Jamie Fellner, JD, PhD, U.S. Program, Human Rights Watch, 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, 212-216-1212, fellnej@hrw.org

The world’s largest population behind bars contains a stunning number of prisoners with mental illness – more than five times the number in mental health hospitals. The largest mental health facility in the US is within the Los Angeles County Jail. Jamie Fellner, co-author of Ill Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness will talk about why there are so many mentally ill in prison and how they are treated by other prisoners, correctional staff and mental health professionals. She will draw on extensive research across the country, including interviews with hundreds of prisoners, lawyers, corrections officials, mental health experts and advocates, to describe the fate of the mentally ill who are incarcerated and what might be done.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to understand the backround and effects of the crisis of mental health in US correctional institutions.

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Prison

Related Web page: www.hrw.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.