected individuals into the public domain with no real alternatives for effective treatment. As a result of their varied mental conditions, many such individuals found themselves unable to find gainful employment and adequate shelter. In short order, the now homeless and underemployed mentally ill population began to run afoul of the law in large numbers and, in the absence of available referral alternatives, became chronic offenders in all categories of criminal behavior. Gradually shifting responsibility for handling the mentally ill into the criminal justice realm and away from specially created institutions has resulted in a situation that can only be described as the "criminalization of mental illness." More simply stated, the criminal justice system now bears considerable responsibility for responding to both the immediate and long-term needs of a unique population and an exceedingly complex social problem. Today, it is estimated that the criminal justice system incarcerates in excess of 1.5 million individuals in state and federal prisons. Some conservative and dated studies report that as many as one quarter of one million inmates confined to correctional institutions suffer from varying degrees of mental illness. In light of this situation, which shows no immediate signs of abatement, it becomes imperative to better understand how the contemporary criminal justice system responds to its broadened public welfare mandate. To accomplish this objective, the Mississippi Statistical Analysis Center undertook an exploratory research initiative focused on assessing the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of courtroom participants regarding defendants with mental illness. Specifically, the target population for the survey consisted of judges, prosecutors and public defenders within the state. This particular group was of interest given their significant role not only in the process of adjudication, but also in determining current and future public risk, as well as appropriate methods of treatment and / or confinement. This document reports the results of the study and identifies policy implications, as well as the need for additional attention regarding the issue.

Details: Hattiesburg, MS: Mississippi Statistical Analysis Center, 2014. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 30, 2014 at: https://www.usm.edu/sites/default/files/groups/school-criminal-justice/pdf/2013-2014perceptions_of_defendants_with_mental_illness.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://www.usm.edu/sites/default/files/groups/school-criminal-justice/pdf/2013-2014perceptions_of_defendants_with_mental_illness.pdf

Shelf Number: 132561

Keywords:
Defendants
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Ogloff, James R.P.

Title: Koori Prisoner Mental Health and Cognitive Function Study

Summary: The Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science at Monash University (CFBS) and the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) were engaged by the Department of Justice to examine the mental health, cognitive functioning, and social and emotional wellbeing of Koori prisoners in Victoria. The study arose from the policies and priorities articulated by the original Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA) released in 2000 to address Koori overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and the expanded AJA2 of 2006. The study was jointly overseen by Justice Health and the Koori Justice Unit. The project firstly sought to conduct a thorough assessment of needs from the perspective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners in Victoria, and secondly, to gain an understanding of the service gaps and needs from the perspective of key stakeholders in Victoria. To this end, the aims of the project were to: - Identify the Social and Emotional Well-Being (SEWB) strengths and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, including levels of psychological distress - Identify the nature and extent of mental illness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners and their associated needs- Assess the cognitive functioning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners and their associated needs- Identify barriers to accessing services and other potential gaps in meeting identified needs- Develop recommendations for improving current service systems and clinical practice

Details: Clifton Hill, VIC: Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Monash University, 2013. 155p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 31, 2014 at: https://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/corrections/resources/07c438bf-63a6-49bb-8426-d7fd073808a6/koori_prisoner_mental_health.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Australia

URL: https://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/corrections/resources/07c438bf-63a6-49bb-8426-d7fd073808a6/koori_prisoner_mental_health.pdf

Shelf Number: 120181

Keywords:
Aboriginals
Medical Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners (Australia)

Author: Iacobucci, Frank

Title: Police Encounters with People in Crisis

Summary: 1. On August 28, 2013, Chief of Police William Blair of the Toronto Police Service (TPS) requested that I undertake an independent review of the use of lethal force by the TPS, with a particular focus on encounters between police and what I refer to in this Report as "people in crisis." 2. By a person in crisis I mean a member of the public whose behaviour brings them into contact with police either because of an apparent need for urgent care within the mental health system, or because they are otherwise experiencing a mental or emotional crisis involving behaviour that is sufficiently erratic, threatening or dangerous that the police are called in order to protect the person or those around them. The term "person in crisis" includes those who are mentally ill as well as people who would be described by police as "emotionally disturbed." B. Mandate 3. My mandate as given to me by Chief Blair was to conduct an independent review of "the policies, practices and procedures of, and the services provided by, the TPS with respect to the use of lethal force or potentially lethal force, in particular in connection with encounters with persons who are or may be emotionally disturbed, mentally disturbed or cognitively impaired." 4. I was instructed by Chief Blair that the hallmark of my Review was intended to be its independence, and that the end result of the Review was to be a report, to be made public, setting out recommendations that will be used as a blueprint for the TPS in dealing with this serious and difficult issue in the future. I elaborate on the issue of independence in Chapter 2. 5. My mandate included reviewing the following topics: (i) TPS policies, procedures and practices; (ii) TPS training, and training at the Ontario Police College; (iii) equipment used by the TPS; (iv) psychological assessments and other evaluation of TPS police officers and officer candidates; (v) supervision and oversight; (vi) the role of the Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams (MCIT) currently employed by the TPS; (vii) the role of the TPS Emergency Task Force (ETF); (viii) best practices and precedents from major police forces internationally (in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and other jurisdictions) (ix) available studies, data and research; and (x) other related matters falling within the scope of the independent review.

Details: Toronto: Toronto Police Service, 2014. 413p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2014 at: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/files/reports/police_encounters_with_people_in_crisis_2014.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/files/reports/police_encounters_with_people_in_crisis_2014.pdf

Shelf Number: 132913

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Policies and Practices
Police Training
Police Use of Force (Canada)
Policing Procedures

Author: Randall, Megan

Title: From Recidivism to Recovery: The Case for Peer Support in Texas Correctional Facilities

Summary: Transforming the relationship between criminal justice and mental health in Texas requires innovative policy and program models that successfully integrate the principles of mental health recovery into the criminal justice system - countering the traditionally punitive criminal justice framework with the recovery-oriented principles of hope, wellness, personal responsibility, and empowered self-direction. In this paper, we explore the use of mental health peer support services as one way to support recovery, improve continuity of care, and reduce recidivism for inmates with mental illness during the re-entry process. We present a successful peer support re-entry program model, established in Pennsylvania, and offer preliminary suggestions for a Texas pilot project. We also offer policy recommendations that, if implemented, would broadly improve access to mental health services, ease re-entry transitions for inmates with mental illness, and enhance the viability of peer support re-entry programming. We intend for our recommendations to be a first step toward more extensive stakeholder discussion and research on this issue. It is our hope that this paper will catalyze conversation about the steps Texas must take to integrate recovery into its justice system and provide national policy leadership in a growing field at the pivotal intersection between mental health and criminal justice.

Details: Austin, TX: Center for Public Policy Priorities, 2014. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: http://forabettertexas.org/images/HC_2014_07_RE_PeerSupport.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://forabettertexas.org/images/HC_2014_07_RE_PeerSupport.pdf

Shelf Number: 133625

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoner Reentry
Prisoners (Texas)

Author: Pew Charitable Trusts

Title: State Prison Health Care Spending: An examination

Summary: Health care and corrections have emerged as fiscal pressure points for states in recent years as rapid spending growth in each area has competed for scarce revenue. Not surprisingly, the intersection of these two spheres - health care for prison inmates - also has experienced a ramp-up, reaching nearly $8 billion in 2011. Under the landmark 1976 Estelle v. Gamble decision, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that prisoners have a constitutional right to adequate medical attention and concluded that the Eighth Amendment is violated when corrections officials display "deliberate indifference" to an inmate's medical needs. The manner in which states manage prison health care services that meet these legal requirements affects not only inmates' health, but also the public's health and safety and taxpayers' total corrections bill. Effectively treating inmates' physical and mental illnesses, including substance use disorders, improves their well-being and can reduce the likelihood that they will commit new crimes or violate probation once released. The State Health Care Spending Project previously examined cost data from 44 states and found that prison health care spending increased dramatically from fiscal year 2001 to 2008. However, new data from a survey of budget and finance staff officials in each state's department of corrections, administered by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Vera Institute of Justice, show that some states may be reversing this trend. This report examines the factors driving costs by analyzing new data on all 50 states' prison health care spending from fiscal 2007 to 2011. It also describes a variety of promising strategies that states are using to manage spending, including the use of tele-health technology, improved management of health services contractors, Medicaid financing, and medical or geriatric parole. The project's analysis of the survey data yielded the following findings: - Correctional health care spending rose in 41 states from fiscal 2007 to 2011, with median growth of 13 percent, after adjusting for inflation. - Per-inmate health care spending also rose in 39 states over the period, with a median growth of 10 percent. - In a majority of states, however, total spending and per-inmate spending peaked before fiscal 2011. Nationwide, prison health care spending totaled $7.7 billion in fiscal 2011, down from a peak of $8.2 billion in fiscal 2009. The downturn in spending was due, in part, to a reduction in state prison populations. - From fiscal 2007 to 2011, the share of older inmates - who typically require more expensive care - rose in all but two of the 42 states that submitted prisoner age data. Not surprisingly, states where older inmates represented a relatively large share of the total prisoner population tended to incur higher per-inmate health care spending. As states work to manage prison health care expenditures, a downturn in spending was a positive development as long as it did not come at the expense of access to quality care. But states continue to face a variety of challenges that threaten to drive costs back up. Chief among these is a steadily aging prison population.

Details: Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2014. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2014 at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2014/07/StatePrisonHealthCareSpendingReport.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2014/07/StatePrisonHealthCareSpendingReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 133833

Keywords:
Costs of Corrections
Elderly Inmates
Health Care
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners (U.S.)

Author: New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty

Title: Inside the Box: The Real Costs of Solitary Confinement in New Mexico's Prisons and Jails

Summary: Placing prisoners, especially those suffering from mental illness, in extreme isolation is costly, ineffective and inhumane. The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (NMCLP) and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) recently completed a year-long study of solitary confinement in the state. This report provides an overview of the facts discovered during the joint investigation, followed by several policy recommendations. Solitary confinement - or segregation - is widely used in prisons and jails in New Mexico. While it costs more money to detain prisoners in isolation than in the general population, it does not improve public safety or reduce prison violence. In addition, solitary confinement as currently practiced in New Mexico infringes fundamental rights by isolating prisoners with serious mental illness and allowing for prolonged periods of isolation. The use of this procedure in New Mexico also lacks adequate transparency at both the state and local level. New Mexico urgently needs to reform the practice of solitary confinement in its prisons and jails. The NMCLP and the ACLU-NM urge New Mexico to adopt the following reforms: 1. increase transparency and oversight of the use of solitary confinement 2. limit the length of solitary confinement to no more than 30 days 3. mandate that all prisoners are provided with mental, physical and social stimulation 4. ban the use of solitary confinement on the mentally ill 5. ban the use of solitary confinement on children

Details: Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, 2013. 18p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 14, 2014 at: http://nmpovertylaw.org/WP-nmclp/wordpress/WP-nmclp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Solitary_Confinement_Report_FINALsmallpdf.com_.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://nmpovertylaw.org/WP-nmclp/wordpress/WP-nmclp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Solitary_Confinement_Report_FINALsmallpdf.com_.pdf

Shelf Number: 134090

Keywords:
Cost of Corrections
Isolation
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoner Segregation
Prisoners
Solitary Confinement (New Mexico)

Author: Maruschak, Laura M.

Title: Medical Problems of State and Federal Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2011-2012

Summary: The report presents the prevalence of medical problems among state and federal prisoners and jail inmates, highlighting differences in rates of chronic conditions and infectious diseases by demographic characteristic. The report describes health care services and treatment received by prisoners and jail inmates with health problems, including doctor's visits, use of prescription medication, and other types of treatment. It also explains reasons why inmates with health problems were not receiving care and describes inmate satisfaction with health services received while incarcerated. Data were from the 2011-12 National Inmate Survey. Highlights: In 2011-12, an estimated 40% of state and federal prisoners and jail inmates reported having a current chronic medical condition while about half reported ever having a chronic medical condition. Twenty-one percent of prisoners and 14% of jail inmates reported ever having tuberculosis, hepatitis B or C, or other STDs (excluding HIV or AIDS). Both prisoners and jail inmates were more likely than the general population to report ever having a chronic condition or infectious disease. The same finding held true for each specific condition or infectious disease. Among prisoners and jail inmates, females were more likely than males to report ever having a chronic condition. High blood pressure was the most common chronic condition reported by prisoners (30%) and jail inmates (26%). About 66% of prisoners and 40% of jail inmates with a chronic condition at the time of interview reported taking prescription medication. More than half of prisoners (56%) and jail inmates (51%) said that they were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the health care services received since admission.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015. 23p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2015 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/mpsfpji1112.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/mpsfpji1112.pdf

Shelf Number: 134585

Keywords:
Health Care
Health Services
Medical Care
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners (U.S.)

Author: Equality and Human Rights Commission

Title: Preventing Deaths in Detention of Adults with Mental Health Conditions: An Inquiry

Summary: Our Inquiry was launched in June 2014 to examine how compliance with human rights obligations can reduce 'non-natural' deaths of adults with mental health conditions in state detention. We looked at deaths in three state detention settings - prisons, police cells and hospitals - consulting with inspectorates, regulators and others with responsibilities in this area. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's (the Commission's) Inquiry examined the available evidence in relation to the deaths of 367 adults with mental health conditions who died of 'non-natural' causes while in police cells or as detained patients over the period 2010-13, plus a further 295 who died in prison custody, many of whom also had mental health conditions. This is a large number in itself, yet for each individual who died there are family members and other loved ones who suffer as a result of these deaths. Previous inquiries, investigations, inquests and court cases have established that, too often, the circumstances surrounding deaths in detention involve breaches of people's most basic human rights - including the right to life. We wanted to establish whether a focus on increased compliance with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the State's positive obligation to protect people's life, would reduce avoidable deaths. One in four British adults experience at least one mental health condition, and one in six are experiencing a mental health condition at any given time. Some people will experience more than one mental health condition. While many people continue to lead productive and fulfilling lives with very little involvement from the State, the Government recognises its role to provide specific care for people experiencing mental health conditions at a time of vulnerability.

Details: Manchester, UK: Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2015. 84p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2015 at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/Adult%20Deaths%20in%20Detention%20Inquiry%20Report.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/Adult%20Deaths%20in%20Detention%20Inquiry%20Report.pdf

Shelf Number: 134723

Keywords:
Deaths in Custody (U.K.)
Medical Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Campbell, Sarah

Title: Same Old...the experiences of young offenders with mental health needs

Summary: Despite the numerous reports, enquiries, policy documents, expert reference groups, working parties, consultations, white papers, Bills, Acts of Parliament and changes of government, we are still repeating the same old story - that the provision of mental health services for young people at risk of or engaged with offending behaviour is woefully inadequate. This report sits aside from its many predecessors in that it cuts through all the policy and legislation and talks directly to those people who matter the most: the young people and the professionals that work alongside them. They told us that: - Waiting lists are too long resulting in young people self-medicating with drugs and alcohol while they wait to access services thus exacerbating their mental ill health and offending behaviour. - Rigid criteria for mental health services means young people have to be enduring a severe and debilitating mental illness before they can access any type of help or support. - There is still a gap in service provision between young people's and adult mental health services meaning many young people are slipping through the net and lacking support at a vulnerable time in their development. - If a young person manages to receive support, it is largely centred around medication. Following prescription, young people are left lacking medication reviews, support or intervention. - In the rare occasions where intervention extends beyond medication, professionals have little time for young people and a high turnover of staff means a lack of staff continuity making it difficult for the young person to establish rapport or trust.

Details: London: Barrow Cadbury Trust, 2013. 51p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2015 at: http://www.youngminds.org.uk/assets/0000/9472/Barrow_Cadbury_Report.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.youngminds.org.uk/assets/0000/9472/Barrow_Cadbury_Report.pdf

Shelf Number: 134960

Keywords:
Juvenile Offenders (U.K.)
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Youth At Risk

Author: Victoria. Auditor General

Title: Mental Health Strategies for the Justice System

Summary: The increasing incidence of people living with mental illness in the community means that justice and health agencies are experiencing significant challenges. There are increasing interactions between people with a mental illness and criminal justice agencies, and a lack of capacity to adequately respond to and manage these needs. Justice and health agencies recognise the importance of addressing mental health issues within the criminal justice system. All have implemented initiatives that aim to improve outcomes, but significant gaps remain. There is currently no overarching strategy or leadership for mental health and the justice system that focuses on improving outcomes for people with a mental illness. Where plans do exist, they are limited to agencies� own areas of responsibility, or only address parts of the justice system. While there is evidence of agencies working together, this is neither uniform nor sufficiently coordinated to address mental illness effectively. Responsibility for coordinating the agencies is unclear, and there is a lack of accountability for the success or failure of responses across the criminal justice system. This is likely to further limit the effectiveness of coordination, collaboration and planning, as actions rely on individual agencies, their relationships and their ability to take a system-wide perspective.

Details: Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer, 2014. 94p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2015 at: http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20141015-MH-Strategies-Justice/20141015-MH-Strategies-Justice.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Australia

URL: http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20141015-MH-Strategies-Justice/20141015-MH-Strategies-Justice.pdf

Shelf Number: 135125

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons

Author: Davis, Chelsea

Title: Bridging the Gap: Improving the Health of Justice-Involved People through Information Technology

Summary: On September 17, 2014, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) convened a two-day conference in Rockville, Maryland called Bridging the Gap: Improving the Health of Justice-Involved People through Information Technology. The meeting aimed to address the problems of disconnected justice and health systems and to develop solutions by describing barriers, benefits, and best practices for connecting community providers and correctional facilities using health information technology (HIT). The gathering, organized by the SAMSHA Health Information Technology and Criminal Justice Team and the Federal Interagency Reentry Council HIT Workgroup, included representatives from federal agencies; national advocacy organizations; and nonprofit, state, and local agencies providing health services to justice-involved populations. The following proceedings give an overview of each session and a synthesis of the obstacles to instituting HIT solutions for information sharing detailed during the meeting. The proceedings address the importance of using emerging HIT to respond to the growing problem of people with mental health and substance use disorders involved in the criminal justice system and to articulate a vision of how HIT can facilitate ongoing connections between health and justice systems. Several jurisdictions that are implementing new HIT programs - both those that connect community providers to correctional facilities during initial intake into the justice system and those that connect correctional facilities to community providers during reentry - are highlighted here. Common challenges emerged among jurisdictions despite their unique environments and systems. Conference participants discussed these challenges along with opportunities for overcoming them. An in-depth case study of new HIT initiatives in Louisville, Kentucky, is included, illustrating how to build and sustain collaborative cross-sector teams. The conference coalesced around six key themes: - An underdeveloped HIT landscape makes it difficult for health and justice systems to communicate and share data vital to the health of justice-system-involved populations. - Innovative programs from jurisdictions around the country can help others figure out how to successfully launch HIT programs intended to share data between community providers and correctional facilities. - Representatives from Medicaid agencies, corrections departments, and community providers need to be at the table together to develop solutions that advance common goals that promote public health and public safety. - Every locale must build a program based on its specific needs, infrastructure, and partners, but resources such as Justice and Health Connect, NIEM, and Global can guide jurisdictions looking to bridge the justice and health gap. - Privacy, security, consent, and technology adaptation are difficult but surmountable obstacles to providing healthcare to the justice-system-involved population. - Data-driven programs such as justice reinvestment seek to cut spending and reinvest the savings in practices that have been empirically shown to improve safety and hold offenders accountable. The trend toward evidence-based evaluation of justice programs, coupled with mounting evidence that current incarceration and recidivism rates are economically unsustainable, have galvanized diverse stakeholders to collaborate on developing better responses to justice-involved people who have substance use and mental health issues.

Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2015. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 18, 2015 at: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/samhsa-justice-health-information-technology.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/samhsa-justice-health-information-technology.pdf

Shelf Number: 135699

Keywords:
Inmate Health Care
Medicaid
Medical Care
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders
Substance Abuse Treatment

Author: Meservey, Fred

Title: Caring for Youth with Mental Health Needs in the Juvenile Justice System: Improving Knowledge and Skills

Summary: Approximately two-thirds of youth in the care of the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health and/or substance use disorder. Too frequently, staff supervising these youth have received little formal adolescent mental health training and lack the knowledge and skills to provide adequate supervision and care. This can often lead to the use of ineffective and unnecessarily punitive responses to youth which can further exacerbate a youth's symptoms and create stressful situations for all. To address this challenge, the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ), with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, created and tested a mental health training curriculum for juvenile justice staff.

Details: Delmar, NY(?):National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, 2015. 8p.

Source: Internet Resource: Research and Program Brief, vol. 2, no. 2: Accessed May 20, 2015 at: http://cfc.ncmhjj.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/OJJDP-508-050415-FINAL.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://cfc.ncmhjj.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/OJJDP-508-050415-FINAL.pdf

Shelf Number: 135719

Keywords:
Adolescent Offenders
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Substance Abuse Treatment

Author: American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California

Title: A Way Forward: Diverting People with Mental Illness from Inhumane and Expensive Jails into Community-Based Treatment that Works

Summary: Jails have become warehouses for people with mental illness. Nationwide, nearly half a million inmates with mental illness are in local jails, and an estimated 10-25% have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia. In Los Angeles County alone, at least 3,200 inmates with a diagnosed severe mental illness crowd the jails on a typical day, which constitutes about 17% of the jail population. These numbers capture only the number of inmates with a diagnosed severe mental illness: the actual number may well be higher. Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has called L.A.'s jail system "the nation's largest mental hospital." The war on drugs and other law enforcement policies have resulted in mass incarceration of low-level drug and other non-violent offenders, many of whom are arrested for behaviors related to a mental illness. In L.A., roughly 1,100 inmates with mental illness are behind bars on an average night for charges or convictions for nonviolent offenses. And many of the behaviors that lead to such charges are rooted in mental illness. According to the Vera Institute of Justice, drug offenses make up the largest portion of charges for this inmate population, nearly 27%. "Mental illness frequently becomes de facto criminalized when those affected by it use illegal drugs, sometimes as a form of self-medication, or engage in behaviors that draw attention and police response." After drug crimes, status offenses, administrative offenses, and parole violations are the most common charges or convictions for which people with mental illness are held in L.A.'s jails. For those with mental illness, incarceration causes needless suffering and even death. Not only does the lack of adequate care in jails and prisons exacerbate the symptoms of mental illness, but also overcrowding and other conditions of confinement make it harder to successfully treat prisoners with mental illness. Prisoners with mental illness are far more likely to suffer sexual and physical abuse at the hands of jail staff or other inmates than are inmates who do not have a mental illness. The Los Angeles County jails have been rife with such abuse for decades. Incarceration can also imperil the very lives of those with mental illness: suicide is the leading cause of death in jails, and inmates with mental illness commit suicide at much higher rates than people with mental illness living in the community.13 Indeed, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently sent a letter to Los Angeles County stating that it had found that the County was violating the constitutional rights of inmates with mental illness, noting the ten suicides by inmates in 2013, and finding that the Sheriff's Department and Department of Mental Health had failed to take adequate steps to "protect prisoners from serious harm and risk of harm at the Jails due to inadequate suicide prevention practices.' Upon release, inmates with mental illness find it even more difficult to get a job and find housing than before their incarceration because they now have a criminal record. And families suffer when their loved ones are imprisoned. Widespread incarceration of people with mental illness harms not only them and their families but also wastes precious taxpayer resources. It costs far more to incarcerate inmates with mental illness than those without mental illness, and it is far less costly to supervise them in community settings than in jail. Many communities are beginning to address the warehousing of people with mental illness in jails through collaborations between the criminal justice system and the public mental health system that "divert" people with mental illness from incarceration. Effective diversion programs ensure that people with mental illness who are arrested or end up in jail are connected to effective community-based treatment programs. Diversion can occur at any stage of the criminal process, including pre-arrest, pre-and post-booking, pre-trial, and pre-sentencing. The key to success is relying on treatment services, including Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and supportive housing, with demonstrated success in reducing recidivism (re-offending), improving mental health outcomes, and lowering costs. Diversion programs not only improve public safety and public health, but they are also consistent with the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and with the landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), in which the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the ADA prohibits the needless institutionalization of people with mental disabilities. The DOJ has been actively promoting community-based services, especially ACT and supportive housing, as a means of preventing the needless institutionalization of people with mental illness in jails.

Details: Los Angeles: ACLU of Southern California, 2014. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 20, 2015 at: https://www.aclusocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/JAILS-REPORT.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://www.aclusocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/JAILS-REPORT.pdf

Shelf Number: 135721

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Community-Based Corrections
Diversion
Jail Inmates
Jails
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Rotter, Merrill

Title: Reducing Criminal Recidivism for Justice-Involved Persons with Mental Illness: Risk/Needs/Responsivity and Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions

Summary: Decreased criminal recidivism, particularly resulting from new crimes with new victims, is the measure most consistently desired by programs, policymakers, and funding agencies for justice-involved individuals with mental illness. This one measure captures both improved client stability and public safety, while providing support for the promised decreased jail-day cost savings required to sustain continued financial resources (Almquist, 2009; Milkman, 2007). Evidence-based practices (EBP) with track records of effectiveness in treating serious mental illness, co-occurring substance abuse, trauma, and motivational challenges have been utilized with some success in forensic populations (CMHS National GAINS Center, n.d.). However, recent reviews of offender-focused and jail diversion programs found that many EBPs, such as Assertive Community Treatment, may achieve symptom reduction but not decrease criminal recidivism (Morrissey, 2007; Case, 2009; Skeem, 2009). In fact, studies indicate that offenders with mental illness share diagnoses and treatment needs similar to those of individuals with mental illness who do not commit crimes. However, with reference to recurrent criminal behavior, offenders with mental illness share the same risk factors for offending as their non-mentally ill counterparts (Epperson, 2011). In this document, we review the leading offender recidivism - targeted intervention paradigm: Risk/Needs/Responsivity (RNR). RNR proposes that to address the community behavior of offenders: the intensity of treatment and supervision should match the "Risk" level for re-offense; the treatment provided should match the individual "Needs" most clearly associated with criminality; and the intervention modalities should match those to which the individual is most "Responsive" (Andrews, 2010). In particular, we focus on criminal thinking, one of the identified "needs," and structured cognitive-behavioral interventions from the worlds of criminal justice and mental health that were created or adapted to specifically target the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors associated with criminal recidivism.

Details: Rockville, MD: SAMHSA's GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, 2013. 6p.

Source: Internet Resource: accessed June 3, 2015 at: http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/cms-assets/documents/141805-776469.cbt-fact-sheet---merrill-rotter.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United States

URL: http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/cms-assets/documents/141805-776469.cbt-fact-sheet---merrill-rotter.pdf

Shelf Number: 135866

Keywords:
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment
Evidence-Based Practices
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Recidivism

Author: Stuckey, Skyler

Title: Enhancing Public Safety and Saving Taxpayer Dollars: The Role of Mental Health Courts in Texas

Summary: Measures that divert suitable offenders with mental illness from lockups to effective treatment programs can produce net savings while furthering public safety and offender accountability. States have begun implementing problem-solving courts to accommodate offenders with specific needs that traditional courts cannot adequately address. These problem-solving courts focus on outcomes that benefit society by reducing crime and saving correction costs. Mental health courts are one of these problem-solving courts designed to reduce recidivism by requiring offenders with mental illness to be directly accountable to the court on an ongoing basis for compliance with a supervision and treatment plan. Jails and prisons have become some of the largest providers of mental health care across Texas and the country. Offenders with mental illness often move through these facilities as if they were a revolving door. Mental health courts that use best practices can help break this cycle by offering an alternative that holds offenders accountable and provides treatment. Many issues related to mental illness in the criminal justice system stem from deinstitutionalization, which began in the 1950s. Throughout the decade, popular sentiment and litigation led to significant reductions in the mandatory institutionalization of people with mental illness in state-sponsored psychiatric hospitals. In 1963, President Kennedy pushed the Community Mental Health Act, which closed many of these state-run institutions. Although these institutions were imperfect, the current challenges at the intersection of mental illness and corrections are partly attributable to lack of a replacement. Thus, people with mental illness who come in contact with law enforcement are often funneled into jails and prisons. Mental health courts could help Texas break the cycle of mental illness and crime. To reduce recidivism and spending on corrections, many states have established mental health courts. For example, New York has handled over 7,124 cases in mental health courts since December 2013. And in Texas, the Harris County Felony Mental Health Court began screening defendants for court admission in March 2012. Given this progression the time seems ideal for examining the role these courts can play in Texas' future criminal justice policy.

Details: Austin: Texas Public Policy Foundation, 2015. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Policy Perspective: Accessed July 20, 2015 at: http://www.texaspolicy.com/library/doclib/PP-The-Role-of-Mental-Health-Courts-in-Texas.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.texaspolicy.com/library/doclib/PP-The-Role-of-Mental-Health-Courts-in-Texas.pdf

Shelf Number: 136117

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Costs of Criminal Justice
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Murphy, Kate

Title: Overincarceration Of People With Mental Illness. Pretrial Diversion Across the Country and the Next Steps for Texas to Improve its Efforts and Increase Utilization

Summary: Key Points - - The state should delegate its responsibility to provide mental health services to local governments that are already making decisions about how to address people with mental illness in local jails. - The lack of coordination between the state and local governments has impeded local governments' ability to resolve the problems associated with people with mental illness who cycle through local jails. - Local governments should continue to reallocate funding to expand effective, efficient community-based mental health services that may prevent or could be an alternative to incarceration.

Details: Austin, TX: Texas Public Policy Foundation, 2015. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 20, 2015 at: http://www.texaspolicy.com/library/doclib/Overincarceration-of-People-with-Mental-Illness.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.texaspolicy.com/library/doclib/Overincarceration-of-People-with-Mental-Illness.pdf

Shelf Number: 136118

Keywords:
Alternative to Incarceration
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Pretrial Diversion

Author: Steinberg, Darrell

Title: When did prisons become acceptable mental healthcare facilities?

Summary: We can no longer ignore the massive oppression we are inflicting upon the mentally ill throughout the United States. Over a century ago, Dorothea Dix began a movement to improve the deplorable conditions of mentally ill prisoners. Despite her success in changing the country's perception and treatment of the mentally ill in prison, we are now right back where we started in the nineteenth century. Although deinstitutionalization was originally understood as a humane way to offer more suitable services to the mentally ill in community-based settings, some politicians seized upon it as a way to save money by shutting down institutions without providing any meaningful treatment alternatives. This callousness has created a one-way road to prison for massive numbers of impaired individuals and the inhumane warehousing of thousands of mentally ill people. We have created conditions that make criminal behavior all but inevitable for many of our brothers and sisters who are mentally ill. Instead of treating them, we are imprisoning them. And then, when they have completed their sentences, we release them with minimal or no support system in place, just counting the days until they are behind bars once again. This practice of seeking to save money on the backs of this population comes with huge moral and fiscal cost. It is ineffective because we spend far more on imprisonment of the mentally ill than we would otherwise spend on treatment and support. It is immoral because writing off another human being's life is utterly contrary to our collective values and principles. The numbers are staggering: over the past 15 years, the number of mentally ill people in prison in California has almost doubled. Today, 45 percent of state prison inmates have been treated for severe mental illness within the past year. The Los Angeles County Jail is "the largest mental health provider in the county," according to the former official in charge of the facility. California was at the forefront of the spiral towards imprisonment rather than treatment, when it turned its back on community based mental health programs. As usual, what started in California spread throughout the country. In 1971 there were 20,000 people in California prisons; by 2010 the population had increased to 162,000 people, of which 45 percent are estimated to be mentally ill. We in California now have an opportunity to lead again - this time to show that there is a better approach. We can begin a counter-revolution by setting a new standard for how we deal with people whose mental illness manifests through criminal activity. We will prove to the country that there is another, better approach - an approach that saves money and saves lives from being forsaken.

Details: Palo Alto, CA: Stanford law School, Three Strikes Project, 2015. 23p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2015 at: https://www.law.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/child-page/632655/doc/slspublic/Report_v12.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://www.law.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/child-page/632655/doc/slspublic/Report_v12.pdf

Shelf Number: 136255

Keywords:
Jail Inmates
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services

Title: Jail-Based Substance Abuse Programs

Summary: The Virginia Compensation Board conducts a survey of jails each year to gather information on inmates with mental illness. Some information on inmates with substance abuse disorders is also gathered, and included in the annual report. The most common treatment provided for inmates with substance abuse disorders is group substance abuse treatment, which the Compensation Board's 2013 Mental Illness in Jails Report defines as: "Meeting of a group of individuals with a substance abuse clinician for the purpose of providing psycho education about various substance abuse topics and/or to provide group feedback and support with regard to substance abuse issues. Examples could include AA meeting, NA meeting, or relapse prevention groups." In July 2013, for the 58 (out of 64) local and regional jails that responded to the Compensation Board's survey, 30.7% of the jail population had a known or suspected substance abuse disorder, almost of half of whom had a co-occurring mental illness. Unfortunately, according to the Compensation Board survey results, only about 20% of inmates with a substance abuse disorder receive group substance abuse treatment. It may be that others are receiving other services not counted in this survey; group substance abuse treatment is the only substance abuse service included in the Compensation Board survey. To provide additional data on jail substance abuse programs, DCJS is currently surveying jails regarding their substance abuse populations and treatment services. Data from this survey are not ready at this time, but the results will be published when the study is complete.

Details: Richmond: Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, 2014. 92p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2015 at: https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/research/documents/Kingdom%20Life%20Report_FINAL.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/research/documents/Kingdom%20Life%20Report_FINAL.pdf

Shelf Number: 136677

Keywords:
Drug Offenders
Drugs and Crime
Jail Inmates
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders
Substance Abuse
Substance Abuse Treatment

Author: Washburn, Jason J.

Title: Detained Youth Processed in Juvenile and Adult Court: Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Needs

Summary: This bulletin presents results of a study of the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among youth transferred to adult criminal court compared with those processed in juvenile court. Key observations, findings, and recommendations include: - Many youth are being transferred to adult criminal court, with males, African Americans, Hispanics, and older youth significantly more likely to be processed in adult criminal court than females, non-Hispanic whites, and younger youth (even after controlling for the current charge). - The prevalence of one or more disorders among youth transferred to adult criminal court does not significantly differ from that among youth processed in juvenile court. - Among youth processed in adult criminal court, those sentenced to prison had significantly greater odds than those who received a less severe sentence of having a disruptive behavior disorder, a substance use disorder, or co-occurring affective and anxiety disorders. - Community and correctional systems must collaborate to identify and treat youth with psychiatric disorders who are transferred to adult criminal court. Youth who are transferred to adult criminal court and receive prison sentences should be considered a particularly high-risk group who are likely to require additional services.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2015. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Accessed September 11, 2015 at: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248283.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248283.pdf

Shelf Number: 136722

Keywords:
Co-concurring Disorders
Juvenile Court
Juvenile Court Transfers
Juvenile Detention
Juvenile Inmates
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Desai, Anita

Title: Community Connections: The Key to Community Corrections for Individuals with Mental Health Disorders

Summary: The scope of the Community Connections report moves beyond Towards an Integrated Network (St. Leonard's Society of Canada and Canadian Criminal Justice Association 2008) by focusing on those who are not diverted from the criminal justice system and who - sometimes repeatedly - enter this system struggling with mental health disorders. Based on the experiences of SLSC and its affiliates, and research conducted in this field, there is evidence of a need for integrated and cooperative approaches for the successful reintegration of offenders who have mental health disorders. Beyond successful diversion practices, SLSC has identified four major principles to consider when approaching the issue of successful reintegration and community connections for residents at Community-based Residential Facilities (CBRFs) living with mental health disorders. These include: accurate diagnoses, treatment, and discharge planning beginning within the prison; successful in reach efforts between CBRFs and the offender prior to release; successful partnerships between the CBRF, the resident, and at least one mental health partner - inclusive of a mental health agency within the local community; and finally, adequate discharge planning that involves the establishment of a support system that can and will be accessed by clients upon warrant expiry. SLSC has conducted this research with one major issue guiding our objective: to recognize that the needs of offenders who have mental health disorders do not end concurrently with warrant expiry, and it is this reality that motivates and demands that we continue on the journey of creating stronger, healthier, and more reliable community connections.

Details: Ottawa: St. Leonard's Society of Canada, 2010. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2015 at: http://www.hsjcc.on.ca/Resource%20Library/Social%20Determinants%20of%20Health/Community%20Connections%20-%20The%20Key%20to%20Community%20Corrections%20for%20Individuals%20with%20Mental%20Health%20Disorders%202010.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.hsjcc.on.ca/Resource%20Library/Social%20Determinants%20of%20Health/Community%20Connections%20-%20The%20Key%20to%20Community%20Corrections%20for%20Individuals%20with%20Mental%20Health%20Disorders%202010.pdf

Shelf Number: 136784

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Community Based Corrections
Mental Health Services
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Teplin, Linda A.

Title: Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention

Summary: This bulletin examines the results of the Northwestern Juvenile Project-a longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago, IL. The authors discuss the findings related to the prevalence and persistence of psychiatric disorders in youth after detention. Key findings include the following: - Five years after the first interview, more than 45 percent of male juveniles and nearly 30 percent of female juveniles had one or more psychiatric disorders. - Substance use disorders were the most common and most likely to persist. Males had higher prevalence rates of substance use disorders over time. - As compared to African Americans, non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics had higher rates of substance use disorders. - Females had higher rates of depression over time.

Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2015. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Accessed September 16, 2015 at: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/246824.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/246824.pdf

Shelf Number: 136791

Keywords:
Juvenile Detention
Juvenile Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Illness

Author: Glasheen, Cristie

Title: Past Year Arrest among Adults in the United States: Characteristics of and Association with Mental Illness and Substance Use

Summary: Objectives. The objectives of this study are to (1) examine the characteristics of adults with a past year arrest by their mental illness and substance use status and (2) investigate the prevalence and correlates of arrests among adults with mental illness in the general U.S. population. Previous studies suggesting that the prevalence of arrest may be higher among individuals with mental illness have typically been conducted among persons in the criminal justice setting or among individuals receiving mental health treatment and may not be representative of all adults with mental illness. Also, little is known about the prevalence and correlates of arrest among adults with mental illness in the general U.S. population. Information on this link in the general population is critical for targeting programs to those most at risk for arrest. Methods. Data are from the 2008 and 2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs). Past year arrest was defined as being arrested and booked in the past 12 months, not counting arrests for minor traffic violations. It should be noted that being arrested and booked does not necessarily translate to convictions or incarcerations. In addition to mental illness (none, low/mild, moderate, or a serious mental illness [SMI]), other hypothesized correlates of arrest included past year substance use and demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of arrest and examine the characteristics of adults with a past year arrest. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between mental illness and arrests after controlling for substance use and demographics among all adults and among adults with any mental illness (AMI). Results. Descriptive analyses indicated that the prevalence of past year arrests was higher among adults with AMI than among adults without AMI (5.4 vs. 1.8 percent). The prevalence of past year arrest was also higher among adults with a substance use disorder (SUD) than among adults without an SUD (13.0 vs 1.5 percent). The demographic characteristics of arrestees were similar between those with and without AMI; the majority of adults who had been arrested in the past year were younger than the age of 35, male, non-Hispanic white, never married, living at or above the Federal poverty level, and had no further education beyond high school. Adult arrestees with AMI, compared with adult arrestees without AMI, were less likely to be female or non-Hispanic black and more likely to be out of the labor force. Among all adults, logistic regression models indicated that having mental illness - particularly SMI (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.36) - was significantly associated with the odds of arrest, even when models controlled for demographic factors and substance use status. Among adults with AMI, the odds of arrest were higher among adults with SMI (adjusted OR = 1.48) than among adults with low/mild mental illness, but the odds of arrests among adults with moderate mental illness were not significantly different from the odds for those with low/mild mental illness. Among all adults, having an SUD was the strongest correlate of arrest (adjusted OR = 6.44), followed by not completing high school (adjusted OR = 3.53), past year illicit drug use without an SUD (adjusted OR = 2.81), and male gender (adjusted OR = 2.70). No characteristics were associated with arrest among adults with AMI that were not also associated with arrest among all adults. Conclusions. The presence of mental illness was a significant predictor of past year arrests in the U.S. general population, even in models that controlled for substance use and other correlates. However, the presence of an SUD was the strongest correlate of past year arrest among all adults and among adults with AMI or SMI. This suggests that programs may reduce arrest and recidivism by focusing on addressing the needs of people with co-occurring mental illness and SUDs. Diversion programs and mental health and drug courts may be one way to address the needs of people with mental illness and SUDs who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Introduction Studies have consistently documented high rates of mental illness among persons involved with the criminal justice system, including jail1,2,3,4,5,6 and prison populations,2,6,7,8 suggesting that the risk of arrest may be higher for individuals with a mental illness. Some research has pointed to the "criminalization of mentally disordered behavior," whereby the limited availability of mental health services has often resulted in jails becoming the placement of last resort for persons with mental illness.9,10,11,12,13 Multiple local studies have found high rates of criminal justice contact among people receiving mental health treatment in the public mental health system.14,15 In one large study linking Los Angeles County mental health treatment records to court records, 24 percent of those who received public- or Medicaid-funded mental health treatment had at least one arrest in the 10-year period covered by the study.16 The majority of these arrests (62 percent) were for nonviolent crimes, and less than half led to convictions. Similarly, a recent study found that individuals receiving mental health treatment in the Massachusetts public mental health system had 60 percent greater odds of being arrested over the 9.5 years of follow-up than did age-matched individuals in the general population.17 The rate of arrest was greater in the treatment sample than in the general population sample (32.8 vs. 23.2 percent). Studies comparing the odds of arrest among adults with a mental illness (regardless of treatment status) and adults without a mental illness in a nationally representative household sample are lacking at this time. Additionally, few nationally representative studies have looked at the sociodemographic characteristics associated with arrest among adults with mental illness. In the aforementioned studies of arrest among persons receiving mental health treatment, the factors associated with criminal justice contact included homelessness,14 younger age,16,18 male gender,16,19 African American race,16 higher levels of impairment,14,18 and type of mental illness.16 However, these studies all focused on criminal justice contact among people receiving mental health treatment in the public mental health system. This subgroup does not represent the overall population of people with mental illness because not everyone with a mental illness receives treatment,20,21,22,23 or receives it in the public sector. To our knowledge, no study has examined the characteristics associated with arrest among those with mental illness in a national, population-based sample. One of the most consistently identified risk factors for arrest in people with mental illness is having co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs).14,15,16 Some studies have found that the overlap between mental illness and contacts with the criminal justice system is largely due to the high co-occurrence of SUDs among those with mental illness.5,24,25,26 Thus, it is important to consider the risk of arrest associated with mental illness independent of the risk associated with SUDs. Studies using data from nationally representative samples to examine these issues are lacking. This report uses data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a nationally representative sample of persons in the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population, to examine the prevalence and characteristics of past year arrest among adults with mental illness as a benchmark for evaluating future change. Thus, this report helps fill the previously described gaps in the literature on arrests among persons with mental illness in the general population. This report works toward meeting a goal within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative for 2011 to 2014 to "address the needs of people with mental and substance use disorders and with histories of trauma within the criminal and juvenile justice systems."

Details: Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource: CBHSQ State Review: Accessed September 17, 2015 at: http://archive.samhsa.gov/data/2k12/DataReview/DR008/CBHSQ-datareview-008-arrests-2012.htm

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://archive.samhsa.gov/data/2k12/DataReview/DR008/CBHSQ-datareview-008-arrests-2012.htm

Shelf Number: 136803

Keywords:
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Recidivism
Substance Abuse

Author: Butler, Amanda

Title: Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System: A Review of Global Perspectives and Promising Practices

Summary: Police officers are often the first point of contact for people living with mental health issues. The rationale for police to intervene in the lives of persons with mental illness (PMI)1 stems from two common law principles: power and authority of police to protect the safety of the community, and the parens patriae doctrine which grants state protection for citizens with disabilities such as the acutely mentally ill (Finn & Stalans, 2002; Lamb, Weinberger, & DeCuir, 2002; Teplin, 2000). Many police officers have expressed concern about the difficulties they encounter in providing assistance to this population and have indicated that they do not feel adequately trained or would like additional training in effective response (Watson & Angell, 2007). Studies indicate that these interactions can be incredibly time consuming and frustrating for both police and persons with mental illness (Durbin, Lin, & Zaslavska, 2010). Efforts to improve police officers' abilities to respond to persons with mental illness are being initiated in jurisdictions globally. These efforts include crisis intervention teams, mobile mental health cars, and a range of educational programs. The US has been a forerunner in the development of police-led and co-response models which have spread rapidly across the US and other western jurisdictions. Many of these efforts have incorporated the perspectives of multiple stakeholders into planning and implementing interventions, but minimal investment has been dedicated to evaluations for effectiveness. These programs would benefit from both rigorous evaluation and a well-developed understanding of interactions between police officers and persons with mental illness. Law enforcement agencies would also benefit from knowledge of "what's working" in other jurisdictions with similar environmental characteristics. This knowledge can help isolate the essential components of effective police response that can be disseminated alone, or as components of a more extensive program. The overall objective of this paper is thus twofold. I begin with a preliminary review of the literature addressing the nature, prevalence and dynamic of interactions between persons with mental illness and law enforcement. This includes the intersections between mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness, which are particularly relevant to policing. The latter half of the paper will be dedicated to law enforcement responses, focusing on programs that have the specific goal of improving response and treatment access. The jurisdictions studied for this review will be predominantly Canada and the United States, and to a lesser extent, Australia and the United Kingdom. There appears to be considerable convergence in attitude amongst all four jurisdictions around the importance of police in effectively managing persons in crisis. Despite the increasing number of programs to improve the interactions of police with persons with mental illness, good evaluations are limited. As well, the objectives of such programs are often vague and difficult to measure. Generally, it appears that effective programs have reduced arrest rates, reduced injuries to both persons with mental illness (PMI) and police, reduced response times, increased coordination with mental health services and increased appropriate referrals to hospital and various community-based agencies. However programs have generally not reduced recidivism, unless the referral is to more than regular mental health services and includes cognitive behavioural training and stable housing.

Details: Vancouver, BC: International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, 2014. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2015 at: http://icclr.law.ubc.ca/sites/icclr.law.ubc.ca/files/publications/pdfs/Mental%20Illness%20and%20the%20Criminal%20Justice%20System_Butler_ICCLR_0.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Canada

URL: http://icclr.law.ubc.ca/sites/icclr.law.ubc.ca/files/publications/pdfs/Mental%20Illness%20and%20the%20Criminal%20Justice%20System_Butler_ICCLR_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 136964

Keywords:
Crisis Management
Mental Health Services
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Services for the Mentally Ill
Police Training

Author: Greenberg, Joel

Title: Behind the Eleventh Door: Solitary Confinement of Individuals with Mental Illness in Oregon's State Penitentiary Behavioral Health Unit

Summary: The corrections system has become the nation's largest provider of mental health services. The Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) has determined that more than half of Oregon's prison population has been diagnosed with a mental illness. Many of the prisoners who are most profoundly impacted by their mental illnesses are held in solitary confinement in the Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) at the Oregon State Penitentiary. These men spend months and sometimes years in an approximately 6 x 10 foot cell, with no natural light, no access to the outdoors or fresh air, and very limited opportunities to speak with other people. While ODOC policy requires these prisoners to be offered regular opportunities to shower and "go to rec," our investigation revealed that few BHU prisoners are actually able to access these opportunities more than once or twice a week. Stated more simply, BHU prisoners are subjected to long periods of solitary confinement. The stress, angst, and boredom of solitary confinement are extremely harmful to an individual's mental health. As one court concluded: "the record shows, what anyway seems pretty obvious, that isolating a human being from other human beings year after year or even month after month can cause substantial psychological damage, even if the isolation is not total." For individuals with serious mental illness, solitary confinement is widely acknowledged to be detrimental and clinically contra-indicated. The American Bar Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the United Nations oppose solitary confinement for people with mental illness. Beginning with the U.S. Supreme Court in 1890 and continuing in recent years, courts across the country have decried the practice. By 1995, a federal judge compared placing an individual with a serious mental illness in solitary confinement to putting an asthmatic in a place with little air to breathe. In recent years, this problem is being addressed across the country. Some of our recommendations are modeled after a 2014 settlement with the state of Arizona. The desperation and exacerbation of symptoms resulting from isolation can significantly decrease a person's ability to conform his actions to rules and behavioral norms, thus creating a cycle of lashing out and increased penalties that further reduce mental health. That sort of cycle is not only a disaster for the prisoners who cannot escape it; it is an endless source of danger for the correctional officers who have to maintain order in an already difficult environment. Originally, the BHU was designed to break this cycle by better addressing the unmet mental health needs of prisoners with serious mental illness. In recent years, however, clinical staff and mental health treatment have been marginalized in favor of an ever-increasing deference to the safety and convenience of correctional staff. This shift has created an environment in which individuals are deprived of basic human rights. BHU prisoners and the past and present BHU mental health employees who spoke with us were consistent in their belief that many BHU prisoners have been subjected to the practical equivalent of torture during their often very long stays in the unit. The conditions that they describe undermine the health and well-being of the prisoners. In addition, they expose ODOC to legal liability and jeopardize utility of the unit within the ODOC system. We have learned that there are many serious problems at the BHU, but have focused on identifying a limited set of primary concerns that must be corrected if the BHU is to fulfill its mission and meet constitutional standards of care.

Details: Portland, OR: Disability Rights Oregon, 2015. 65p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 22, 2015 at: https://droregon.org/wp-content/uploads/Behind-the-Eleventh-Door-Electronic-Version.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://droregon.org/wp-content/uploads/Behind-the-Eleventh-Door-Electronic-Version.pdf

Shelf Number: 137051

Keywords:
Correctional Institutions
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Solitary Confinement

Author: Council of State Governments Justice Center

Title: Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses at the Pretrial Stage: Essential Elements

Summary: The period between a person's arrest and his or her case being adjudicated presents a significant opportunity to safely minimize future criminal justice involvement and make needed connections to behavioral health care. Nationally, about 17 percent of people entering jails pretrial meet criteria for a serious mental illness. In addition, about three-quarters of people with serious mental illnesses in jails have a co-occurring substance use disorder. These are individuals who, by and large, are eligible to receive publicly funded health care. Many communities have found ways to make effective connections to treatment for some individuals as part of pretrial release or diversion programs, but policymakers and practitioners continue to struggle to identify and implement research-based policies and practices at this stage of the criminal justice system. This report introduces essential elements for responding to people with mental illnesses at the pretrial stage, including decisions about pretrial release and diversion. These elements encourage data collection not only to help individual communities, but also for future researchers who are dedicated to these important questions.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2015. 42p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 30, 2015 at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Improving_Responses_to_People_with_Mental_Illnesses_at_the_Pretrial_Stage_Essential_Elements.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Improving_Responses_to_People_with_Mental_Illnesses_at_the_Pretrial_Stage_Essential_Elements.pdf

Shelf Number: 137181

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Pretrial Intervention
Pretrial Release

Author: Reuland, Melissa

Title: Improving Responses to People With Mental Illnesses: Strategies for Effective Law Enforcement Training

Summary: In recent years, law enforcement agencies across the country increasingly have collaborated with community partners to design and implement specialized responses to people with mental illnesses. These agencies work closely with mental health practitioners, people with mental illnesses and their family members, representatives of social service agencies, and others who share their goal of improving the outcomes of encounters with people who have mental illnesses. Their specialized law enforcement-based response programs position officers to safely manage these complex encounters and provide a compassionate response that prioritizes treatment over incarceration when appropriate. While variation exists among agencies with these programs, they share a common feature: officers who respond to incidents involving a person with a mental illness receive extensive training for this role. Training enables law enforcement personnel to perform duties required for an effective response. With training, responders better understand mental illnesses and the impact of those illnesses on individuals, families, and communities. They are also better prepared to identify signs and symptoms of mental illnesses; utilize a range of stabilization and de-escalation techniques; and act in full awareness of disposition options, community resources, and legal issues, all of which vary by jurisdiction. Supervisory and support personnel (such as midlevel managers, field training officers, call takers, and dispatchers) also receive training that enables them to assist responders and facilitate the specialized program's operations.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2008. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2015 at: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/Strategies_%20for_LE_Training.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/Strategies_%20for_LE_Training.pdf

Shelf Number: 137187

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Police Specialized Training
Police Training

Author: Schwarzfeld, Matthew

Title: Improving Responses to People With Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of a Specialized Law Enforcement-Based Program

Summary: Law enforcement officers throughout the country regularly respond to calls for service that involve people with mental illnesses-often without needed supports, resources, or specialized training. These encounters can have significant consequences for the officers, people with mental illnesses and their loved ones, the community, and the criminal justice system. Although these encounters may constitute a relatively small number of an agency's total calls for service, they are among the most complex and time-consuming calls officers must address. At these scenes, front-line officers must stabilize a potentially volatile situation, determine whether the person poses a danger to him- or herself or others, and effect an appropriate disposition that may require a wide range of community supports. In the interests of safety and justice, officers typically take approximately 30 percent of people with mental illnesses they encounter into custody- for transport to either an emergency room, a mental health facility, or jail. Officers resolve the remaining incidents informally, often only able to provide a short-term solution to a person's long-term needs. As a consequence, many law enforcement personnel respond to the same group of people with mental illnesses and the same locations repeatedly, straining limited resources and fostering a collective sense of frustration at the inability to prevent future encounters. In response, jurisdictions across the country are exploring strategies to improve the outcomes of these encounters and to provide a compassionate response that prioritizes treatment over incarceration when appropriate. These efforts took root in the late 1980s, when the crisis intervention team (CIT) and law enforcement-mental health co-response models, described in more detail below, first emerged. Since that time, hundreds of communities have implemented these programs; some have replicated the models, and others have adapted features to meet their jurisdiction's unique needs. Although this number represents only a small fraction of all U.S. communities, there are many indications that the level of interest in criminal justice-mental health collaborative initiatives is surging.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2008. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2015 at: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/LE_Essential_Elements.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/LE_Essential_Elements.pdf

Shelf Number: 137188

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Police Specialized Training
Police Training

Author: Thompson, Michael

Title: Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of a Specialized Law Enforcement-Based Program

Summary: This publication articulates 10 essential elements for specialized law enforcement-based response programs in interacting with people with mental illnesses and provides a common framework for program design and implementation that will promote positive outcomes while being sensitive to every jurisdiction's distinct needs and resources. This project was coordinated by the Council of State Governments Justice Center with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2008. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2015 at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/le-essentialelements.pdf

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/le-essentialelements.pdf

Shelf Number: 137189

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Specialized Training
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Dieter, Richard C.

Title: Battle Scars: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty

Summary: In many respects, veterans in the United States are again receiving the respect and gratitude they deserve for having risked their lives and served their country. Wounded soldiers are welcomed home, and their courage in starting a new and difficult journey in civilian life is rightly applauded. But some veterans with debilitating scars from their time in combat have received a very different reception. They have been judged to be the "worst of the worst" criminals, deprived of mercy, sentenced to death, and executed by the government they served. Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who have committed heinous crimes present hard cases for our system of justice. The violence that occasionally erupts into murder can easily overcome the special respect that is afforded most veterans. However, looking away and ignoring this issue serves neither veterans nor victims. PTSD has affected an enormous number of veterans returning from combat zones. Over 800,000 Vietnam veterans suffered from PTSD. At least 175,000 veterans of Operation Desert Storm were affected by "Gulf War Illness," which has been linked to brain cancer and other mental deficits. Over 300,000 veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts have PTSD. In one study, only about half had received treatment in the prior year. Even with these mental wounds and lifetime disabilities, the overwhelming majority of veterans do not commit violent crime. Many have been helped, and PTSD is now formally recognized in the medical community as a serious illness. But for those who have crossed an indefinable line and have been charged with capital murder, compassion and understanding seem to disappear. Although a definitive count has yet to be made, approximately 300 veterans are on death row today, and many others have already been executed. Perhaps even more surprising, when many of these veterans faced death penalty trials, their service and related illnesses were barely touched on as their lives were being weighed by judges and juries. Defense attorneys failed to investigate this critical area of mitigation; prosecutors dismissed, or even belittled, their claims of mental trauma from the war; judges discounted such evidence on appeal; and governors passed on their opportunity to bestow the country's mercy. In older cases, some of that dismissiveness might be attributed to ignorance about PTSD and related problems. But many of those death sentences still stand today when the country knows better. Unfortunately, the plight of veterans facing execution is not of another era. The first person executed in 2015, Andrew Brannan, was a decorated Vietnam veteran with a diagnosis of PTSD and other forms of mental illness. Despite being given 100% mental disability by the Veterans Administration after returning from the war, Georgia sought and won a death sentence because he bizarrely killed a police officer after a traffic stop. The Pardons Board refused him clemency. Others, like Courtney Lockhart in Alabama, returned more recently with PTSD from service in Iraq. He was sentenced to death by a judge, even though the jury recommended life. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a request to review his case this year. This report is not a definitive study of all the veterans who have been sentenced to death in the modern era of capital punishment. Rather, it is a wake-up call to the justice system and the public at large: As the death penalty is being questioned in many areas, it should certainly be more closely scrutinized when used against veterans with PTSD and other mental disabilities stemming from their service. Recognizing the difficult challenges many veterans face after their service should warrant a close examination of the punishment of death for those wounded warriors who have committed capital crimes. Moreover, a better understanding of the disabilities some veterans face could lead to a broader conversation about the wide use of the death penalty for others suffering from severe mental illness.

Details: Washington, DC: Death Penalty Information Center, 2015. 42p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2015 at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/BattleScars.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/BattleScars.pdf

Shelf Number: 137276

Keywords:
Capital Punishment
Death Penalty
Mentally Ill Offenders
Military Veterans
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Author: Carceres-Monroy, Alejandro

Title: Breaking the Silence: Civil and Human Rights Violations Resulting from Medical Neglect and Abuse of Women of Color in Los Angeles County Jails

Summary: Women of color with mental health conditions in LA county jails and California prisons are exceptionally vulnerable to medical neglect and abuse that violate domestic civil rights law and regional and international human rights law. This Report by Dignity and Power Now ("DPN") documents how jail and prison officials violated the rights of seven women of color, and highlights the mental health consequences of the medical neglect and abuse these women suffered. It relies on the testimonies of these women, interviews with two former CRDF psychiatric social workers, and a growing literature on the unlawful treatment of incarcerated populations with mental health conditions across the United States of America. Although this Report's focus is the Century Regional Detention Facility ("CRDF"), an all-female facility operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ("LASD"), it includes violations against women at the LASD's Twin Towers facility and at the California Institution for Women ("CIW"), an all-female state prison. This Report documents how LASD Deputies and other personnel-including Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health personnel working in detention facilities-systematically denied the women interviewed vital mental and physical health care services. These officials forced women suffering from mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression to suffer - sometimes for months - without access to necessary medication. These Deputies verbally abused these women and rarely permitted them to leave their cells. These officials forced these women to lie in their own filth for days, and denied them access to adequate reproductive hygiene products such as tampons or pads, leaving these women to bleed on themselves. Women interviewed for this Report recounted how Deputies shackled pregnant women, and punished women with mental health conditions by placing them in solitary confinement. The experiences of these interviewees also reveal how, by medically neglecting and abusing women of color, Deputies and other personnel increased these women's risk of suicide. These abuses are unacceptable by any measure. That they occur at the hands of public employees entrusted with the humane care of these women - some of whom are our communities' most mentally and physically vulnerable - is heinous. In addition to detailing these women's stories, this Report demonstrates that the medical neglect and abuse of incarcerated women of color by LASD and other public officials violates domestic civil rights law, regional human rights law, and international human rights law. The violations this Report documents make clear the human cost of the growing trend of incarceration of women, a trend that is by no means mitigated by so-called gender responsive incarceration. In 2007 some California legislators proposed the construction of more incarceration facilities for women, and used a need for gender responsiveness as a justification for this expansion. A report by Californians United for a Responsible Budget, also released that year, explained that so-called gender responsive incarceration proposals used "the grave needs of people in women's prisons to manipulate public sentiment in favor of rehabilitation and services to expand a failing system." Even today, building more facilities will not prevent the gross human rights violations incarcerated women endure in Los Angeles County, or anywhere else in the United States.

Details: Los Angeles, CA: Dignity and Power Now, 2015. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 11, 2016 at: http://dignityandpowernow.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/breaking_silence_report_2015.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://dignityandpowernow.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/breaking_silence_report_2015.pdf

Shelf Number: 137456

Keywords:
African Americans
Female Inmates
Female Offenders
Female Prisoners
Jails
Medical Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Council of State Governments Justice Center

Title: Franklin County, Ohio: A County Justice and Behavioral Health Systems Improvement Project

Summary: In 2014, the Franklin County (Columbus), Ohio, Criminal Justice Planning Board was selected to serve as a County Justice and Behavioral Health Systems Demonstration Site. Demonstration sites receive in-depth technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center to pursue goals such as increasing public safety, reducing jail costs, and helping connect individuals with mental and substance use disorders to effective community-based health services. Franklin County was selected because of the strength of cooperation between its various criminal-justice-related agencies. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office; the Franklin County Board of Commissioners; the Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Board of Franklin County; the Franklin County Office of Homeland Security and Justice Programs; the Columbus City Attorney's Office; the Franklin County Prosecutor and Public Defender offices; and leadership from the Franklin County Municipal and Common Pleas Courts and Probation departments all worked together on the project. An extensive data analysis coupled with over 50 in-person interviews with local and state leaders led to the identification of key recommendations for reducing the number of people with behavioral health disorders cycling in and out of jail.

Details: Lexington, KY: Council of State Government Justice Center, 2015. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2016 at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FranklinCountyFullReport.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FranklinCountyFullReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 137648

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons

Author: Minnesota. Office of the Legislative Auditor. Program Evaluation Division

Title: Mental Health Services in County Jails

Summary: We found that when police encounter a person who may be suffering from a mental illness, services available in jails and in communities are often inadequate. In addition, many persons deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial do not receive treatment in a sufficiently timely manner, if at all. We make recommendations to address these deficiencies. Implementing them will require action by the Legislature, state executives, local officials, and judicial officials. Key Facts and Findings: - Problems with service availability in Minnesota's adult mental health system have persisted for years, limiting peace officers' options for referring persons with mental illness they take into custody. (p. 26) - The Department of Corrections has not collected reliable data from jails on the number of inmates assessed for mental illness. However, our surveys of sheriffs suggest that one-third of jail inmates may be on medications for a mental illness. (pp. 20, 21) - State rules do not adequately address some important areas of jail-based services, including mental health assessment of inmates following admission to jail. (pp. 46, 55) - Most sheriffs and county human services directors believe that jail inmates should have better access to psychiatric services, counseling, and case management than they now have. (p. 46) In addition, these officials widely believe that the number of beds in Minnesota's mental health facilities-particularly secure inpatient beds-is inadequate to meet current needs. (p. 29) - There is limited compliance with a state law that requires discharge planning for sentenced jail inmates with mental illness. (p. 66) - Contrary to law, some Minnesota defendants deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial remain in jail while awaiting court action on their possible civil commitment to competency treatment. Many incompetent defendants do not ultimately receive treatment to restore their competency. (pp. 83, 88) - A 2013 law (the "48-hour law") that gives jail inmates priority for placement into Department of Human Services (DHS) facilities has not always worked as intended, and it has limited the access of other patients to the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center. (pp. 92-94)

Details: St. Paul, MN: Office of the Legislative Auditor, 2016. 123p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 7, 2016 at: http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/mhjails.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/mhjails.pdf

Shelf Number: 138121

Keywords:
County Jails
Jail Inmates
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Saunders, Anna

Title: Black and Minority Ethnic communities, mental health and criminal justice

Summary: Four years on from the Bradley Report, the first report from the Bradley Commission, Black and Minority Ethnic communities, mental health and criminal justice, is published. The Commission asked Centre for Mental Health to report on areas that were under-developed in the Bradley Report, beginning with the needs of black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. The briefing finds that community groups are key to engaging BME groups that are disproportionately represented both in mental health care and in the criminal justice system. It appraises examples of best practice in services working with BME communities at critical points of the criminal justice pathway and looks to develop further understanding as to how the Bradley Report's recommendations can work for diverse communities.

Details: London: Centre for Mental Health, 2013. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Bradley Commission briefing 1: Accessed March 16, 2016 at: http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/bradley-briefing1

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/bradley-briefing1

Shelf Number: 138303

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Duwe, Grant

Title: Does Release Planning for Serious and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) Offenders Reduce Recidivism? Results from an Outcome Evaluation

Summary: Since 2002, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has provided release planning services to serious and persistent mentally ill (SPMI) offenders. This study assesses the effectiveness of SPMI release planning by examining recidivism outcomes among 796 offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2004 and 2011. Propensity score matching was used to individually match 398 SPMI offenders who received release planning with a comparison group of 398 SPMI offenders who did not receive these services. The results from the Cox regression analyses showed that SPMI release planning did not have a significant impact on any of the four recidivism measures that were analyzed. Release planning's failure to reduce recidivism may be due to the fact that these services were designed to treat mental illness rather than address the criminogenic needs of offenders.

Details: St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Department of Corrections, 2015. 26p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 22, 2016 at: http://www.doc.state.mn.us/PAGES/files/6214/1840/9767/MnDOC_SPMI_RP_Evaluation_DOC_Website_Final.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.doc.state.mn.us/PAGES/files/6214/1840/9767/MnDOC_SPMI_RP_Evaluation_DOC_Website_Final.pdf

Shelf Number: 138365

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Recidivism

Author: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Title: Municipal Courts: An Effective Tool for Diverting People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders from the Criminal Justice System

Summary: The Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) is a tool that enables communities to create coherent strategies to divert people with mental and substance use disorders from the criminal justice system. The mapping process associated with SIM . focuses on five discrete points of potential intervention, or "intercepts" (Munetz & Griffin, 2006): 1: Law enforcement; 2: Initial detention/first court appearance; 3: Jails/courts; 4: Reentry from detention into the community; and 5: Community corrections, probation, and parole. Much has been written about four of these intercepts. For example, the Crisis Intervention Team model has been disseminated broadly as a strategy to improve law enforcement interventions at Intercept 1. Mental health courts, drug courts, and other treatment courts have become an increasingly common part of the judicial landscape and define much of the conversation at Intercept 3. Reentry from jail or prison, Intercept 4, has become a core topic in general discussions regarding correctional policies at the federal, state, and local levels. SAMHSA's SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery) (Dennis & Abreu, 2010) ease reentry on release from jail or prison. And while many communities lack much in the way of resources at Intercept 5, a literature has emerged that discusses specialized probation as a strategy to ensure longer community tenure (Skeem & Manchak, 2008). While each intercept presents opportunities for diversion, Intercept 2 may hold the most unexplored potential. This is because it is at Intercept 2 (initial detention and first court appearance) that the vast majority of individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system appear. Many of these individuals have a mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders; these are the individuals whom communities often try to divert. However, for a variety of reasons discussed below, this intercept is often overlooked. The purpose of this document is to turn community attention to the possibilities that Intercept 2, especially when the first appearance is at a municipal court, presents for diversion. The optimal diversion strategies that are most often overlooked and involve municipal courts are at first appearance (Intercept 2).

Details: Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, 2015. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 7, 2016 at: http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content//SMA15-4929/SMA15-4929.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content//SMA15-4929/SMA15-4929.pdf

Shelf Number: 138598

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Diversion Programs
Drug Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Substance Abuse

Author: Landerso, Rasmus

Title: Psychiatric Hospital Admission and Later Mental Health, Crime, and Labor Market Outcomes

Summary: This paper studies the effects of an admission to a psychiatric hospital on subsequent psychiatric treatments, self-inflicted harm, crime, and labor market outcomes. To circumvent non-random selection into hospital admission we use a measure of hospital occupancy rates the weeks prior to a patient's first contact with a psychiatric hospital as an instrument. Admission reduces criminal and self-harming behavior substantially in the short run, but leads to higher re-admission rates and lower labor market attachment in the long run. Effects are heterogeneous across observable and unobservable patient characteristics. We also identify positive externalities of admissions on spouses' employment rates.

Details: Copenhagen: Rockwool Foundation Research Unit, 2016. 72p.

Source: Internet Resource: Study Paper No. 98: Accessed May 16, 2016 at: http://www.rockwoolfonden.dk/app/uploads/2016/01/Study-paper-NY-98_Final_WEB.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Denmark

URL: http://www.rockwoolfonden.dk/app/uploads/2016/01/Study-paper-NY-98_Final_WEB.pdf

Shelf Number: 139065

Keywords:
Employment
Mental Health
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Molloy, Jennifer K.

Title: Utah Cost of Crime. Mental Health Court (Adults): Technical Report

Summary: Mental Health Courts (MHC) are specialized, treatment-oriented courts that divert non-violent, mentally-ill defendants from the criminal justice system into court-monitored, community-based treatment and social services. Lamb, Weinberger, Marsh, and Gross (2007) estimated that more than 300,000 of the 2.1 million prisoners in the United States (U.S.) suffered from a serious mental illness. Given this estimate, criminal justice professionals and policy makers have been under pressure to explore strategies to meet the unique needs of persons with mental illness who have histories of involvement with the justice system and who have not been successfully engaged by community mental health treatment agencies. MHCs emerged in the 1990s with the goal of decreasing the frequency of mentally ill persons' contacts with the criminal justice system by providing courts with resources to improve clients' social functioning, while linking them to employment, housing, treatment, and support services. As of 2008, the Council of State Governments Justice Center estimated there were 150 operational MHCs in the U.S. with many more in the planning and development phases (Thompson, Osher, & Tomasini-Joshi, 2008). In particular, MHCs have: (1) a separate docket for mentally ill defendants; (2) a dedicated judge for all court hearings and monitoring sessions; (3) dedicated prosecution and defense counsel; (4) collaborative decision making between criminal justice, mental health professionals, and other support systems; (5) voluntary participation in court and treatment by defendants; (6) intensive supervision with ongoing court monitoring and emphasis on accountability; and (7) dismissal of charges or avoidance of incarceration with successful completion of program requirements (Goldkamp & Irons-Guyunn, 2000). A large body of work provides guidelines for the development and implementation of MHCs; however, limited research has been conducted on the impact of MHCs on offenders' criminal behavior.

Details: Salt Lake City: Utah Criminal Justice Center, University of Utah, 2012. 13p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 19, 2016 at: http://ucjc.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/Mental-Health-Tech_v031920131.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: http://ucjc.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/Mental-Health-Tech_v031920131.pdf

Shelf Number: 139113

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: VanGeem, Stephen Guy

Title: An Evaluation of the Utah First District Mental Health Court: Gauging the Efficacy of Diverting Offenders Suffering With Serious Mental Illness

Summary: The decision to establish a mental health court in Utah's First District was largely a political one prompted by the growing popularity of problem-solving courts throughout the country. Because this motivation was policy-driven and not needs-driven, the court was established without an ongoing data collection schedule. As a result, barring anecdotal evidence from program participants, the current impact of the court on two key goals - reducing recidivism and increasing community-based treatment contact - is entirely unknown. The current study aims to provide a summative program evaluation of the first sixty-eight months of specialty court operation by (1) estimating basic demographic and clinical information about program referrals, participants, and graduates; and (2) measuring program effectiveness by examining between-group differences in key outcome measures (e.g., new charges, use of therapeutic services, time to rearrest, etc.) for those referrals who are accepted into the program as participants versus those referrals who are rejected from the program and sentenced to treatment-as-usual. Ideally, the current study will not only provide an evidence-based assessment of local practices at the current study site but will also empirically inform the greater community of mental health practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who are operating in smaller, more rural districts.

Details: Tampa: University of South Florida, 2015. 180p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 23, 2016 at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6789&context=etd

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6789&context=etd

Shelf Number: 139140

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Epperson, Matthew

Title: Comparative Evaluation of Court-Based Responses to Offenders with Mental Illnesses

Summary: 1 FINAL SUMMARY OVERVIEW Purpose of Study Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) are over-represented in the criminal justice system and criminal justice agencies have struggled for years with managing and serving this population. In recent years, probation departments have forged new collaborative relationships with mental health treatment providers and adopted problem-solving approaches in responding to the needs of people with SMI in the criminal justice system. These efforts have resulted in two prevailing court-based models for offenders with mental illnesses: mental health courts and specialized probation. Both mental health courts and specialized probation units have experienced rapid growth over the past decade. However, most evaluation research on these programs has been criticized for studying new programs that are still in development, employing short follow up periods that are unable to examine sustained effectiveness, and utilizing less than ideal comparison conditions. In response to these methodological issues, this study employed a mixed methods comparative evaluation of three established court-based programs that serve offenders with SMI: mental health court, specialized probation, and standard probation. The primary aims of the study were to examine and compare each program's: 1)Structure; 2)Operation; and 3)Effectiveness. Research Methods The study was conducted in Cook County, Illinois; data were collected from three distinct court-based programs. The Cook County Felony Mental Health Court (MHC) was implemented in 2004 and serves individuals with SMI who have been arrested for nonviolent felonies. The Specialized Mental Health Probation Unit (herein "specialized probation") has been in operation in Cook County for more than 25 years and involves specially trained probation officers who supervise a reduced caseload of probationers diagnosed with SMI. The Cook County Adult Probation Department (herein "standard probation") has an active caseload of approximately 25,000 probationers, a portion of whom have SMI.

Details: Chicago: University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, 2014. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249894.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/249894.pdf

Shelf Number: 139623

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders
Probation
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Torrey, E. Fuller

Title: Raising Cain: The Role of Serious Mental Illness in Family Homicides

Summary: Most individuals with serious mental illness are not dangerous. However, a small number of them, most of whom are not being treated, may become dangerous to themselves or to others. Some of these individuals may assault or even kill family members. This problem has received insufficient attention. - Although there have been previous studies of particular types of family homicides, such as children killed by parents, this is the first study of the role of serious mental illness in all family homicides. - For a sample of the nation's homicides, local law enforcement agencies voluntarily submit Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHRs) to the FBI that include the relationship between the person committing the homicide (offender) and the victim. In 2013, 25% of homicides detailed in SHRs involved the killing of one member of a family by another. The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) is the most comprehensive source of homicide data in the United States. The NVSS reported that in 2013 there were 16,121 total homicides in the nation. Applying the SHR prevalence rate for family relationships, 4,000 of these deaths would have been family homicides. The role of serious mental illness in these homicides is not identified by any federal database, including the SHRs. However, studies of family homicides consistently find psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to be vastly overrepresented among people who commit family homicides. Based on a review of the relevant literature from 1960 to 2015, the role of serious mental illness in family homicides is estimated to be a factor as follows: - 50% when parents kill children - 67% when children kill parents - 10% when spouses kill spouses - 15% when siblings kill siblings - 10% for other family relationships . Raising Cain : THE ROLE OF SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS IN FAMILY HOMICIDES Based on these estimates, there would have been 1,149 family homicides in 2013 in which the offender had a serious mental illness. This would have been 29% of family homicides and 7% of all homicides. These 1,149 homicides outstrip the number of deaths attributed to meningitis, kidney infection or Hodgkin's disease in 2013. Although there has been a marked decrease in the overall homicide rate in the United States in recent years, there has been no decrease in family homicides in which parents kill children or children kill parents. These are the family homicides most strongly associated with serious mental illness. Women are responsible for only 11% of all homicides in the United States. However, they commit 26% of family homicides. Family homicides identified in the independent Preventable Tragedies Database in 2015 illustrate the statistics. All the homicides in this database were reported in the media to be associated with serious mental illness. In 2015, the database reported 100 family homicides. Among the 141 victims of these 100 family homicides, 25 (17.7%) were people 65 and older, including 13 (9.2%) who were 75 and older. In contrast, among all homicides in the United States, only 5.1% of the victims are 65 and older, and 2.2% are 75 and older. Thus among family homicides associated with serious mental illness, elderly individuals are victimized three to four times more frequently than would be expected among homicides in the general population. Knives and other sharp objects are used as weapons more often than guns in family homicides. Abuse of alcohol or drugs and failure to take medication prescribed for serious mental illness are major risk factors for committing a family homicide. Family homicides are merely the most visible of the problems associated with having a seriously mentally ill family member who is not being treated. In order to decrease family homicides, it will be necessary to provide adequate treatment for individuals with serious mental illness, focusing especially on those with the greatest risk factors. Clozapine, long-acting injectable antipsychotics and assisted outpatient treatment are especially useful in this regard. If the offenders had received such treatments, the majority of these 1,149 family homicides could have been prevented.

Details: Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center, 2016. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2016 at: http://www.tacreports.org/storage/documents/raising-cain.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.tacreports.org/storage/documents/raising-cain.pdf

Shelf Number: 139640

Keywords:
Domestic Violence
Family Violence
Homicides
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Skorek, Rebecca

Title: Evaluation of Chicago Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team for Youth (CIT-Y) training curriculum: Year 2

Summary: Beginning in 2010, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority awarded several grants to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Chicago (NAMI-C) to fund Crisis Intervention Training For Youth courses to officers at the Chicago Police Department (CPD). The program was the first 40-hour, five-day law enforcement youth crisis intervention training offered in the country. NAMI-C and CPD developed the course to answer requests for additional training from officers responding to calls for service involving youth with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders. Key findings Nationally, it is estimated that as many as 70 percent of the 2 million youth and young adults arrested each year suffer from mental health disorders which the justice system is not equipped to handle. 1 These youth could be diverted to community-based treatment services rather than the juvenile justice system. Law enforcement, under the doctrine of parens patriae, have the authority to intervene in mental health-related incidents and determine the juvenile's trajectory - resolution on scene, arrest, or psychiatric hospitalization transport. However, law enforcement officers called to intervene in crisis situations may not have the skills to safely interact with youth in crisis. Too often, officers resort to excess or even deadly force, 2 although many individuals with mental disorders pose little risk of harm to others and are much more likely to harm themselves or be victims of violence. 3 The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model was developed in response to the need for alternative law enforcement response to crisis calls. The team is designed to be a collaboration between police and appropriate community service systems to ensure that individuals with mental health needs are referred for services rather than brought into the criminal justice system. 4 Extending this model to youth crisis calls required additional training to prepare officers to identify youth in crisis, assess their risk of harm, and apply de-escalation techniques to reduce trauma to themselves, youth and their families and avoid criminalization of juvenile behaviors related to unmet needs. 5 This study was part of a multi-year evaluation conducted by Authority researchers on the implementation of 12 Crisis Intervention Training for Youth (CIT-Y) courses for CPD officers funded by the Authority. It focused on the second year of training implementation in 2012. It was designed to assess CIT-Y core training components and measure the curriculum's effect on officer knowledge of and attitudes toward appropriate responses to youth crisis calls. The evaluation also sought to assess progress on recommended diversification of training participation among the various levels of CPD staff, especially those responsible for supervising trained officers. Authority researchers designed evaluation tools to measure training effectiveness, including a pre-/post-curriculum test, 18 training module evaluation surveys, and follow-up focus group questions. Data was collected from 144 officers attending CIT-Y training courses from January 2012 through May 2013 after completing adult CIT training, and a comparison group of 137 officers volunteering for adult CIT training classes but not yet trained in crisis intervention techniques.

Details: Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2016. 71p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2016 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/CIT-Y%20Year%202%20Final%20Report%20to%20post.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/CIT-Y%20Year%202%20Final%20Report%20to%20post.pdf

Shelf Number: 139789

Keywords:
Crisis Intervention
Juvenile Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Police Education and Training

Author: Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice

Title: A report on Chicago's felony courts

Summary: At Chicago's Criminal Courts Building at 26th Street and California Avenue, the sheer volume of felony cases has overwhelmed the judges, the prosecutors, and the public defenders. The jail houses nearly 10,000 inmates awaiting trial. It is estimated that at least 20% and perhaps as many as 50% of these inmates suffer from untreated mental illness. The courtrooms hear more than 28,000 cases per year, half of which are non-violent, drug-related charges. Each judge at 26th Street has on average 275 pending cases at any one time. The adult probation department seeks to handle more than 23,000 felony offenders at any one time. Many improvements have been made as the courts struggle to adapt to the realities of operating beyond capacity, but patchwork adaptations are not good enough. This report is a result of unprecedented collaboration among leaders with a commitment to reform. Presiding Judge Paul Biebel, State's Attorney Richard Devine, and Public Defender Edwin Burnette opened their offices to this study and provided both advice and data. An advisory committee of local experts served to identify issues and review findings. Ultimately, the public gets the criminal justice system that it chooses. The choices are made in elections and in decisions on legislation, enforcement priorities, and taxes. The resulting system may not be chosen consciously, but it is chosen nonetheless. Because we disapprove of conduct that we consider immoral, our instinct is to punish it. This may be the case even if the conduct does not directly touch our own lives. But we often do not consider the costs of imposing punishment. Some money is well-spent - the incapacitation of harmful offenders is necessary to the maintenance of an orderly society. Every person put in jail, however, requires that money be spent for police, prosecutors, judges, public defenders, and jailers, and money to house and feed the offender. T1he public, therefore, needs to decide how much the incapacitation is worth. Punishment is purchased at a price, often a high one. Public policy decisions involve tough choices: we want safety, moral rectitude and, at the same time, low taxes, but in criminal justice, as in so much else, we cannot have all we want. We may hope, however, to make informed choices, based on fact. It is our objective here to provide recommendations based on facts and on the informed observations of those most familiar with the criminal justice system. The costs we should take into account are not limited to the expense of operating the criminal justice system; citizens and institutions outside the system bear much of the burden. Imprisonment removes workers from the labor force - in many cases, not just during the period of their imprisonment but permanently. Dealing with drug offenders on a "revolving door" basis, processing their cases but failing to rehabilitate them, produces ruined lives and neighborhoods infested with drug dealers. Misallocation of scarce law enforcement resources imposes costs on the business community because of lost productivity and increased security and healthcare costs, and it imposes costs on the working poor because of lost wages and because the poor are likely to be victims of crime. We can continue to devote our resources to the processing of minor drug cases, with little effect on the markets for drugs, or we can provide more resources aimed at drug and mental health rehabilitation and treatment - and target the criminal justice system on serious crime. If the problems described in this report are not addressed, Cook County's criminal justice system will continue to be unmanageable, costly, and inefficient. It will be a system that fails to do justice fairly and effectively. This report offers recommendations for achieving justice through accountability, independence, diversion, and rehabilitation. Accountability and independence require funding, political insulation, and legislative restraint. Diversion and rehabilitation keep defendants away from the criminal justice system entirely and stop the proverbial "revolving door" of justice through treatment services. There is almost universal acknowledgment among the major players at 26th Street that the Cook County criminal justice system needs significant improvement. Moreover, public opinion data suggest that the majority of the public supports restorative justice. For nonviolent offenders, there is considerable support for "intermediate sanctions" and for "restorative justice." There is not, however, a consensus on what can be done to improve the system. The gap between support for action and necessary action looms large. This study, along with the collaboration of the system's major stakeholders, is a step toward reform and change that is long overdue in Cook County.

Details: Chicago: Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, 2007. 124p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2016 at: http://chicagoappleseed.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/criminal_justice_full_report.pdf

Year: 2007

Country: United States

URL: http://chicagoappleseed.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/criminal_justice_full_report.pdf

Shelf Number: 107838

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Criminal Courts
Diversion
Felony Offenders
Mentally Ill Offenders
Public Defenders

Author: Parsonage, Michael

Title: Traumatic Brain Injury and Offending: An Economic Analysis

Summary: Over a million people in this country live with the consequences of traumatic brain injury, at a cost to the economy of around L15 billion a year. Funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust as part of its Transition to Adulthood programme, this report presents an analysis of the costs of traumatic brain injury, with particular reference to the links between head injury and crime. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), also described as head injury, is any injury to the brain caused by impact, for example a direct blow to the head or a force that causes the brain to move around inside the skull. Common causes are falls, road accidents, collisions and violence. Head injuries vary greatly in severity, depending on whether and for how long they result in a loss of consciousness or post-traumatic amnesia. About 10-15% of all TBIs are classified as moderate or severe and the remaining 85- 90% as mild.

Details: London: Centre for Mental Health, 2016. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 3, 2016 at: http://www.barrowcadbury.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Traumatic-brain-injury-and-offending-an-economic-analysis.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.barrowcadbury.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Traumatic-brain-injury-and-offending-an-economic-analysis.pdf

Shelf Number: 140151

Keywords:
Brain Injury
Disability
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Neurological Disorders

Author: National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO)

Title: Foreign National Offenders, Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System

Summary: The mental health needs of foreign national individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system are a neglected issue, with what discussion does exist on this subject confining itself solely to the prison system. Whilst this is to an extent understandable as this is where the concentration of foreign national individuals lies, it is also important to look at the criminal justice system as a whole (as well as its interface with the mental health and the immigration system) in any examination of the mental health needs of foreign national offenders and detainees. Foreign nationals - including those with a learning disability - often have mental health needs which go beyond (and are different to) those experienced by the general offender population, and which can be exacerbated by other factors that render them more vulnerable than other indigenous defendants or offenders. In addition to the usual health stresses that accompany being arrested and incarcerated, foreign national prisoners may experience: - mental health and welfare problems (such as isolation, separation from family, trauma and loss, particularly if they are seeking refuge or asylum) - a lack of access to information about their current experience - a lack of legal and immigration advice - language barriers and a shortage of translation facilities - a period of effectively being held in bureaucratic limbo following the serving of their sentence and prior to deportation - limited preparation for release and insufficient access to resettlement programmes - a fear of return to their home country fuelled either by a lack of affinity with that country or by other reasons. All of the above factors can impact on the experience of foreign nationals in the criminal justice process and, as such, affect their well-being and mental health.

Details: London: NACRO, 2010. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: A Nacro Mental Health Briefing Paper: Accessed September 7, 2016 at: https://3bx16p38bchl32s0e12di03h-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Foreign-national-offenders-mental-health-and-the-criminal-justice-system.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://3bx16p38bchl32s0e12di03h-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Foreign-national-offenders-mental-health-and-the-criminal-justice-system.pdf

Shelf Number: 147898

Keywords:
Asylum Seekers
Foreign Inmates
Foreign National Offenders
Foreign Prisoners
Immigrants and Crime
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Guy, Anna

Title: Locked Up and Locked Down: Segregation of Inmates with Mental Illness

Summary: Segregation disproportionately affects inmates with mental illness, according to a report released today by the AVID Prison Project, and experts assert most inmates acquire mental illness or experience worsened symptoms as a result of conditions in segregation. Today, 80,000 to 100,000 inmates are segregated in U.S. prisons. They will remain isolated in small single person cells, 22 to 24 hours per day, for up to years at a time. Even President Obama, the first sitting president to tour a prison, recognized that mental illness can worsen in segregation and inmates with mental illness are more likely to commit suicide. Locked Up and Locked Down: Segregation of Inmates with Mental Illness chronicles advocacy efforts undertaken across the country on behalf of inmates with mental illness. The Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities (AVID) Prison Project, in partnership with the National Disability Rights Network and protection and advocacy agencies from twenty states, released the report, which calls for national prison reform measures.

Details: Seattle, Disability Rights Washington, AVID Prison Project, 2016. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2016 at: http://www.disabilityrightswa.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Locked%20Up%20and%20Locked%20Down%20--%20AVID%20Prison%20Project%20PDF%20w%20Pictures%20FINAL.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.disabilityrightswa.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Locked%20Up%20and%20Locked%20Down%20--%20AVID%20Prison%20Project%20PDF%20w%20Pictures%20FINAL.pdf

Shelf Number: 147321

Keywords:
Disabilities
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Prisoners
Prisoner Segregation

Author: Indig, Devon

Title: Comorbid substance use disorders and mental health disorders among New Zealand prisoners

Summary: Introduction Mental health and substance use disorders are known to be substantially higher among prisoners than in the general population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and co-occurrence of mental health and substance use disorders among New Zealand prisoners. Methods This study used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 (CIDI 3.0) and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4+ (PDQ-4) to assess the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders. The study sample included 1209 New Zealand prisoners across 13 prisons. This report presents the prevalence for the 12-month and lifetime diagnosis of mental health and substance use disorders including breakdowns by gender, age and ethnicity. Comparisons have been provided where possible for the general population using the 2006 New Zealand Mental Health Survey (unless noted otherwise) or the 1999 New Zealand Prisoner Mental Health Study. Results Mental disorders  Nearly all (91%) prisoners had a lifetime diagnosis of a mental health or substance use disorder and 62% had this diagnosis in the past 12-months.  Female prisoners were significantly more likely to have a 12-month diagnosis of any mental disorder than male prisoners (75% compared to 61%).  General population comparison: Prisoners were three times more likely than the general population to have a 12-month diagnosis of any mental disorder (62% compared to 21%). Anxiety disorders  Just over one in five (23%) prisoners had an anxiety disorder diagnosis in the past 12-months, while 30% had a lifetime anxiety diagnosis.  Female prisoners had a significantly higher prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder compared to males for both 12-month and lifetime diagnoses, with over half (52%) of women having a lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis.  General population comparison: A lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis was four times higher among prisoners (24%) than in the general population (6%).  Prison population comparison: The lifetime prevalence of generalised anxiety disorder was just over 1% in the 1999 prisoner mental health study which had increased to nearly 9% in 2015, while the lifetime prevalence of panic disorder had also increased from nearly 2% in 1999 to nearly 6% in 2015. Mood disorders  Nearly a third (32%) of prisoners had a lifetime diagnosis of any mood disorder, while 24% had a 12- month mood disorder diagnosis.  When compared to other ethnic groups, Māori prisoners had the lowest prevalence of lifetime diagnosis of major depressive disorder (17%).  General population comparison: The 12-month prevalence of any mood disorder was three times higher for prisoners (24%) than in the general population (8%).  Prison population comparison: When compared to the 1999 prisoner mental health study, the lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder decreased slightly (from 23% to 21%), the lifetime prevalence of bipolar increased from 2% to 11%, and dysthymia increased from 1% to 5%. Substance use disorders  A substantial majority of prisoners (87%) had a lifetime diagnosis of a substance use disorder, and just under half (47%) had a 12-month diagnosis of a substance use disorder.  Marijuana was the most prevalent drug of abuse with 24% of prisoners having a lifetime diagnosis, while stimulants were the most common drug of dependence with 23% having a lifetime diagnosis.  General population comparison: Prisoners were seven times more likely to have a lifetime prevalence of any substance use disorder compared to the general population.  Prison population comparison: The prevalence of stimulant abuse and dependence (combined) had increased nearly 10-fold since the 1999 prisoner mental health study, from 4% reported in the 1999 study to 38% (15% for abuse and 23% for dependence) in 2015. Eating disorders  The lifetime prevalence of eating disorders among prisoners was 5%, while 3% were found to have a 12-month diagnosis.  The prevalence of eating disorders was twice as high among female prisoners as among male prisoners, for both 12-month (7% compared to 3%) and lifetime (10% compared to 5%) diagnoses.  General population comparison: Prisoners were seven times more likely to have a 12-month eating disorder diagnosis than the general population (3% compared to 0.5%).  Prison population comparison: The lifetime prevalence of eating disorders increased five-fold (from 1% to 5%) from the 1999 prisoner mental health study to the 2015 study. Comorbidity  One in five (20%) of prisoners were found to have a 12-month diagnosis of a comorbid mental health and substance use disorder, while 42% were found to have a lifetime comorbidity diagnosis.  Comorbidity was higher among women than men, for both 12-month and lifetime diagnoses.  There was little variation by ethnicity for the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of comorbidity, with the highest rates found among prisoners of European descent.  Prisoners with a lifetime diagnosis of a substance use disorder had almost half (48% compared to 93%) the prevalence of comorbidity compared to people with a lifetime anxiety disorder. Multiple disorders  Two-thirds (66%) of prisoners were found to have two or more lifetime diagnoses of a mental or substance use disorder, while 31% were found to have two or more 12-month diagnoses.  A higher proportion of female prisoners (72%) compared to male prisoners (65%) had a lifetime diagnosis of two or more mental health and substance use disorders.  A high proportion of prisoners diagnosed with a lifetime anxiety (84%) or mood (81%) disorder were found to have a lifetime diagnosis of three or more disorders, compared to 40% of prisoners with a substance use disorder.  General population comparison: Prisoners were nearly four times more likely to have two or more 12- month diagnoses of mental health and substance use disorders than the general population (30% compared to 8%). Personality disorders  One in three (33%) prisoners was found to have a clinically significant personality disorder, with a slightly higher prevalence among men than women.  The most common personality disorders detected were paranoid (15%), antisocial (11%), obsessive compulsive (10%) and borderline (9%).  The highest prevalence (46%) of personality disorders were found among prisoners with a lifetime comorbid mood disorder diagnosis.  Prison population comparison: The lifetime prevalence of personality disorders was nearly twice as high (60% compared to 33%) among New Zealand prisoners in 1999 compared to the current 2015 study. Psychosis symptoms  The lifetime presence of psychosis symptoms (such as seeing visions and hearing voices) was present in 13% of prisoners, and in 7% of prisoners in the past year.  Prisoners with a lifetime diagnosis of an anxiety (23%) or mood (20%) disorder had the highest prevalence of ever experiencing symptoms of psychosis compared to 13% overall.  Prison population comparison: The lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia and related disorders was estimated to be 6% in the 1999 prisoner mental health study, while 12% of prisoners were found to report symptoms of psychosis in 2015. Psychological distress  Over one in four (28%) of prisoners experienced psychological distress in the past 30 days.  There were significantly higher rates of psychological distress among female (47%) compared to male (27%) prisoners.  The prevalence of psychological distress was more than twice as high (60% compared to 28%) for prisoners with a 12-month diagnosis of an anxiety disorder compared to the total.  General population comparison: Prisoners were nearly five times more likely (28% compared to 6%) to have experienced psychological distress in the past 30 days compared to the general population from the 2013/14 New Zealand Health Survey. Suicidal behaviours  Over one-third (35%) of prisoners had ever thought about suicide, 17% had ever made a suicide plan and 19% of prisoners had ever attempted suicide.  Female prisoners had higher rates of suicidal behaviours than men, including ever thinking about suicide (44% compared to 34%) and ever attempting suicide (29% compared to 18%).  General population comparison: Prisoners had higher rates of suicidal behaviours than people in the general population, including being twice as likely to have ever thought about suicide (35% compared to 16%) and four times as likely to have ever attempted suicide (19% compared to 5%). Mental health treatment  Nearly half (46%) of prisoners diagnosed with a 12-month mental health or substance use disorder had received some form of mental health treatment in the past year.  Female prisoners had significantly higher rates of mental health treatment than males for nearly all disorders, including 60% of women with a 12-month diagnosis of any mental disorder obtaining mental health treatment compared to 45% of men.  Pacific peoples were substantially less likely to access health services for their mental health than prisoners of European descent (33% compared to 54%).  General population comparison: Fewer than half (46%) of prisoners with a 12-month diagnosis of any mental disorder received some form of mental health treatment in the past year, which was slightly higher (39%) than found in the general population. Conclusions In summary, prisoners had high rates of mental health and substance use disorders including high rates of comorbidity which were often undetected and under-treated. The findings of this report provide important evidence to assist with identifying areas for improved detection, early intervention, treatment and rehabilitation and diversion away from the criminal justice system. In particular, the findings suggest that improved integration of mental health and substance use disorder treatment would be an important strategy for improving the health and reducing re-offending among prisoners.

Details: Wellington: New Zealand Department of Corrections, 2016. 93p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2016 at: http://www.corrections.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/846362/Comorbid_substance_use_disorders_and_mental_health_disorders_among_NZ_prisoners_June_2016_final.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: New Zealand

URL: http://www.corrections.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/846362/Comorbid_substance_use_disorders_and_mental_health_disorders_among_NZ_prisoners_June_2016_final.pdf

Shelf Number: 145371

Keywords:
Drug Offenders
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prisoners
Substance Abuse

Author: LeCroy & Milligan Associates, Inc.

Title: Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Services (NARBHA) Jail Diversion Project

Summary: In November 2005, NARBHA contracted with LeCroy & Milligan Associates, Inc. to conduct an evaluation of their Jail Diversion Project. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide information about how well the project is functioning and meeting its goals. During this past year, the evaluation team assisted NARBHA to develop evaluation capacity among the sites, identify important program implementation and outcome indicators, and develop an effective and realistic plan to incorporate consistent measures across all programs. This work provides the framework within which process and outcome evaluations can be conducted. While it had been anticipated that funding for the evaluation would continue for at least one more fiscal year, that did not come to fruition. Because some counties had not implemented their programs as of September 2006, when this report was written, and because some counties had only recently started their programs, evaluation data available for this report were very limited. Only Navajo County, which started its program in January 2006, had submitted data for their participants. The evaluation team also conducted a site visit in Navajo County in July 2006 during which a participant focus group and staff interviews were completed. The team also observed a mental health court team staffing and a court session. The findings from these efforts are presented later in this report. The evaluation team felt that other programs, such as the Mohave County mental health court, had not been in operation long enough to warrant site visits because programs often undergo significant changes during the early months of implementation as staff determine which procedures work best. The team did conduct telephone interviews in September 2006 with each county to gather information on program development and implementation progress. This information is presented in the Program Development and Implementation section. The evaluation team understood that the first project year would present program start-up challenges for the counties. For this reason, the team selected a limited number of evaluation goals related to program implementation and evaluation capacity to focus on during the first year. The purpose of the first phase of evaluation was to:  Conduct a review of the mental health court literature to help determine appropriate process and outcome measures  Develop a global data collection system, with input from program staff, that is applicable across sites for uniform data collection  Describe each program and the target populations  Identify key challenges and barriers to program implementation  Describe major accomplishments  Develop a comprehensive program logic model Each of these goals was met, to the extent possible, given the delayed start up of some of the programs. The remainder of this report is organized into the following sections:  Literature review: Presents a summary of the latest thinking and research findings related to mental health courts.  Program Development and Implementation: Provides information about each program's development and implementation progress. This sections also present findings from the evaluative efforts conducting with the Navajo County mental health court.  Database and Forms: Describes the ACCESS database and data collection forms developed by the evaluation team working in concert with program staff.  Summary and Recommendations

Details: Tucson, AZ: LeCroy & Milligan Associates, 2006. 29p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2016 at: http://www.lecroymilligan.com/data/resources/narbha-final-report-final.pdf

Year: 2006

Country: United States

URL: http://www.lecroymilligan.com/data/resources/narbha-final-report-final.pdf

Shelf Number: 145421

Keywords:
Diversion Programs
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Programs
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem Solving Courts

Author: Lore Joplin Consulting

Title: Multnomah County Feasibility Assessment: Mental Health Jail Diversion Project

Summary: This report was prepared in response to a Multnomah County Board of Commissioners fiscal year 2015 budget note to investigate the need and feasibility of enhancing diversion opportunities for people in county jails who have a mental illness. The budget note was proposed by Commissioner Judy Shiprack following a trip taken by a small group of county stakeholders to visit and observe the nationally recognized jail diversion program in Bexar County, Texas. Nationally, an estimated 15 to 17 percent of people booked into jail have active symptoms of serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. This is three times the proportion among the general public. People in jail who have mental illness typically also have high rates of substance abuse disorders (up to 80 percent, according to some estimates3), they often are poor and/or homeless, and many have been repeatedly sexually and physically abused.4 They commonly have chronic physical health problems that will shorten their lifespan (by 13 to 30 years).5 Although people with serious mental illness often are stereotyped as aggressive, their criminality typically is limited to low-level nuisance crimes. When their behavior does include violent crimes, it is usually related not to their mental illness but to other factors, such as substance abuse.6 Once in jail, people who have a serious mental illness are vulnerable to intimidation and assault. Because the jail environment tends to exacerbate symptoms of mental illness, inmates with mental illness may act out or break jail rules, thus prolonging their incarceration.7 They also have high rates of recidivism—more than 70 percent in some jurisdictions.8 Clearly, diverting more of these individuals from jail to community-based services has the potential to cut criminal justice system costs, reduce recidivism, and provide more effective mental health treatment for offenders. It also would represent a more humane response to individuals in jail who have a mental health disorder. This report is intended to help Multnomah County better understand the population of people with mental illness in its jails and what opportunities there might be to divert more of them to community-based services. It explores topics such as how many people with mental illness there are in jail locally, what they are like, the reasons they are there, the strengths and weaknesses of the current jail diversion system, and the challenges of estimating the costs associated with detention and diversion. The report also presents recommendations that incorporate stakeholder input. Information in this report comes from four sources: a literature review, interviews with 23 local stakeholders, records on individuals in county jails who have a mental health disorder, and the results of a prioritization process completed by a stakeholder group. A range of stakeholders participated in the project, including elected officials, representatives of the local medical and social service systems, and employees of many departments and divisions of Multnomah County.

Details: no data: Lore Jopling Consulting, 2015. 111p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2016 at: https://multco.us/file/38259/download

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: https://multco.us/file/38259/download

Shelf Number: 147900

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Diversion Programs
Jail Inmates
Jails
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Revolving Doors Agency

Title: Rebalancing Act: A resource for Directors of Public Health, Police and Crime Commissioners and other health and justice commissioners, service providers and users.

Summary: This resource is structured around the themes of policy; prevalence; and partnership and governance. In adopting this approach, we have tried to provide an introduction to the context, the need for action, and to highlight some of the activity being undertaken now in local areas to try to address some of the challenges outlined here. The prevalence of health and social problems among those in contact with the CJS is high. This resource draws on a range of published data to illustrate this, and in doing so highlights one of the biggest obstacles in any attempt to redesign systems at a local level. Much of the data is incomplete, out of date, unpublished, or otherwise problematic. It is also widely dispersed, across Government statistical releases and reports, academic journals, and a host of other stakeholders including the police, probation, Jobcentre Plus, health services and local authorities. This highlights the importance of partnership. • The intention is that Rebalancing Act will be the first of a suite of documents; further briefings will provide the opportunity to give further consideration to matters such as NHS sustainability and transformation plans and commissioning. Due to the limited and fragmented data and intelligence, we argue that partnership is central not only to the place-based delivery of services but also to the place-based assessment of need and planning of services. While the need to break out of system siloes has long been understood, the introduction of PCCs and other recent changes, such as devolution deals, may facilitate moves towards this through moving decisions and, crucially, funding to a local level. While these new flexibilities are to be welcomed, this must be tempered with the realisation that public services are operating under serious financial constraints, and that it appears likely that this will remain in the case for the foreseeable future. This resource, of necessity, can only provide a quick tour of some of the most salient factors. This is, in part, due to the wide audience it is written for, which includes: • Police and Crime Commissioners • Directors of Public Health • Clinical commissioning groups • NHS England Health and Justice Commissioners • HM Courts and Tribunals Service • Prison governors • Local authority members • Directors of housing • Directors of adult social care • Directors of children’s and family services • Directors of education • Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service • Chief police officers and police services • Voluntary and community sector • Jobcentre Plus managers and providers of labour market programmes • User and family representatives Once stakeholders have been identified and engaged, the call is for the following, straightforward approach to services and systems to be adopted, based on the Shewhart cycle of continuous improvement: plan, do, check and adjust: • build understanding of the specific health needs of people in contact with the criminal justice system locally; • engage with communities, including service users and those with lived experience; • commission and deliver programmes jointly with partners across the system, including developing early intervention and prevention programmes; and monitor and evaluate progress and change.

Details: London: Revolving Doors Agency, 2017. 62p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2017 at: http://www.revolving-doors.org.uk/file/2048/download?token=Y0kaa9j0

Year: 2017

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.revolving-doors.org.uk/file/2048/download?token=Y0kaa9j0

Shelf Number: 147826

Keywords:
Health Care
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: American Bar Association

Title: Severe Mental Illness and the Death Penalty

Summary: In recent years, our society's improved understanding of mental illness has led to a growing recognition that, to ensure fairness, the American justice system should treat those with mental disorders and disabilities differently. Advocates, professional organizations, and many others are troubled by the over-representation of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system, and agree that these conditions need to be better taken into account by prosecutors and courts because of their relevance to culpability, sentencing, and meaningful participation in the legal process. This consideration is particularly critical in capital cases, when the stakes are the highest. For these reasons, among many others that will be discussed in this Paper, individuals with severe mental illness should not be subject to the death penalty. It has now been 10 years since the American Bar Association (ABA), in conjunction with the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) adopted a policy opposing the death penalty for individuals with severe mental disorders or disabilities present at the time a crime is committed; and five years since Mental Health America adopted a similar position. As we reflect on these anniversaries, it is significant to note that, since 2006, none of the jurisdictions that use capital punishment have passed statutes to categorically prevent the execution of individuals with severe mental illness. Despite broader efforts to reform the criminal justice system's approach to mental illness, individuals with these types of conditions can still be sentenced to death and executed. It is, therefore, now time to convert the ABA's policy into a meaningful tool to help states pass laws that will establish clear standards and processes to prevent the execution of those with severe mental illness.

Details: Chicago: ABA, 2016. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Death Penalty Due Process Review Project: Accessed January 30, 2017 at: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/images/crsj/DPDPRP/SevereMentalIllnessandtheDeathPenalty_WhitePaper.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/images/crsj/DPDPRP/SevereMentalIllnessandtheDeathPenalty_WhitePaper.pdf

Shelf Number: 146035

Keywords:
Capital Punishment
Death Penalty
Due Process
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Lurigio, Arthur

Title: A Statewide Examination of Mental Health Courts in Illinois: Program Characteristics and Operations

Summary: Background Mental Health Courts (MHCs) are designed to serve the challenging, multifarious, and extensive service needs of people with serious mental illness (PSMI). The current report describes the findings of an evaluation of MHCs in Illinois. First implemented nearly 20 years ago, MHCs provide treatment and programming in comprehensive case management strategies, which draw on permanent partnerships with community-based agencies and a wealth of providers through a brokered network of interventions. Most employ a team approach to supervision with dedicated stakeholders (prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, mental health professionals), individualized treatment plans, voluntary and informed participation, specialized dockets and caseloads, and highly involved and proactive judges who preside over frequent court hearings and non-adversarial proceedings. Satisfactory program completion is defined by predetermined criteria. Clients are motivated to succeed by the threat of sanctions and the promise of rewards. Methods The current evaluation of Illinois’ MHCs was performed in stages with overlapping data collection procedures. The first phase of the research was intended to yield a snapshot of MHC programs in the state: jurisdictions in the planning stages of MHC implementation, those with operational programs, and those still deciding whether an MHC was feasible or warranted in terms of clients’ needs for services and the availability of local resources to support court operations and client interventions. All 23 court jurisdictions in Illinois were contacted for the screener survey. Given the critical role of services in client recovery and adjustment, the second stage of the evaluation involved a telephone survey of major providers in a wide variety of service domains. The next stages of the evaluation involved on-site triangulating data collection procedures in the 9 operational MHCs: court observations, focus groups with program staff members, and archival analyses. Client interviews and recidivism analyses were also performed in three programs, which were carefully selected for this purpose due to the distinctive nature of their location, size, program structure, and client population. Major Findings The Landscape: In spring 2010, 19 of the state’s 23 court circuits participated in the screener survey. At the time of the study, 6 courts reported no plans for MHC implementation, 6 were in the planning process to establish one, and 9 had operational programs. From spring 2010 to spring 2014, the number of operational MHCs grew from 9 to 21, an increase of 133%. At the time of the screener survey, the 9 operational MHCs served a total of 302 participants; 46% were women. African Americans were overrepresented among participants relative to the local population, whereas Latinos (measured as ethnicity) were underrepresented. Jurisdictions with no or little interest in launching an MHC were smaller and rural in composition. Courts in rural areas of the state served smaller populations, and, therefore, they had fewer PSMI and correspondingly fewer resources to meet their treatment needs. Unlike respondents who voiced no plans for an MHC, those in the planning process were all located in mostly non-rural large court circuits and counties. Overall, the planning processes in all counties were lengthy, deliberate, and collaborative. In some instances, the planning teams sought support and consultation from colleagues in their own or other criminal court systems or from MHC experts in the state. The first MHCs in Illinois were implemented in 2004, and the most recent one in the study period was implemented in 2008. Most of the jurisdictions with operational MHCs actually performed a formal needs assessment before launching their programs, and they consulted with experts to help design the programs. All of the jurisdictions involved law enforcement administrators in the planning and creation phases of their MHC programs. MHC Elements and Staffing: Most Illinois MHCs were largely characterized by the 10 elements of an MHC as defined by the Council of State Governments. These included: broad stakeholder planning and administration of the program; the selection of target populations that address public safety and the link between mental illness criminal involvements; statutory exclusions of potential participants based on charges and diagnosis; terms of participation that include mandatory supervision and mental health treatment; voluntary participation and informed choice; hybrid team approaches to case management with judges, attorneys, probation officers, mental health professionals, and TASC case managers who provided supervisory and brokered treatment services; regular court hearings and phased supervision; and a wide range of treatment and service options to address clinical and habilitation needs. The roles and responsibilities of MHC personnel were generally circumscribed; however, MHC staff often discussed working together and being flexible in order to “get things done” for clients (coalescing around client needs). Staff members frequently mentioned teamwork as the key component of program and client success, and it was consistently apparent at case staffings. MHC Services: MHCs provided a panoply of services to clients, which ranged from case management and crisis intervention to in-and out-patient treatments in the areas of mental health and substance abuse programming and aftercare. Nearly all MHCs offered clients partial (day) hospitalization, and more than half offered them inpatient hospitalization for substance use disorders and addictions. All the MHCs reported the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in their programs. The most common EBPs were, in descending order: cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, integrative dual disorder treatment, and supportive employment. The least common EBPs were, in descending order: assertive community treatment and illness management and recovery. The most serious challenge to MHCs is the paucity of resources and services, especially in the mental health arena. Recidivism Analyses: Among the three counties selected for an investigation of recidivism, 31% of participants were rearrested for a felony only, while half were rearrested for a felony or misdemeanor offense. The highest number of rearrests occurred within the first year of postMHC entry. Half were rearrested during probation supervision and nearly 40% after probation release (not mutually exclusive groups). These results compare somewhat favorably with those reported in a statewide study of probationers, which found that 38% were rearrested during probation and 39% were rearrested after discharge from probation (not mutually exclusive groups) (cf., Adams, Bostwick, & Campbell, 2011). Clients’ Perceptions: The overwhelming majority of clients reported that their participation in the program benefitted them in several ways. For example, respondents indicated that the program improved their lives by fostering both general and specific improvements in their well-being and functioning. For example, respondents stated that the program encouraged and supported changes that helped them “become better persons” and “get [their lives] back together.” These types of global betterments in their lives were the most commonly reported benefits of MHC participation and are perhaps related to elevations in self-efficacy and selfesteem, as well as alleviations in symptoms. Self-reported specific improvements related to participation in MHC fell mostly into two areas: accessibility to psychiatric care and diversion from incarceration. Specifically, respondents noted that MHC afforded them with the medications and treatments needed to facilitate their recovery from chronic mental illness. In addition, many clients recognized that participation in MHC was a desirable alternative to jail or prison.

Details: Chicago, IL: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2015. 242p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2017 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/MHC_Report_1015.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: United States

URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/MHC_Report_1015.pdf

Shelf Number: 146004

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarcerations
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Han, Woojae

Title: Impact of Community Treatment and Neighborhood Disadvantage on Recidivism in Mental Health Courts

Summary: The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of community treatment and neighborhood disadvantage on recidivism among offenders with mental health problems in Mental Health Courts (MHCs) and in traditional courts. Although treatment is believed to lead to reduced recidivism for offenders with mental illness, little research has been conducted for MHC participants. Further, neighborhood disadvantage are known to influence recidivism generally, but environmental factors have not been examined in the MHC context. Data from the MacArthur MHC study were analyzed. The sample includes 741 offenders with mental illness from four counties. Participants were interviewed at baseline and six months after and objective arrest data were collected. Multilevel modelling and propensity score weighting was used to investigate individual level (level 1) and neighborhood level (level 2) variances on recidivism and to control for selection bias. Neighborhood disadvantage data were obtained from the American Community Survey at U.S. Census Bureau, and linked with residential data from participants. Study results suggest that some of treatment variables have significant impact on arrest. For example, MHC participant with more substance abuse service were less likely to be arrest compared to those with less substance abuse service before the court enrollment. Both TAU and MHC participants has significant effect of neighborhood disadvantage on arrest before the court enrollment. After the court enrollment, only MHC participant continued to have effect of neighborhood disadvantage on arrest. In addition, MHC participant with higher treatment motivation were less likely to recidivate compared to those with lower treatment motivation after the court enrollment. The probability of recidivism remained statistically lower among the MHC than the TAU group after the court enrollment. Understanding treatment characteristics and neighborhood disadvantage associated with recidivism for offenders with mental illness can help to more efficiently target research, practice, and policy in the future. In addition, social work professionals should recognize themselves the importance of the treatment related variables and neighborhood disadvantage to provide, develop, and implement innovative interventions for offender with mental illness. Lastly, this research will shed new light into future interventions and/or policies that aim to reduce the recidivism for this difficult-to-treat population of offenders.

Details: Albany, NY: University at Albany, 2016. 160p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 28, 2017 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250535.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250535.pdf

Shelf Number: 141247

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Community
Mental Health Courts
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts
Recidivism
Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime

Author: Haneberg, Rise

Title: Reducing the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jail: Six Questions County Leaders Need to Ask

Summary: Not long ago the observation that the Los Angeles County Jail serves more people with mental illnesses than any single mental health facility in the United States elicited gasps among elected officials. Today, most county leaders are quick to point out that the large number of people with mental illnesses in their jails is nothing short of a public health crisis, and doing something about it is a top priority. Over the past decade, police, judges, corrections administrators, public defenders, prosecutors, community-based service providers, and advocates have mobilized to better respond to people with mental illnesses. Most large urban counties, and many smaller counties, have created specialized police response programs, established programs to divert people with mental illnesses charged with low-level crimes from the justice system, launched specialized courts to meet the unique needs of defendants with mental illnesses, and embedded mental health professionals in the jail to improve the likelihood that people with mental illnesses are connected to community-based services. Despite these tremendous efforts, the problem persists. By some measures, it is more acute today than it was ten years ago, as counties report a greater number of people with mental illnesses in local jails than ever before

Details: New York: Council of State Governments, Justice Center, Stepping Up Initiative, 2017. 16p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 7, 2017 at: https://stepuptogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Reducing-the-Number-of-People-with-Mental-Illnesses-in-Jail_Six-Questions.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://stepuptogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Reducing-the-Number-of-People-with-Mental-Illnesses-in-Jail_Six-Questions.pdf

Shelf Number: 146413

Keywords:
Jail Inmates
Jails
Mental Health
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: University of Texas. Austin School of Law. Civil Rights Clinic

Title: Preventable Tragedies: How to Reduce Mental Health-Related Deaths in Texas Jails

Summary: The first section of this report tells the stories of ten tragic and preventable deaths in Texas jails. These ten people suffered from mental disorders and related health needs, and died unexpectedly in jail as a result of neglect or treatment failures. The second section of this report sets forth widely accepted policy recommendations based on national standards and best practices to improve diversion and treatment of persons with mental illness and related health needs who are incarcerated in Texas county jails. RECOMMENDATION NO. 1: INCREASE JAIL DIVERSION FOR LOW-RISK PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS. As state and local stakeholders develop pretrial diversion programs, they should ensure that mental illness is factored in, and not as a barrier to pretrial release. In addition, the Legislature and counties should find new ways to reduce warrants and arrests for low-level misdemeanors, to prevent the use of jails for low-risk arrestees. RECOMMENDATION NO. 2: IMPROVE SCREENING. As counties implement the revised mental health screening instrument, they should train correctional officers to recognize signs of mental illness and suicide risk, and explore partnerships with their local mental health authority (LMHA) to have mental health professionals from the LMHA assist with intake screening. RECOMMENDATION NO. 3: INCREASE COMPLIANCE WITH TEX. CODE CRIM. P. �� 16.22 AND 17.032. The legislature should clarify the law to increase compliance with the requirement that magistrates be notified of an arrestee's mental illness or suicide risk, so as to enable pretrial diversion into mental health treatment when appropriate. Counties should implement the law's requirements, using partnerships with LMHAs if needed. RECOMMENDATION NO. 4: STRENGTHEN SUICIDE PREVENTION. Counties should make their suicide prevention plans more effective by: (1) increasing training and promoting culture change; (2) providing for ongoing suicide risk assessment throughout an inmate's stay in the jail; (3) avoiding housing at-risk inmates alone; (4) designating suicide-resistant cells; and (5) having mental health professionals assist with the assessment of suicide risk. RECOMMENDATION NO. 5: COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES. County jails should form broad - and preferably formal - partnerships with their area LMHAs, and work to place LMHA staff in the jail full-time. The Legislature should fund LMHAs to add capacity to provide more services in jails. RECOMMENDATION NO. 6: BOLSTER FORMULARIES. County jails should promote continuity of mental health care by (1) including in their formulary the medications listed in the local mental health authority's formulary and (2) contracting with outside providers to quickly acquire any medication not kept in stock. RECOMMENDATION NO. 7: PROMOTE MEDICATION CONTINUITY. County jails should promote continuity of care by allowing inmates to continue taking prescribed medication that the inmate had been taking prior to booking, after taking certain precautions. Specifically, county jails should replace policies of denying access to prescribed medications with more flexible alternatives. RECOMMENDATION NO. 8: DEVELOP AND UPDATE DETOX PROTOCOLS. Each county jail's health service plan should include a detoxification protocol for supporting withdrawal from alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, and other commonly used substances, in conformance with current national standards. RECOMMENDATION NO. 9: ADD FORENSIC PEER SUPPORT. County jails should strengthen their mental health care services by implementing a forensic peer support program. RECOMMENDATION NO. 10: IMPROVE MONITORING. Counties should promote more effective monitoring of inmates by: (1) requiring jail staff to proactively engage inmates and take action during regular observation; (2) increasing the frequency of observation for at-risk inmates and setting irregular monitoring intervals; (3) ensuring adequate staffing; (4) using technology along with personal interaction to make observation more accountable; and (5) using technology to alert staff of inmate crises. RECOMMENDATION NO. 11: REDUCE THE USE OF RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION. County jails should (1) set an explicit goal to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion, with an eye toward eliminating them altogether; (2) abolish the most dangerous restraint and seclusion practices; and (3) train officers to reduce reliance on restraint and seclusion, and collect data to evaluate performance. The Texas Legislature should require stricter regulation of seclusion that mirrors its strict regulation of restraint. RECOMMENDATION NO. 12: LIMIT THE USE OF FORCE. County jails should strengthen their policies and training on use of force, explicitly address use of force against inmates with mental health needs, promote the goals of eliminating excessive use of force, and use force only as a last resort.

Details: Austin: University of Texas School of law Civil Rights Clinic, 2016. 107p.

Source: Internet Resources: Accessed May 6, 2017 at: https://law.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/11/2016-11-CVRC-Preventable-Tragedies.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: https://law.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/11/2016-11-CVRC-Preventable-Tragedies.pdf

Shelf Number: 145336

Keywords:
Deaths in Custody
Jail Inmates
Mental Health Care
Mental Health Services
Mental Health Treatment
Mentally Ill Offenders
Suicides

Author: New York (City). Mayor's Task Force on Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice

Title: First Status Report

Summary: December of 2014, the de Blasio administration released the action plan developed by the Mayor's Task Force on Behavioral Health and the Criminal Justice System. The action plan outlines a comprehensive blueprint to continue to drive down crime while also reducing the number of people with behavioral health issues who cycle through the criminal justice system. The recommendations of the Task Force focus on ensuring that, when appropriate, individuals with behavioral health disorders: - do not enter the criminal justice system in the first place; - if they do enter, that they are treated outside of a jail setting; - if they are in jail, that they receive treatment that is therapeutic rather than punitive in approach; and - upon release, they are connected to effective services. Over the last twenty years, New York City has experienced the sharpest drop in crime anywhere in the nation. As crime has fallen so has the City's jail population - on the last day of 2014, there were fewer than 10,000 individuals detained at Rikers for the first time since 1984. New York City has one of the lowest jail detention rates of any city in the country: 1.15 per every 1,000 residents. Despite our success in reducing the overall jail population, the number of people with behavioral health issues has stayed largely constant, with individuals with behavioral health issues comprising a bigger and bigger percentage of the total number incarcerated. While in FY 2010, people with mental illness were only 29% of the NYC jail population, today they represent 38% of the overall jail population; approximately 7% of the jail population is made up of individuals with serious mental illness, and approximately 46% of inmates in the NYC jail system report that they are active substance users, although we believe the actual prevalence of substance use to be much higher. Many justice-involved individuals with behavioral health needs cycle through the system over and over again, often for low-level offenses. For example, approximately 400 individuals have been admitted to jail more than 18 times in the last five years. This same group accounted for more than 10,000 jail admissions and a collective 300,000 days in jail. ii While we have been demonstrably successful in reducing crime and incarceration in many areas, the issue of how to address the needs of people with behavioral health issues remains a stubborn question that the Task Force set out to solve. The Task Force worked to ensure that we establish the systems to address appropriately the risk and needs this population presents. Over 100 days, the Task Force developed 24 interlocking public health and public safety strategies that address each point in the criminal justice system and the overlap among those points. Recognizing the interdependent and intersecting nature of the behavioral health and criminal justice systems, the Task Force identified five major points of contact: on the street, from arrest through disposition, inside jail, during release and re-entry, and back in the community. The comprehensive strategy developed by the Task Force is backed by evidence and informed by widespread expertise. These are complicated issues, and while some of the elements of this action plan represent immediate steps, they are the first steps of a broader strategy that is long-term and ongoing. It will ensure that we continue to drive New York City's crime rate even lower by reliably assessing who poses a public safety risk and ensuring that we appropriately address - not just at arrest, but well before and well after - the behavioral health issues that have led many into contact with the criminal justice system.

Details: New York: The Task Force, 2014. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2017 at: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/criminaljustice/downloads/pdfs/BHTF_StatusReport.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/criminaljustice/downloads/pdfs/BHTF_StatusReport.pdf

Shelf Number: 146596

Keywords:
Jail Inmates
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons

Author: Great Britain. National Audit Office

Title: Mental health in prisons

Summary: Government does not know how many people in prison have a mental illness, how much it is spending on mental health in prisons or whether it is achieving its objectives. It is therefore hard to see how Government can be achieving value for money in its efforts to improve the mental health and well being of prisoners. In 2016 there were 40,161 incidents of self-harm in prisons and 120 self-inflicted deaths. Government does not know how many people in prison have a mental illness, how much it is spending on mental health in prisons or whether it is achieving its objectives. It is therefore hard to see how Government can be achieving value for money in its efforts to improve the mental health and well being of prisoners, according to a report by the National Audit Office. Her Majesty's Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), NHS England and Public Health England have set ambitious objectives for providing mental health services but do not collect enough or good enough data to understand whether they are meeting them. Rates of self-inflicted deaths and self-harm in prison have risen significantly in the last five years, suggesting that mental health and well-being in prison has declined. Self-harm rose by 73% between 2012 and 2016. In 2016 there were 40,161 incidents of self-harm in prisons, the equivalent of one incident for every two prisoners. While in 2016 there were 120 self-inflicted deaths in prison, almost twice the number in 2012, and the highest year on record. Government needs to address the rising rates of suicide and self harm in prisons as a matter of urgency. In 2016, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman found that 70% of prisoners who had committed suicide between 2012 and 2014 had mental health needs. The Ministry of Justice and its partners have undertaken work to identify interventions to reduce suicide and self-harm in prisons, though these have not yet been implemented. While NHS England uses health needs assessments to understand need these are often based on what was provided in previous years, and do not take account of unmet need. The NAO estimate that the total spend on healthcare in adult prisons, in 2016-17 was around $400 million. HMPPS does not monitor the quality of healthcare it pays for in the six privately-managed prisons it oversees. The prison system is under considerable pressure, making it more difficult to manage prisoners' mental well-being, though government has set out an ambitious reform programme to address this. NOMS' (National Offender Management Service) funding reduced by 13% between 2009-10 and 2016-17, and staff numbers in public prisons reduced by 30% over the same period. When prisons are short-staffed, governors may run restricted regimes where prisoners spend more of the day in their cells, making it more challenging for prisoners to access mental health services. Staffing pressures can make it difficult for prison officers to detect changes in a prisoner's mental health and officers have not received regular training to understand mental health conditions, though the Ministry plans to provide more training in future. In addition, NOMS did not always give NHS England enough notice when it has made changes to the prison estate. For example at Downview Prison NHS England was in the process of commissioning health services for a male prison, when NOMS decide to open it as a female prison instead. When NAO visited six months after it opened, the prison was still in the process of developing a healthcare service that could meet the needs of the female population. The challenges of delivering healthcare are compounded by the ageing prison estate, over a quarter of which was built before 1900 and without modern healthcare in mind. The Ministry has a programme to replace the ageing estate with modern buildings. While clinical care is broadly judged to be good, there are weaknesses in the system for identifying prisoners who need mental health services. Prisoners are screened when they arrive in prison, but this does not always identify mental health problems and staff do not have access to GP records, which means they do not always know if a prisoner has been diagnosed with a mental illness. NHS England is in the process of linking prison health records to GP records to address this. Mentally ill prisoners should wait no more than 14 days to be admitted to a secure hospital, but only 34% of prisoners were transferred within 14 days in 2016-17 while 7% (76) waited for more than 140 days. The process for transferring prisoners is complex and delays can have a negative impact on prisoners' mental health and they may be kept in unsuitable conditions such as segregation units

Details: London: NAO, 2017. 54p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed july 29, 2017 at: https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mental-health-in-prisons.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mental-health-in-prisons.pdf

Shelf Number: 146617

Keywords:
Health Services
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Prisoners
Prison Suicide

Author: McConnell, Polly

Title: Mental Health and Learning Disabilities in the Criminal Courts: Information for magistrates, district judges and court staff

Summary: In his review into people with mental health conditions or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system, Lord Bradley highlighted the importance of mental health and learning disability awareness training for criminal justice staff including members of the judiciary. The Magistrates' Association supports this need for information and training. This resource has been produced primarily for magistrates. It is also useful for district judges, legal advisers and ushers. It provides information about some of the common characteristics of mental health conditions and learning disabilities, and highlights how members of the judiciary and court staff might deal with adult defendants with these conditions. Members of the judiciary and court staff are not expected to diagnose mental health conditions or learning disabilities, neither is it their role to provide welfare services to defendants. They do, however, have a responsibility to raise concerns about defendants who they think might be vulnerable. This resource provides an overview of the signs to be aware of that may indicate that someone has a mental health condition or a learning disability. Having a feeling that 'something isn't quite right', or thinking that a defendant is behaving oddly, is enough justification to ask for more information about that defendant. Asking for more information about a defendant can happen at any point during court proceedings. All defendants have the right to a fair trial. There are some defendants who are vulnerable and might need additional support. This could be due to their age or developmental immaturity, for example, child defendants, or due to particular conditions such as learning disabilities and mental health conditions. The Consolidated Criminal Practice Direction (CCPD) (2011) Treatment of vulnerable defendants notes that: 'children and young persons under 18 or adults who suffer from a mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983 or who have any other significant impairment of intelligence and social function .. are referred to collectively as 'vulnerable defendants'. People with mental health conditions or learning disabilities are not homogenous groups with identical experiences and needs. They are individuals with a wide range of different life experiences, strengths, weaknesses and support needs. Many, however, will share some common characteristics, which might make them especially vulnerable in court. People can experience mild to severe conditions and this will affect the level of support they might need. This resource draws on prevalence data from different research studies, all of which produced statistically significant results. Nonetheless, they show some differences, largely due to different research methodologies. Despite these variations, it is clear that high numbers of people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities routinely appear in the criminal courts. The primary focus of this resource is vulnerable adult defendants. However, much of what is covered will apply also to child defendants and vulnerable witnesses in the criminal court.

Details: London: Prison Reform Trust, 2013. 56p.

Source: Internet Resource: accessed August 22, 2017 at: http://www.mhldcc.org.uk/media/493/rmi_prt_mhldcc_sept2013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: United Kingdom

URL: http://www.mhldcc.org.uk/media/493/rmi_prt_mhldcc_sept2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 131716

Keywords:
Criminal Courts
Learning Disabilities
Mentally Disabled Persons
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons

Author: Kubiak, Sheryl

Title: Evaluation of the Wayne County Mental Health Court. Year 5: Long‐term Outcomes and Cost Savings Wayne County, Michigan

Summary: A Wayne County MHC was initially funded in December 2008 as a pilot program in a joint collaboration between the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), Michigan Department of Community Health, and Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority (DWMHA). Evaluations conducted during the first three years of operation (2009-2011) focused on development, implementation, processes, and assessment of preliminary outcomes, as well as an initial cost analysis of the program. The fourth year of operation (2012) corresponded to the end of the pilot phase and assessment of the eight pilot MHCs as part of a statewide outcome evaluation. The fifth year of operation (2013) provided the opportunity to assess the long‐term outcomes and cost savings of the program as individuals involved with the program in 2009 - 2011 have been discharged or rejected from the program for one year or more. Between the inception of the MHC in April of 2009 and September 2013, nearly 300 individuals were screened for participation in the program. Of those screened, 199 individuals were admitted to and 91 were rejected from the MHC. At the time of this report, 50 individuals were actively engaged in the program and 149 were discharged. Of those discharged, 105 were discharged for more than one year, 40 successfully and 65 unsuccessfully. Those rejected from the MHC present an opportunity to compare outcomes and costs of MHC participants (Treatment Group) to similar individuals who did not participate in the MHC (Comparison Group). Of the 91 individuals rejected from MHC, 33 were excluded from analysis because the reason for rejection suggested they were dissimilar from the Treatment Group. Of the remaining 58, 45 individuals were rejected from MHC for more than one year. As a result, three groups were used to illustrate the long‐term outcomes and cost analysis: Successful (N=40), Unsuccessful (N=65), and Rejected (N=45). All three groups had similar characteristics at admission to/rejection from the MHC. The average age across all three groups was 37 years old and 50%-54% of each group was of minority status. There were no significant differences by mental health diagnosis, though co‐occurring substance use disorders were more common for the Treatment Group (86%-88%) than the Comparison Group (74%). The proportion of females was higher in the Treatment Groups (31%-33%) compared to the Comparison Group (16%). There were differences in terms of the assessed risk: the proportion of those in the Successful Group assessed as "high risk" overall and for violence was significantly lower than others. Despite similarities across the groups at admission/rejection, the Successful Group had better long‐term criminal justice and treatment outcomes. In terms of recidivism, only 18% of the Successful Group experienced any incarceration in the post‐MHC period compared to 69% (Unsuccessful) and 88% (Rejected), incurring just 10 days of incarceration compared to 153 (Unsuccessful) and 98 days (Rejected). Similarly, the Successful Group demonstrated optimal response in terms of mental health treatment: the average number of low‐level services (e.g. group/individual sessions, med reviews) increased post‐MHC, indicating sustained engagement, while high‐level services (e.g. hospitalization, crisis residential) decreased.�Reduced criminal justice involvement and high‐level treatment need, translated to cost savings for members of the Treatment Group. Applying unit costs to standard transactions incurred by members of the Treatment and Comparison Groups in the post‐MHC period, a cost savings of $22,865 per successful participant and $7,741 per unsuccessful participant as compared to those rejected by the MHC. The driving factor in the cost savings between the groups are victimization costs. Extrapolating these costs across all participants of the MHC, yields a total savings of $1,417,740 for those discharged or rejected from the MHC for more than one year to date.

Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 2014. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2017 at: https://socialwork.msu.edu/sites/default/files/Research/docs/WayneMHCCourt.Final.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: United States

URL: https://socialwork.msu.edu/sites/default/files/Research/docs/WayneMHCCourt.Final.pdf

Shelf Number: 147021

Keywords:
Alternatives to Incarceration
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Evaluation and Inspections Division

Title: Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Use of Restrictive Housing for Inmates with Mental Illness

Summary: Introduction The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for confining offenders in environments that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure. To do so, the BOP utilizes various forms of Restrictive Housing Unit (RHU) to confine certain inmates, including those with mental illness. However, according to recent research and reports, as well as the BOP's own policy, confinement in RHUs, even for relatively short periods of time, can adversely affect inmates' mental health and can be particularly harmful for inmates with mental illness. As of June 2016, of the 148,227 sentenced inmates in the BOP's 122 institutions, 9,749 inmates (7 percent) were housed in its three largest forms of RHU: Special Housing Units (SHU) in 111 institutions; 2 Special Management Units (SMU) at the U.S. Penitentiaries (USP) in Lewisburg and Allenwood, Pennsylvania; and the USP Administrative Maximum Security Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado. The Office of the Inspector General conducted this review to examine the BOP's use of RHUs for inmates with mental illness, including trends in the use of restrictive housing and the screening, treatment, and monitoring of inmates with mental illness who are housed in RHUs. We found significant issues with the adequacy of the BOP's policies and its implementation efforts in this critical area. Results in Brief BOP Policies Do Not Adequately Address the Confinement of Inmates with Mental Illness in RHUs, and the BOP Does Not Sufficiently Track or Monitor Such Inmates BOP guidance and policies do not clearly define "restrictive housing" or "extended placement." Although the BOP states that it does not practice solitary confinement, or even recognize the term, we found inmates, including those with mental illness, who were housed in single-cell confinement for long periods of time, isolated from other inmates and with limited human contact. For example, at the ADX, we observed an RHU that held two inmates, each in their own cell, isolated from other inmates. The inmates did not engage in recreation with each other or with other inmates and were confined to their cells for over 22 hours a day. Also, in five SHUs, we observed single-celled inmates, many with serious mental illness. One inmate, who we were told was denied ADX placement for mental health reasons, had been single-celled for about 4 years. Although the BOP generally imposes a minimum amount of time that inmates must spend in RHUs, it does not limit the maximum amount of time and does not monitor inmates' cumulative time in RHUs. The BOP also does not track its housing of inmates in single-cell RHU confinement, nor does it account for their confinement in all RHUs throughout BOP institutions. As a result, inmates, including those with mental illness, may spend years and even decades in RHUs. For example, we learned of an inmate with serious mental illness who spent about 19 years at the ADX before being transferred to a secure residential mental health treatment program. In addition, our sample of inmates with mental illness showed that they had been placed in the ADX for an average of about 69 months. Similarly, we found that between fiscal years (FY) 2008 and 2015, inmates with mental illness averaged about 896 consecutive days, or about 29 months, in the SMU. We further found that inmates with mental illness spend disproportionately longer periods of time in RHUs than their peers. Equally concerning, our review showed that 13 percent of the inmates with mental illness in our sample were released by the BOP directly into the community after spending nearly 29 months in the SMU prior to their release. By contrast, officials in six of the eight state departments of corrections told us that they limit the length of time inmates with mental illness can be placed in restrictive housing. In 2015, three states (Massachusetts, Mississippi, and New York) had at least a 30-day limit, while three other states (Colorado, Maine, and Pennsylvania) no longer placed inmates with serious mental illness in RHUs at all. Mental Health Staff Do Not Always Document Inmates' Mental Disorders, Leaving the BOP Unable to Accurately Determine the Number of Inmates with Mental Illness and Ensure that It Is Providing Appropriate Care to Them BOP data showed that, as of 2015, only 3 percent of the BOP's sentenced inmate population was being treated regularly for mental illness. Yet, the BOP's FY 2016 Performance Budget Congressional Submission cited an internal BOP study, which suggested that approximately 19 percent of federal inmates had a history of mental illness. Moreover, a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report concluded that 45 percent of federal inmates had symptoms or a recent history of mental illness. We found that the BOP cannot accurately determine the number of inmates who have mental illness because institution staff do not always document mental disorders. The BOP's FY 2014 data estimates that approximately 12 percent of inmates have a history of mental illness; however, in 2015, the BOP's Chief Psychiatrist estimated, based on discussions with institutions' Psychology Services staffs, that approximately 40 percent of inmates have mental illness, excluding inmates with only personality disorder diagnoses. Similarly, one institution's Deputy Chief Psychologist estimated that 50 percent of that institution's inmates may have Antisocial Personality Disorder; nevertheless, we found that this disorder was documented for only about 3.3 percent of the BOP's total inmate population. Because mental health staffs do not always document inmates' mental disorders, the BOP is unable to ensure that it is providing appropriate care to them. Since the BOP Adopted Its New Mental Health Policy, BOP Data Shows a 30 Percent Reduction in Inmates Who Receive Regular Mental Health Treatment The BOP adopted a new mental health policy in 2014, increasing the standards of care for inmates with mental illness. However, since the policy was issued, the total number of inmates who receive regular mental health treatment decreased by approximately 30 percent, including 56 percent for inmates in SMUs, and about 20 percent overall for inmates in RHUs during the scope of our review. Based on our review, it appears that mental health staff may have reduced the number of inmates, including those in RHUs, who must receive regular mental health treatment because they did not have the necessary staffing resources to meet the policy's increased treatment standards. Indeed, we found that, as of October 2015, the BOP had filled only 57 percent of its authorized full-time Psychiatrist positions nationwide and that it had significant staffing issues with regard to Psychologist positions as well. This treatment trend was particularly pronounced among SMU inmates at USP Lewisburg, which confined over 1,100 SMU inmates as of June 2016. Based on our sample of SMU inmates, we found that, prior to the new policy, the number of inmates (16) whose mental health care level was increased equaled the number of inmates (16) whose care level was decreased. In contrast, after the new policy was adopted, all 27 inmates whose care level changed had a decrease and therefore ostensibly required less treatment. By May 2015, only about 2.5 percent of SMU inmates at USP Lewisburg were categorized as requiring regular treatment, compared to about 11 percent of ADX inmates and 7 percent of SHU inmates nationwide, which we believe raises treatment concerns for inmates in USP Lewisburg's SMU. While the BOP Has Taken Recent Steps to Mitigate Mental Health Concerns for Inmates in RHUs, Additional Actions Can Be Taken The BOP has taken a number of steps to mitigate the mental health concerns for inmates in RHUs. These efforts include diverting inmates with serious mental illness from placement in traditional RHUs (i.e., SHUs, the SMUs, and the ADX) and into alternative programs such as secure residential mental health treatment programs. While these are positive BOP initiatives, limited inmate capacities, slow inmate progression through the programs, high staffing needs, and a lack of formal performance metrics with which to measure the effectiveness of these programs limit their utility and the BOP's ability to expand their use to other institutions.

Details: Washington, DC: Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, 2017. 103p.

Source: Internet Resource: Evaluation and Inspections Division 17-05 : Accessed September 20, 2017 at: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2017/e1705.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2017/e1705.pdf

Shelf Number: 147413

Keywords:
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Isolation
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Prisoners
Restrictive Housing
Solitary Confinement

Author: Kubiak, Sheryl

Title: Statewide Mental Health Court Outcome Evaluation: Aggregate Report

Summary: Nationally, the number of people with serious mental illness (SMI) in jails ranges from 6 to 36 percent. Some refer to jails as the last mental health hospital as individuals with SMI revolve in and out of jails. As one solution to this social problem, jurisdictions are finding ways to divert such individuals from prosecution or sentencing by engaging them in treatment services. The mental health court (MHC) offers an alternative to traditional criminal court processing; it is post‐booking diversion program that utilizes treatment and services available in a given community to stem the frequency of mentally ill offenders' contact with the criminal justice system. Studies of MHCs have consistently found that they can be successful in reducing re‐offending and increasing treatment utilization. In 2008, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) developed the Michigan Mental Health Court Grant Program as a mechanism to jointly fund a statewide MHC pilot program during fiscal year 2009. In 2011, MDCH contracted an external evaluation of the pilot program encompassing eight MHCs: Berrien (Unified Trial Court); Genesee (25th Probate Court); Grand Traverse (86th District Court); Jackson (4th Circuit and 12th District Courts); Livingston (53rd District Court); Oakland (6th Circuit Court); St. Clair (72nd District Court); and Wayne (3rd Circuit Court). The evaluation encompasses the three‐year pilot period of January 2009 to December 2011 and relies on multiple sources of data to assess the processes and outcomes of each court. Questions related to court processes were: How are courts similar to and different from each other? What are mechanisms for referral and admission? How strong is the collaboration or integration between the court and mental health staff? Did participants successfully complete? Data used to assess these process‐related questions included surveys, site visits, interviews, and court observation. Based on site visit and interview data, the research team created a process map illustrating each court's screening, admission, and decision‐making processes. The process map and a report based on the data collection was submitted to each MHC for verification. Questions related to outcomes included: Did MHC reduce recidivism (i.e. time in jail, new arrests)? Did MHC increase participation in mental health treatment? Did high‐intensity treatment such as hospitalization decrease as a result of MHC? Did specific individual or system level factors affect outcomes? Data collected to assess these outcomes came from five primary sources: MDCH‐CMH Encounter/Service Data; SCAO - MHC database; jail data from each county; MDCH - Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services treatment data; and Michigan State Police - arrest and conviction data. To assess long‐term outcomes, a comparison of three time periods was considered: 1) one year prior to MHC admission; 2) the period of involvement in MHC; and 3) one year following MHC discharge. Using the Council of State Governments Justice Center list of ten essential elements of MHC as a guide, MHCs across Michigan were found to vary widely in terms of organization, policies, and practices. Differences between courts should not be construed as a 'right' or 'wrong' way of operating. Rather, each court is responsive to the needs of the particular county and uses the resources available to the best of its abilities. Because each MHC is unique, it is not possible to draw direct comparisons between courts. The intent of this evaluation is to illuminate the variety of MHC structures and processes across the state and utilize individual - and system‐level factors, other than county of origin, to assess variations in outcomes. There were 678 individuals admitted into the eight MHCs prior to December 31, 2011. The average age at admission was 35 years (range 18 to 64). Nearly two thirds of participants (63%) were males and 67% identified as Caucasian. The overwhelming majority of participants were unemployed (91%) at admission, and nearly 20% were homeless. Nearly 40% were admitted into MHC with a primary diagnosis of bipolar disorder, followed by depression (29%), schizophrenic/psychotic or delusional disorders (21%), and 12% representing other diagnoses such as developmental or personality disorders. Although 60% were identified as having a 'current substance abuse', other evidence shows that as many as 79% were substance involved. Participants were most likely to enter MHC on a felony offense (48%), while 43% were admitted on a misdemeanor, and 8% on civil cases. The average length of stay in MHC was 276 days; among all 678 participants who were admitted, there were 187,043 MHC program days since 2009. Of the 450 participants discharged, 43% successfully completed all requirements of the MHC - a proportion within range of national averages. Age and offense type were the strongest predictors of success: Successful completers were more likely to be older than average (39 years) and have a misdemeanor/civil offense. Treatment outcomes. Participants received the greatest number of services during MHC, and these were primarily low‐intensity services (e.g., med reviews, case management). The proportion of participants requiring a high intensity service (e.g., hospitalization) declined from 31% pre‐MHC to 15% post‐MHC. Time to first mental health treatment after MHC admission averaged 16 days; upon discharge into the community the average was 41 days. While 95% of participants received mental health treatment during MHC, 72% of those discharged greater than one year received such services. Substance abuse treatment within the CMH system increased during MHC as compared to pre‐MHC (45% compared to 53%) but declined post‐MHC (28% of those discharged). Recidivism outcomes. A primary indicator of MHC is recidivism, measured nationally by new arrests. Since admission into MHC, only 14% of participants were arrested and charged with a new offense - a much lower rate than national averages - particularly, since time between admission to MHC and one year post‐MHC may have been as long as 2-years. Prior to MHC, 81% of participants spent time in jail, averaging 39 days. During MHC, 54% of participants spent time in jail, averaging 24 days. This represents a statewide saving of 10,074 jail bed days. To date, a reduction of 15,991 jail bed days is seen when comparing the pre‐MHC to post‐MHC periods for the 450 participants discharged. Among participants discharged one‐year (n=236), long‐term outcomes indicate 43% spent time in jail post‐MHC and 4% were incarcerated in state prisons. Successful program completion strongly predicts the absence of recidivism. Individual Factors Influencing Outcomes. Mental health diagnosis was found to have no effect on completion, treatment attainment or recidivism. However, the presence of COD predicted less favorable completion, more time in jail during MHC and higher proportion of new arrests/convictions. Similarly, those with felony offenses were less likely to complete, and when they did, they spent more time in MHC. Interestingly, those with felony offenses had significant reductions in jail days when comparing pre- and post‐MHC periods regardless of completion status. Importantly, there was no difference in new arrest/convictions between those who entered with a felony versus a misdemeanor. System‐level Factors Influencing Outcomes. Outcome variations related to court type (felony, misdemeanor/civil, or mixed) were similar to those above, with courts focused on felony cases having the greatest reduction in jail days. Examining the level of integration between the courts and treatment staff (high vs. low), high integration courts had lower lengths of stay and less time to treatment. Although those in low integration courts were more likely to complete MHC, those in high integration courts were more likely to experience greater reductions in jail days and higher treatment participation. Implementation and piloting of MHCs across Michigan has been successful, and many quantitative indicators as well as personal stories demonstrate positive outcomes. Based upon the body of knowledge amassed in this report, the following are areas for future consideration that may expand positive outcomes: 1) Enhance the level of integration between courts and treatment; 2) Consider matching risk level with length or intensity of court supervision; 3) Extend use of rewards to encourage longer length of stays and positive completion; 4) Increase attention to COD, integration of mental health and substance abuse treatment, and continuity of care post‐MHC to support ongoing recovery.

Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, 2012. 94p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2017 at: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/Statewide_MHC_Evaluation_-_Aggregate_Report_Final_103112_w_seal_407300_7.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United States

URL: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/Statewide_MHC_Evaluation_-_Aggregate_Report_Final_103112_w_seal_407300_7.pdf

Shelf Number: 147445

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Treatment
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts
Recidivism

Author: Heslop, Lisa

Title: Trends in Police Contact with Persons with Mental Illness

Summary: Since the 1960s, one worrying offshoot of de‐institutionalization of mental health services has been a marked increase in contact between persons with mental illness (PMI) and the criminal justice system. The criminalization of PMI is well documented. Police contact with PMI is much higher than the prevalence of mental illness in the population; police use informal disposition less frequently with PMI; PMI have a higher arrest rate than the general population and PMI are arrested and jailed for relatively minor offences at a higher rate than their non‐mentally ill counter-parts. When the process of de‐institutionalization was announced in 1999, the London Police Service collaborated with researchers from the University of Western Ontario, the London Health Sciences Centre, and key community‐based service providers to track and explore unintended consequences of de‐institutionalization from the perspective of contact between the police and PMI. This project received initial funding from the Donner Foundation and later formed the basis for the Consortium of Applied Research and Evaluation in Mental Health (CAREMH), funded by the Change Foundation in 2003. The premise of this project was that a lack of community-based services for people with mental illness places an increased demand upon police whose powers are based within two legal principles: 1. the police power function - to ensure the safety and welfare of the public, and 2. parens patriae, which involves protection of disabled citizens. Application of these principles is not intended to be therapeutic and therein lies the inherent problem of increased contact between the police and persons with mental illness

Details: London, Ontario: [London Police Service, 2013. 7p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2017 at: http://capg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Trends-in-Police-Contact-with-Persons-with-Mental-Illness-Report-for-LPSB-2013.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Canada

URL: http://capg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Trends-in-Police-Contact-with-Persons-with-Mental-Illness-Report-for-LPSB-2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 147604

Keywords:
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Police Services for the Mentally Ill

Author: Coleman, Terry

Title: TEMPO: Police Interactions. A report towards improving interactions between police and people living with mental health problems

Summary: In 2008 the MHCC conducted a review of the basic/recruit training, which occurs primarily at Canadian police colleges/academies, concerning interactions with people with mental illnesses. To complement that study, in 2010, the MHCC conducted a review that examined the nature and extent of such police training and education at the in-service or continuing education level within Canadian police organizations. Based on these reviews, an aspirational model of police education and training - TEMPO (Training and Education about Mental Illness for Police Organizations) - was developed, described, and disseminated. The purpose of the present report is to review progress since that time. Notwithstanding the nature and seriousness of individual interactions between police and people with mental illnesses, it is widely accepted that there are too many. While most will never garner attention on the front page of a newspaper, for the people involved all incidents are serious and potentially traumatic. How do we ensure that police personnel are well prepared to deal with these potentially difficult situations? This report will provide assistance in achieving that. This report is focused on police education and training, rather than on the broader systems and policies that affect interactions between police and people with mental illnesses; it addresses education and training in the broadest sense. The report places an emphasis on HOW we should teach as well as what we should teach, given the many developments in the field of adult education and curriculum design.

Details: Ottawa: Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2014. 94p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2017 at: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/TEMPO%252520Police%252520Interactions%252520082014_0.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Canada

URL: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/TEMPO%252520Police%252520Interactions%252520082014_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 147612

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Police Education and Training
Police Policies and Practices
Police Use of Force

Author: Torrey, E. Fuller

Title: Treat or Repeat: A State Survey of Serious Mental Illness, Major Crimes and Community Treatment

Summary: Individuals with serious mental illness who have committed major crimes represent 2% of the estimated 8.2 million individuals with a severe psychiatric disease in the United States. Although this is a small segment of the total population, research shows that, without treatment, these individuals are at heightened risk of being re-arrested after their release from jail or prison or discharge from a forensic hospital. Because the timely and effective treatment of individuals with the most severe mental illness is the focus of its mission, the Treatment Advocacy Center conducted a survey of selected state systems and structures available to individuals with serious mental illness who have committed major crimes. The states were graded from A to F based on the availability and comprehensiveness of these practices. The result, Treat or Repeat: A State Survey of Serious Mental illness, Major Crimes and Community Treatment, finds this population is often overlooked in programming and funding decisions. The report recommends prioritizing evidence-based treatment to reduce re-arrest of individuals with serious mental illness who have a history of violence. Top Takeaway Evidence-based programs for individuals with serious mental illness who have committed major crimes allow individuals to succeed in the community following reentry from jail or prison or after discharge from a forensic psychiatric bed by providing complete and intensive treatment. However, no state in the United States utilizes them comprehensively or effectively. Fast Facts No state received an A grade. The majority of states do not provide adequate support in the community for individuals with serious mental illness who have committed major crimes, resulting in higher re-arrest rates and all the attendant human and economic costs of re-incarceration. Evidence-based programs can reduce the risk of re-arrest for individuals with serious mental illness living in the community from an average rate of 40%-60% to only 10% or less. The four states that received the best grades under this study - Hawaii, Maine, Missouri and Oregon - are all models that other states should look to for various aspects of their successful programming. Other states with exemplar programs and practices were also identified. Recommendations Federal, state and local governments must create policies to stop the criminalization of individuals with serious mental illness. Federal, state and local governments must prioritize treatment for individuals with serious mental illness who are involved in the criminal justice system. State and local governments must implement evidence-based treatment programs for individuals with serious mental illness who have committed major crimes. Researchers and government agencies must conduct research and evaluate programs for individuals with serious mental illness who have committed major crimes to inform best-practices.

Details: Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center, 2017. 131p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2017 at: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/treat-or-repeat.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/treat-or-repeat.pdf

Shelf Number: 147987

Keywords:
Evidence-Based Programs
Mental Health
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Recidivism

Author: AbuDagga, Azza

Title: Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses in County Jails: A Survey of Jail Staff's Perspectives

Summary: Background - Incarceration has largely replaced hospitalization for thousands of individuals with serious mental illnesses in the U.S., with state prisons and county jails holding as many as 10 times more of these individuals than state psychiatric hospitals. Because individuals with serious mental illnesses are predisposed to committing minor crimes due to their illnesses, many end up being detained in county jails with limited or no mental health treatment until a state hospital bed becomes available for them. Some have even been jailed in the absence of any criminal charges. Purposes - The purpose of our survey was to understand the perspectives of county jail sheriffs, deputies, and other staff with respect to individuals with serious mental illnesses in jails. Specifically, we aimed to address the following objectives: (1) explore jail staffs' experiences with seriously mentally ill inmates; (2) understand the training provided to sheriffs' deputies and other jail staff on effective ways to handle seriously mentally ill inmates; and (3) describe the kind of treatment types and resources available to treat seriously mentally ill inmates in county jails. Methods - We developed our survey instrument (a 22-item questionnaire) with input from subject matter experts and sheriffs. Our questionnaire defined serious mental illnesses as including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), and related conditions, excluding suicidal thoughts or behavior without other symptoms, and alcohol and drug abuse in the absence of serious mental illnesses. Survey responses were obtained from September 23, 2011, through November 28, 2011. To identify our sample, we obtained a 25% random sample of a nationwide list of sheriffs' departments from the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA). Because the NSA had no information regarding which sheriffs' departments operate county jails or detention centers, we invited this entire sample to participate in our online survey. We tried to identify ineligible sheriffs' departments by adding a screening question at the beginning of our survey questionnaire asking respondents to indicate whether they operated county jails or detention centers. We also asked this question during our survey reminder follow-up calls. Results - Our final sample comprised a total of 230 sheriffs' departments from 39 states that operated jail facilities or detention centers (henceforth referred to as jails), resulting in a response rate of 40.1%. The cumulative average daily inmate population across these jails during the year preceding the survey was approximately 68,000. Slightly more than a quarter (27.8%) of these jails were large (averaging 251 or more inmates), 39.6% were medium (averaging 51-250 inmates), and 30.9% were small (averaging 50 inmates or fewer). Jail size was not reported by 1.7% of the respondents. Ninety-three percent of the surveys were completed by experienced law enforcement staff who had been at their current jail for two or more years (60.9% had been there for 11 or more years); the median reported tenure at the current jails across all respondents was 13 years. Aside from their responses to our closed-ended survey questions, these respondents provided numerous valuable lengthy comments in response to open-ended questions about their experiences and the challenges they face as part of their jobs of handling inmates with serious mental illnesses in county jails. We used these comments throughout the report to supplement our findings. Our main findings were as follows: - Overall, the vast majority (95.7%) of the jails reported having some inmates with serious mental illnesses from September 1, 2010, to August 31, 2011. While 49 (21.3%) of all jails reported that 16% or more of their inmate population were seriously mentally ill, more large jails reported having such large proportions of these inmates. Specifically, 31.3% of large, 13.2% of medium and only 4.2% of small jails reported that 16% or more of their inmates were seriously mentally ill. - Per our adopted definition of a large seriously mentally ill inmate population (where seriously mentally ill inmates made up 6% or more of the population), more than a third (40.4%) of the jails reported having a large seriously mentally ill population. In contrast, more than half (58.3%) of the jails reported having a small seriously mentally ill population (i.e., seriously mentally ill inmates made up 5% or fewer of the population). - Three-quarters of the jails reported seeing more or far more numbers of seriously mentally ill inmates, compared to five to 10 years ago. - A third of the jails described the recidivism rate for these inmates as higher or much higher than that of the general inmate population. - Segregation of inmates with serious mental illnesses was reported in 68.7% of the jails, particularly in those with smaller percentages of inmates who were seriously mentally ill. - Most jails reported major problems with the seriously mentally ill inmates, including the necessity of watching them more closely for suicide, their need for additional attention, their disruption of normal jail activities, and their being abusive of, or abused by, other inmates. - Caring for the seriously mentally ill in county jails was particularly challenging for law enforcement staff, who have limited training in dealing with these inmates. Almost half of the jails reported that only 2% or less of the initial training they provide to their staff and sheriff's deputies was allotted to issues specifically dealing with seriously mentally ill inmates, and 60.4% reported that only two hours or less of annual training were allotted to such issues. x Despite the limited training, about a third of the jails reported that 11% or more of their staff and sheriff's deputies' time involved handling seriously mentally ill inmates. - Forty percent of the jails reported that 6% or more of their sheriffs deputies' time involved transporting seriously mentally ill inmates to medical treatment and mental health appointments outside the jail facility. - About half (54.4%) of the jails had implemented housing or staffing changes to accommodate the seriously mentally ill inmates. Specifically, - 33.9% reported sending mentally ill offenders to facilities other than jail; - 27.8% had implemented inmate housing-facility changes (such as increasing the number of beds reserved for people with mental illness); - 27.4% reported hiring full- or part-time non-law-enforcement staff members (including nurses, social workers, and psychiatrists); and - Only 3.5% reported hiring deputies with experience in dealing with seriously mentally ill people. - Resource and funding limitations were cited by numerous jails as major factors constraining their ability to offer mental health treatment and medications for seriously mentally ill inmates. Yet 45.2% of the jails reported offering some sort of mental health treatment for seriously mentally ill inmates inside the jail facilities. o 35.7% of the jails reported providing individual psychiatric care, and 9.6% reported providing group psychotherapy. - Even though medications are central to stabilizing people with serious mental illnesses, only 41.7% of the jails reported offering pharmacy services. - Less than a quarter of these jails offered a support system for mentally ill persons following release.

Details: Washington, DC: Public Citizen's Health Research Group; Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center, 2016. 86p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 4, 2017 at: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/jail-survey-report-2016.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/jail-survey-report-2016.pdf

Shelf Number: 148033

Keywords:
Jail Inmates
Jails
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Stanford Justice Advocacy Project

Title: Confronting California's continuing prison crisis: The prevalence and severity of mental illness among California prisoners on the rise

Summary: The long-running problem of mental illness in California's justice system appears to be getting worse, according to data recently provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and other data presented for the first time in this report. Recent reforms to California's criminal laws have greatly improved the state's justice system: prison and jail crowding have reduced dramatically, sentences are fairer and more proportionate, recidivism rates among those freed early under the reforms are far lower than most released prisoners, and capacity to focus on dangerous crime has increased. Furthermore, since these reforms were enacted, overall crime rates in California have remained on a long-term downward trend. Despite these significant legislative and administrative reforms initiated in part to improve treatment and conditions for people with mental illness in California's justice system, the prevalence and severity of mental illness among California state prisoners are dramatically on the rise. Over 30 percent of California prisoners currently receive treatment for a "serious mental disorder," an increase of 150 percent since 2000. CDCR estimates that the population of prisoners with mental illness will continue to climb, increasing the need for additional psychiatric services in the years to come. Furthermore, there is evidence that CDCR's projections underestimate the current number of prisoners with mental illness. In addition, the severity of psychiatric symptoms of state prisoners is on the rise. The number of prisoners diagnosed with the most serious disorders and transferred to enhanced psychiatric services has increased dramatically over the past 5 years. There is also evidence that criminal defendants in California with mental illness receive longer prison sentences than defendants without mental illness. This disparity exists across all crime categories, from murder to drug possession. Prisoners sentenced to life terms are also more likely to be mentally ill. Finally, despite the substantial criminal justice reforms responsible for the dramatic reduction of California's prison population over the last decade, the population of inmates with mental illness has not decreased.8 Ironically, these reforms were largely initiated on behalf of inmates with mental illness suffering under unconstitutional treatment conditions. This report contains new and updated data about the growing problem of mental illness in California's justice system and describes how prisoners with mental illness do not benefit from some of the most important criminal justice reforms enacted in the state in recent years.

Details: Stanford, California: Stanford Justice Advocacy Project, 2017. 10p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2017 at: https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Stanford-Report-FINAL.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Stanford-Report-FINAL.pdf

Shelf Number: 148075

Keywords:
Criminal Justice Reform
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Inmates
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Prisoners

Author: McCausland, Ruth

Title: Indigenous People, Mental Health, Cognitive Disability and the Criminal Justice System

Summary: This research brief provides an analysis of available data on the prevalence rates of Indigenous people with mental health disorders and cognitive disability in Australia and outlines the challenges in obtaining accurate data. The brief considers issues facing these groups of Indigenous people in their contact with police, in courts, in custody and post-release, highlighting the lack of appropriate diversionary programs at all ages of this contact. Drawn from available research and evaluations, this brief concludes with key principles and strategies for policy and programming reform in this area.

Details: New South Wales: Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse, 2017. 8p.

Source: Internet Resource: Brief 22: Accessed November 13, 2017 at: https://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/mp/files/publications/files/research-brief-24-final-31-8-17.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Australia

URL: https://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/mp/files/publications/files/research-brief-24-final-31-8-17.pdf

Shelf Number: 148143

Keywords:
Aboriginals
Disabilities
Indigenous Peoples
Mental Health
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: McClure, David

Title: Pay for Success and the Crisis Intervention Team Model: Insights from the PFS-CIT Learning Community

Summary: Policymakers and community stakeholders across the United States are increasingly recognizing the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model as a valuable approach for improving law enforcement interactions with people with mental health issues. While initial costs of implementing CIT models are low, creative solutions are needed to fund longer-term enhancements. Pay for success (PFS) has strong potential as a means of funding the components that will allow CIT models to achieve their full potential. This brief introduces readers to PFS and CIT; explains that a shared focus on outcomes, as oppose to outputs, makes CIT and PFS a strong combination; and provides stakeholders with information about what a PFS-funded CIT program could look like.

Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2017. 31p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 15, 2017 at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/94741/pay-for-success-and-the-crisis-intervention-team-model_2.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/94741/pay-for-success-and-the-crisis-intervention-team-model_2.pdf

Shelf Number: 148187

Keywords:
Crisis Intervention
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons

Author: Council of State Governments Justice Center

Title: Arkansas's Justice Reinvestment Approach: Enhancing Local Mental Health Services for People in the Criminal Justice System

Summary: Arkansas's criminal justice system faces serious challenges. As a result of a 21-percent growth in the state's prison population between 2012 and 2015 - the highest increase in the nation during that period - Arkansas's prisons are now at capacity, and county resources are strained due to a backlog of people who are held in jail while awaiting transfer to prison after sentencing. Without action, the state's prison population is projected to increase by nearly 20 percent by 2023. To address these issues, in March 2017, Arkansas policymakers passed Act 423, which contains policies designed to make better use of state and local resources in three key ways. First, it limits the period of incarceration for people sanctioned for low-level violations of the terms of their supervision. Second, it requires training for law enforcement offcers in how to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Third, it creates local crisis stabilization units that enable law enforcement offcers to divert people with mental illnesses who commit low-level offenses away from county jails to receive mental health treatment in the community. By implementing these policies, the state estimates it will avert hundreds of millions of dollars in prison construction and operating costs and will be able to reinvest savings in areas critical to improving outcomes for people on supervision and increasing public safety. Act 423 is expected to reduce the projected growth in the prison population by nearly 10 percent. This fgure represents more than 1,650 fewer people in prison by FY2023, resulting in projected averted costs of more than $288 million.

Details: New York: Council of State Governments, 2017. 4p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2017 at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Arkansas-JR-Approach_MAY2017.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Arkansas-JR-Approach_MAY2017.pdf

Shelf Number: 148276

Keywords:
Costs of Corrections
Criminal Justice Reform
Justice Reinvestment
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders
Prison Population

Author: Watts, Alexis

Title: Closing the "Gap" Between Competency and Commitment in Minnesota: Ideas from National Standards and Practices in Other States

Summary: In Minnesota, a "gap" exists in the justice system for defendants with mental illness. Defendants in criminal cases are found incompetent to stand trial, yet do not meet the higher standard for civil commitment. Commitment is the only way to receive competency restoration treatment, so individuals who do not meet the standard are unable to resolve their criminal cases or to receive treatment. The Robina Institute conducted research see how other states address incompetency. Below are the key findings from that research: 1. Minnesota's system, in which a determination of incompetency to stand trial is not a sufficient basis for the court to mandate some form of restoration to competency treatment, is unique. Most states employ a few basic strategies to treat defendants. A finding of incompetency may trigger: - Some form of commitment (often based on the incompetency finding and not on a separate commitment standard); - Court-ordered inpatient or outpatient treatment; and/or - Pre-trial release during which treatment is a condition of release. 2. States that have not found adequate treatment alternatives but require judges to order treatment often experience an overflow of mentally ill defendants waiting in limbo for a bed after treatment is ordered; many await treatment in jails. 3. Defendant rights are an important consideration in writing a law that closes the "gap." Minnesota's current system holds the individual rights of mentally ill defendants in high regard and does not simply confine them for being incompetent to stand trial as many other states do. 4. A handful of jurisdictions that have streamlined the commitment process or created other legal mechanisms to close the gap have also taken steps to ensure treatment for defendants in the least-restrictive setting. However, the "least restrictive setting" language loses meaning where no alternatives to inpatient treatment exist (similar to civil commitment in Minnesota, which can only be to a secure hospital setting). 5. In some states, "treatability" is a key consideration in determining the appropriate action upon a finding of incompetency. Untreatable defendants may face civil commitment or release but they are not offered treatment resources. 6. Thirty-one states operate formal and informal outpatient competency restoration treatment programs. Meanwhile, several different states have begun to utilize jail-based treatment to competency. However, such a program may not satisfy Minnesota's due process requirements. Solutions to address the competency gap in Minnesota should focus on several areas: - Consider whether to preserve the current legal standard for commitment, lower the standard for this type of commitment, and/or to design an alternative legal mechanism (such as pre-trial conditional release or a court order) for the purposes of competency treatment. Any proposal for change should take into account the capacity of the system and consideration of the state's commitment to the rights of defendants. - Work to develop less restrictive forms of treatment than exist in a maximum-security hospital. Community-based outpatient care may meet the needs of many low-to-medium risk defendants. - Ensure that the treatment delivered is high quality and truly addresses the competency needs of the criminal defendant. - Work to improve the mental health infrastructure in general to make it easier to access care before a crime can take place and to offer an alternative to defendants whose cases are dismissed but who still need treatment.

Details: Minneapolis: Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 2018.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 8, 2018 at: https://robinainstitute.umn.edu/publications/new-report-alexis-lee-watts-closing-%E2%80%9Cgap%E2%80%9D-between-competency-and-commitment-minnesota-%E2%80%8B

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://robinainstitute.umn.edu/publications/new-report-alexis-lee-watts-closing-%E2%80%9Cgap%E2%80%9D-between-competency-and-commitment-minnesota-%E2%80%8B

Shelf Number: 149024

Keywords:
Competence to Stand Trial
Defendants
Mental Health Services
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Cross, Brittany

Title: Mental Health Courts Effectiveness in Reducing Recidivism and Improving Clinical Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

Summary: Mental health courts have recently emerged with goals to reduce recidivism and improve clinical outcomes for people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system. The present study is a review of mental health court literature assessing their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and improving clinical outcomes for participants using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 20 studies that included sufficient information to compute the standardized mean difference effect size, focused on adult populations, and were within the United States were included in the analysis. Only experimental and quasi-experimental research designs were obtained. Using Cohen's (1988) guidelines, mental health courts were found to have a small effect on reducing recidivism (0.32, p<.05) and a non-significant effect for improving clinical outcomes for participants. Several moderator analyses were conducted and indicated that the nature of the control group (whether they were a treatment as usual or participants who "opted-out") was found to be significant between groups (Q=22.33, p<.001) as a possible moderating effect.

Details: Tampa: University of South Florida, 2011. 110p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed march 20, 2018 at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4247&context=etd

Year: 2011

Country: United States

URL: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4247&context=etd

Shelf Number: 149536

Keywords:
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Treatment
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts
Recidivism

Author: MacDonald, Sue-Ann

Title: Mental Health Courts: Processes, Outcomes and Impact on Homelessness

Summary: MacDonald et al. examined the impact of a Mental Health Court (MHC) on preventing and reducing homelessness for those with mental health issues. In particular, using the MHC in Montreal as a case study, which is officially known as the Programme d'accompagnement Justice - Sante mentale (PAJ-SM), the project provided a profile of participants and assessed how the court functions to address their mental health and homelessness challenges. Despite the growing interest in adopting mental health courts, there are relatively few studies conducted on the topic. The report provides an opportunity to fill that knowledge gap and provides information to support the adoption of promising practices by MHCs across Canada.

Details: Montreal: University of Montreal, 2014. 57p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2018 at: http://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/HKDFinalReport_2014.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Canada

URL: http://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/HKDFinalReport_2014.pdf

Shelf Number: 149598

Keywords:
Homeless Persons
Homelessness
Mental Health Courts
Mental Health Treatment
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Author: Coleman, Terry

Title: Police Interactions with Persons with a Mental Illness: Police Learning in the Environment of Contemporary Policing

Summary: n recent decades, the number of interactions between people with mental illnesses and police has increased significantly. While most of these interactions are minor in nature and are resolved uneventfully, there are unfortunately a few which result in significant negative outcomes. Whenever this is the case, one of the most frequent recommendations which has emerged from reviews is that police officers should be provided with education and training - learning - in order to give them the skills and knowledge necessary to interact adaptively with people with mental illnesses (PMI). This paper is Part II of a two-part review of that learning; Part I was a review of police education and training at the police academy basic training level. The purpose of the current investigation, Part II, was to review the state of police in-service education and training related to police/PMI interactions. A review of current practice in a variety of jurisdictions across Canada as well as in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, suggests that there is considerable variability in existing programs. While many police agencies provide little or no learning in this area, others provide more comprehensive education varying in length from a few hours to several days. The content of the training varies from an overview considered appropriate for a wide variety of police officers up to and including highly focused training intended for specialist officers. While some police services provide 'one-size-fits-all' training, others deliver a variety of levels and degrees of learning. Unfortunately, in spite of the widespread acceptance of programs such as the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model, which originated in Memphis, Tennessee, there is little outcome research or data-based evidence to inform the exact nature of an effective program, and the research that does exist does not provide guidance as to which components of a learning program are most effective. Nevertheless, the existing research tends to support the contention that education and training is effective in improving outcomes overall. Even though, the primary purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of what is delivered and what should be delivered in terms of curricula related to mental illness, it would be inappropriate to discuss curriculum without considering the greater context. While education and training is of course essential to ensuring that interactions between police and PMI are constructive and adaptive, education in and of itself is not a panacea and will not create the kind of change that is desirable if it occurs in isolation. Thus, before identifying 'desired practices' in terms of curriculum, it is necessary to comment on the circumstance within which this learning should occur. First, every police officer operates within the context of his/her own organization. Therefore, it is essential that each police organization have in place policies and procedures that support the application of the skills and knowledge that police acquire through education and training. For example, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has promulgated the Contemporary Policing Guidelines for Working with the Mental Health System. The Guidelines outline a series of processes and policies that should ideally be in place in any police agency in order to inform and support the work of not only individual police officers but of all police personnel who encounter PMI. In addition to these policies and procedures, each police organization must also be guided by knowledge about the police academy training that their officers bring to the workplace. As has been noted in a previous survey (Part I), police academies vary significantly in terms of the type and extent of learning at the basic-training level. In many cases, such academy level training has only been in place in recent years; thus, police officers who have been employed longer will not have had the benefit of that training. Second, while the specific content of a mental-illness related curriculum is of course crucial, it is not the only determinant of successful learning. It is necessary that police agencies attend to a variety of other factors that will have a direct impact on the learning outcome. These include: - selection of appropriate 'trainers,' including those who are both subject matter experts and who are operationally credible; - inclusion of local mental health professionals, for the purposes of providing reliable information as well as to assist in forming local connections with mental health agencies; - integration of PMI and their families into the training in order to provide direct first-hand experience with this population; - use of a variety of forms of learning media including participatory strategies; - focus on cognitive determinants of behaviour including attitudes, exercise of discretion and stigma; and  adaptability of the curriculum to reflect the population receiving training (e.g. new officers versus specialized teams versus dispatch personnel) as well as local community needs. By extracting components from a variety of education and training regimes already in place in Canada and other countries, and then combining them with what can be gleaned from outcome research, a comprehensive education and training regime based on an identified learning spectrum emerges; one that can be adapted to a variety of police agencies and police personnel. The proposed learning model has been entitled TEMPO - an acronym for Training and Education about Mental Illness for Police Officers.

Details: Ottawa: Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2010. 90p.

Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 17, 2018 at: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/Law_Police_Interactions_Mental_Illness_Report_ENG_0_1.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: Canada

URL: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/Law_Police_Interactions_Mental_Illness_Report_ENG_0_1.pdf

Shelf Number: 149842

Keywords:
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons
Police Education and Training
Police Policies and Practices
Police Use of Force

Author: Illinois Mental Health Opportunities for Youth Division Task Force

Title: Stemming the Tide: Diverting Youth With Mental Health Conditions from the Illinois Juvenile Justice System

Summary: All young people deserve the resources and support needed to secure both physical and mental health. But unfortunately, in Illinois youth are being thrust into our criminal justice system without regard to their mental health needs. While the overall number of youth who are jailed or incarcerated in Illinois has declined over the last few years, those living with mental health conditions are still entering the criminal justice system at higher rates. Of the thousands of youth arrests and admissions to local jails in Illinois each year, approximately 70 percent meet diagnostic criteria for having a mental health condition, and at least 20 percent live with a serious mental health condition. In 2017, the General Assembly created the Illinois Mental Health Opportunities for Youth Diversion Task Force-including experts from the Shriver Center-to develop an action plan for implementing new or expanded diversion programs aimed at youth living with mental health conditions. The Task Force's new report, Stemming the Tide, lays out a roadmap to build a better system in Illinois and help kids get the support they need. This requires a shift toward community-based mental health services, not only to improve outcomes for our youth but so Illinois can focus greater attention on violent offenders and improve public safety. With these improvements, youth with mental health conditions can get on the road to recovery that helps prevent further contact with the justice system and return to school, work, and family.

Details: Chicago: NAMI, 2018. 54p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2018 at: http://povertylaw.org/files/docs/stemming-the-tide-final.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: http://povertylaw.org/files/docs/stemming-the-tide-final.pdf

Shelf Number: 150054

Keywords:
Juvenile Diversion
Juvenile Justice Systems
Juvenile Offenders
Mental Illness
Mentally Ill Offenders
Mentally Ill Persons

Author: Caman, Shilan

Title: Intimate Partner Homicides Rates and Characteristics

Summary: The overarching objective of present dissertation project is to study trends and characteristics of intimate partner homicide (IPH), and to investigate whether the trends and characteristics differ depending on homicide type or gender. Study I aims to compare rates of IPH and nonintimate partner homicide (non-IPH), and to examine gender-specific trends of IPH rates and characteristics. Study II aims to identify socio-demographic and criminological characteristics in perpetrators and victims of IPH, and to examine whether they differ from non-IPH. Study III aims to identify to what extent IPH and non-IPH perpetrators suffered from mental illness and mental disorder, prior or in connection to the offense, and to investigate history of mental illness and mental disorder in victims of IPH and non-IPH. Study IV aims to identify similarities and differences between male and female perpetration of IPH. Methods and Materials: Study I is based on the European Homicide Monitor, retrieved from the National Council for Crime Prevention, which holds information from police files, court verdicts and forensic psychiatric reports. The population-based study includes all solved homicides (N = 1,725) in Sweden between 1990 and 2013. The studies II-IV are based on data from the Forensic Homicide Database, which is a dataset created by the research group. The population-based dataset holds information from forensic autopsies, forensic psychiatric evaluations, forensic toxicological tests, the National Crime Register, the National Patient Register, preliminary police investigations, and court files. Study II and III are based on data on all maleperpetrated homicides (N = 211) in Sweden between 2007 and 2009, while study IV is based on all female-perpetrated (n = 9) and stratified male-perpetrated (n = 36) IPHs within the same time frame. Results and Conclusions: Study I illustrates distinct trends in rates across homicide types (IPH vs. non-IPH) and gender (female versus male perpetrated IPH). The study also elucidates a shift in characteristics over time in male-perpetrated IPHs. Study II demonstrates that IPH perpetrators are more conventional with regards to socio-demographics and criminal history. On the other hand, homicide-suicides are predominant in IPH perpetrators. Study III reveals that, irrespective of homicide type, only a minority of perpetrators suffer from mental illness. However, approximately one third of the perpetrators had been diagnosed with a mental disorder at some point in life. Study IV indicates that female IPH perpetrators differ from their male counterparts in terms of being more psychosocially aggravated and more likely to have been victimized by the male victim.

Details: Stockholm: Karolinska Institutet, 2017. 81p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10616/45867/Thesis_Shilan_Caman.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Year: 2017

Country: Switzerland

URL: https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10616/45867/Thesis_Shilan_Caman.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Shelf Number: 150133

Keywords:
Family Violence
Homicides
Intimate Partner Violence
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: American Bar Association. Death Penalty Due Process Review Project

Title: Potential Cost-Savings of a Severe Mental Illness Exclusion from the Death Penalty: An Analysis of Tennessee Data

Summary: The American Bar Association's Death Penalty Due Process Review Project has released a study titled "Potential Cost-Savings of a Severe Mental Illness Exclusion from the Death Penalty: An Analysis of Tennessee Data," which presents a preliminary cost estimate for Tennessee if it enacted a severe mental illness exemption for the death penalty. In 2006, the ABA called for all jurisdictions that continue to use the death penalty to enact an exclusion so that defendants who had a severe mental illness at the time of committing the crime would not be eligible for the death penalty. The Death Penalty Due Process Review Project has written extensively about the legal and ethical justifications for this policy and supported reform efforts. In considering the appropriateness of this reform, many policymakers have also cited the increased costs to states and localities of seeking and imposing capital punishment and sought information about the potential cost savings of a severe mental illness exemption. To that end, analysts almost unanimously agree that the death penalty is significantly more expensive than cases where prosecutors seek a life sentence. No researchers, however, have yet undergone an empirical study on this topic or conclusively quantified the fiscal impact of a severe mental illness exclusion. While the analysis is limited in its scope and data set, it presents the first reasonable estimation of how much money a state like Tennessee could save if it enacts such a policy - approximately $1.4 to $1.9 million a year. This report also offers a model methodology for others to apply to their states to better assess the public policy effects of a severe mental illness exclusion to the death penalty.

Details: Chicago: ABA, 2018. 14p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 25, 2018 at: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/crsj/deathpenalty/2018-smi-cost-analysis-w-tn-data.authcheckdam.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/crsj/deathpenalty/2018-smi-cost-analysis-w-tn-data.authcheckdam.pdf

Shelf Number: 150681

Keywords:
Capital Punishment
Cost of Death Penalty
Death Penalty
Mentally Ill Offenders

Author: Association of State Correctional Administrators

Title: Reforming Restrictive Housing: The 2018 ASCA-Liman Nationwide Survey of Time-in-Cell

Summary: This Report is the fourth in a series of research projects co-authored by the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) and the Arthur Liman Center at Yale Law School. These monographs provide nationwide data on "restrictive housing," defined in this Report as separating prisoners from the general population and holding them in their cells for an average of 22 hours or more per day for 15 continuous days or more. This practice is often termed "solitary confinement." Reforming Restrictive Housing documents the changes underway as prison administrators aim to limit the use of segregation and find alternatives to the isolation of restrictive housing. In 2013, the first report of the series, Administrative Segregation, Degrees of Isolation, and Incarceration, analyzed the restrictive housing policies of 47 jurisdictions. The 2013 Report found that the criteria for placement in isolation were broad. Getting into segregation was relatively easy, but few policies addressed release. In contrast, in 2018, directors around the country reported narrowing the bases for placement in restrictive housing, increasing oversight, and limiting time spent in isolation. In some places, behaviors that once put people into restrictive housing - from "horse play" to possession of small amounts of marijuana - no longer do. And for those people in restrictive housing, efforts are reportedly underway in some jurisdictions to create more out-of-cell time and more group-based activities. Since 2013, ASCA and the Liman Center have conducted national surveys of the number of people in restrictive housing. The 2015 report, Time-in-Cell, estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 prisoners were in segregation across the country. The 2016 report, Aiming to Reduce Time-in-Cell, identified almost 68,000 people held in isolation. For the 2017-2018 data collection, ASCA-Liman sent surveys to the 50 states, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP), the District of Columbia, and four jail systems in large metropolitan areas. The 43 prison systems that provided data on prisoners in restrictive housing held 80.6% of the U.S. prison population. They reported that 49,197 individuals - 4.5% of the people in their custody - were in restrictive housing. Across all the reporting jurisdictions, the median percentage of the population held in restrictive housing was 4.2%; the average was 4.6%. The percentage of prisoners in restrictive housing ranged from 0.05% to 19%. Extrapolating from these numbers to the systems not reporting, we estimate that some 61,000 individuals were in isolation in prisons in the fall of 2017. Thirty jurisdictions reported when they began to track how long people had been in restrictive housing. Some jurisdictions began tracking this information as recently as 2017. Within the responding jurisdictions, most people were held in segregation for a year or less. Twenty-five jurisdictions counted more than 3,500 individuals who were held for more than three years. Almost 2,000 of those individuals had been there for more than six years. The 2017-2018 survey also gathered information about gender, race and ethnicity, and age. Men were much more likely than women to be in solitary confinement. Black prisoners comprised a greater percentage of the restrictive housing population than they did the total custodial population. The reverse was true for White prisoners. Likewise, in the jurisdictions reporting on ethnicity, Hispanic male prisoners represented a greater percentage of the restrictive housing population than they did the total custodial population. Prisoners between the ages of 18 and 36 were more likely to be segregated than were older individuals. Reforming Restrictive Housing also documents the many and varying definitions of "serious mental illness." Using each jurisdiction's own definition, we learned that more than 4,000 people with serious mental illness are in restrictive housing. Other sub-populations counted were pregnant prisoners and transgender individuals. Responses indicated a total of 613 pregnant prisoners, none of whom were in restrictive housing. Prison systems reported incarcerating roughly 2,500 transgender individuals, of whom about 150 were reported to be in segregation. In addition to the prison systems responding, the jail systems in Los Angeles County and Philadelphia provided restrictive housing data. In these two systems, the restrictive housing population ranged from 3.6% to 6.2 % of the total jail population. Both jurisdictions described revising their restrictive housing policies, including by limiting its use for people with serious mental illness. One of the jail systems explained that, given the turnover in some jail populations, the administrators faced challenges in avoiding direct release from restrictive housing into the community. The 2018 Report tracks the impact of the 2016 American Correctional Association's (ACA) Restrictive Housing Performance Based Standards. Thirty-six prison systems reported reviewing their policies since the release of the ACA Standards. More than half had implemented one or more reforms to align with the ACA. Those Standards reflect the national consensus to limit the use of restrictive housing for pregnant women, juveniles, and seriously mentally ill individuals, as well as not to use a person's gender identity as the sole basis for segregation. In this Report and the related 2018 ASCA-Liman monograph, Efforts in Four Jurisdictions to Make Changes, the directors of the prison systems in Colorado, Idaho, Ohio, and North Dakota detail how they were limiting and, in Colorado, abolishing holding people in cells 22 hours or more for 15 days or more. These individual accounts reflect the broader trend of policy changes. This Report puts the data collected from the 2017-2018 survey in the context of national and international actions regulating the use of restrictive housing. Correctional systems around the country are engaging in targeted efforts to reform their practices of isolating prisoners. Examples of such efforts are contained in the Vera Institute of Justice's 2018 monograph, Rethinking Restrictive Housing. In other instances, reforms have come from state legislatures. Some statutes now place limits on the length of time individuals can be held in segregation, require reviews of placement decisions, and ban the use of isolation for juveniles and other sub-populations. Litigation has also resulted in decisions that highlight the harms of restrictive housing and, in some cases, prohibit its use. Parallel efforts and mandates can be found outside the United States - from implementation of the Nelson Mandela Rules to litigation and reform through policy changes. The ASCA-Liman surveys provide a longitudinal database to enable evidence-based analysis of the practice of holding people in isolation. This Report compares the responses of the 40 prison systems that answered the ASCA-Liman surveys in both 2015 and 2017. In those 40 systems, we learned about 56,000 people in restrictive housing in 2015. The number of prisoners reported to be in restrictive housing decreased by almost 9,500 to 47,000 people in 2017. The percentage of individuals in isolation decreased from 5.0% to 4.4%. The changes are not uniform. In more than two dozen states, the numbers of people in restrictive housing decreased. In 11 states, the numbers went up. What accounts for the changing numbers is unclear. Variables include new policies and practices, litigation, legislation, fluctuations in the overall prison population, and staffing patterns. For example, in 20 of the 29 jurisdictions in which restrictive housing numbers declined, so too did the total prison population. In two of the 11 jurisdictions that had an increase in restrictive housing numbers, the total prison population increased as well. The amount of time spent in restrictive housing is of increasing concern. Not all correctional systems track length of confinement. Nineteen jurisdictions reported that they began tracking in 2013 or thereafter. In 31 jurisdictions responding to questions about length of time in both 2015 and 2017, the number of individuals in restrictive housing for three months or less increased. The number of people in isolation for longer than three months decreased. The decreases were greatest for time periods longer than six months. Correctional administrations' efforts to reduce the numbers of people in restrictive housing are part of a larger picture in which legislatures, courts, and other institutions are seeking to limit holding people in cells 22 hours or more for 15 days or more. These endeavors reflect the national and international consensus that restrictive housing imposes grave harms on individuals confined, on staff, and on the communities to which prisoners return. Once solitary confinement was seen as a solution to a problem. Now prison officials around the United States are finding ways to solve the problem of restrictive housing

Details: New Haven, CT: Yale University, School of Law, 2018. 197p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2018 at: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4999225/ASCA-Liman-2018-Restrictive-Housing-Revised-Sept.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4999225/ASCA-Liman-2018-Restrictive-Housing-Revised-Sept.pdf

Shelf Number: 152906

Keywords:
Administrative Segregation
Correctional Administration
Isolation
Mentally Ill Offenders
Restrictive Housing
Solitary Confinement

Author: Herinckx, Heidi

Title: Clark County Mentally Ill Re-arrest Prevention (MIRAP) Program

Summary: This study examined rearrest and linkage to mental health services among 368 misdemeanants with severe and persistent mental illness who were served by the Clark County Mental Health Court (MHC). This court, established in April 2000, is based on the concepts of therapeutic jurisprudence. This study addressed the following questions about the effectiveness of the Clark County MHC: Did MHC clients receive more comprehensive mental health services? Did the MHC successfully reduce recidivism? Were there any client or program characteristics associated with recidivism? A secondary analysis of use of mental health services and jail data for the MHC clients enrolled from April 2000 through April 2003 was conducted. The authors used a 12-month pre-post comparison design to determine whether MHC participants experienced reduced rearrest rates for new offenses, reduced probation violations, and increased mental health services 12 months postenrollment in the MHC compared with 12 months preenrollment. The overall crime rate for MHC participants was reduced 4.0 times one year postenrollment in the MHC compared with one year preenrollment. One year postenrollment, 54 percent of participants had no arrests, and probation violations were reduced by 62 percent. The most significant factor in determining the success of MHC participants was graduation status from the MHC, with graduates 3.7 times less likely to reoffend compared with nongraduates. The Clark County MHC successfully reduced rearrest rates for new criminal offenses and probation violations and provided the mental health support services to stabilize mental health consumers in the community. (From Research Gate)

Details: Portland, OR: Research Institute for Human Services, Portland State University, 2003. 59p.

Source: Available from the Rutgers Criminal Justice Library.

Year: 2003

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 154336

Keywords:
Mental Health Court
Mentally Ill Offenders
Problem-Solving Courts

Rutgers - School of Law, Newark

Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.

Results for mentally ill offenders