Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113090

Jeffrey Draine, MSW, PhD, School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215.349.8710, jdraine@sp2.upenn.edu, John Crilly, PhD, MPH, MSW, Psychiatry, University of Rochester, 300 Crittenden Blvd., Rochester, NY 14642, Steven Lamberti, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue Box PSYCH, Rochester, NY 14642, and Virgina Hiday, PhD, Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8107, Raleigh, NC 27695-8107.

Probation is a sentence the offender serves in the community while under supervision, in lieu of a prison or jail term. In 1998, over 75% of all adjudication sentences were for probation. Probation officers play significant roles in determining probation outcome and can play a key role in the sentencing process of a probation violator. The literature discusses specific programs designed for treating individuals with mental illness on probation. For example, Solomon et al. (2002) report reincarceration outcome of a psychiatric probation service. A total of 34% (85/250) were reincarcerated, half for a new offense and half for a technical violation over a 12 month period. Roskes and Feldman (1999) utilized a probation officer for work with their clinic and in a small study, Hoffman (1990) found that traditional probation was effective in reversing treatment non-compliance and criminal offenses in offenders with mental illness. Harland (1998) and others (i.e, Tonry, 1998; Krisberg et al., 1998) have found that in general these specialized programs are extremely diverse. For example, Watson et al. (2001) identifies a wide variety of mental health courts in various jurisdictions across the country. While probation may not necessarily be an evidence-based practice by itself, it can add value to a mental health system intervention. It is also a criminal justice alternative to outpatient commitment. In that sense, it can have a role in helping to disseminate evidence-based practice through collaborations with the mental health system. This session addresses this potential role for probation.

Learning Objectives:

• The learning objective intended for the audience of this session is to understand the potential for involvement of the probation and mental health system in developing and/or implementing evidence-based mental health treatment practices

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Criminal Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.