This paper details the process and products of two years of nationally funded research geared toward the development of a culturally appropriate suicide screening tool and protocol for evaluating new detainees booked into a county jail located near reservation lands in the Northern Plains area of the United States. Despite widespread use of suicide / mental health screening in jails nationally, suicide remains a leading cause of death and mental health crises are escalating in number and severity. Though race has not been studied rigorously as a factor in jail suicides and critical incidents, in the non-jailed population, suicide indicators show an alarming increase in suicides within certain racial minority groups. These findings carry serious implications for the identification, care, and management of incarcerated persons of varying ethnic backgrounds. Working from a database of more than 600 subjects, this paper details the perceptions and experiences of inmates as they are processed into the jail setting. Further, a comparison of the efficacy of several admission screening protocols used with newly incarcerated inmates, including a substantial number of American Indians, will be presented. Building on experimental (survey) and qualitative (focus group and case study) designs, implications for changes in current jail assessment strategies will be detailed as will implications for additional research and jail-based research strategies.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. Discuss the differences in perceptions between American Indian and non-Indian detainees when asked certain suicide / mental health risk assessment questions. 2. Articulate culturally appropriate and sensitive protocols for suicide / mental health assessments for Northern Plains American Indian detainees. 3. List at least four challenges of completing jail-based research into mental health issues.
Keywords: Jails and Prisons, Risk Assessment
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: National Institute of Justice (research funding)
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.