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Mentally ill individuals in jails and prisons

Source: The University of Chicago

Resource Type: Documents and Publications

Focus Population: People in Recovery from Substance Use, People with Criminal Justice System Involvement, People with Serious Mental Illness (SMI)

Topics: Criminal or Juvenile Justice System, Recovery from Mental Health or Substance Use Disorders, Suicide Prevention

The authors conceptualize the issue of incarcerating individuals with mental illnesses. They claim that programs alone are not the only solution to reducing the number of incarcerated individuals with mental illnesses. They outline the need for developing new programs and offer recommendations such as (1) expanding the reach of standard and innovative mental health services, (2) diverting mentally ill individuals early in the criminal justice process, (3) enriching training of criminal justice personnel, (4) using data more effectively, and (5) promoting interdisciplinary aftercare programs for people with mental illness when they are released from jails and prison. Their aim is to identify, assess, divert and support reentry services for this population.