219804 Jail Diversion for High-Risk Offenders with Mental Illness

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Linda K. Frisman, PhD , CT Dept Mental Health & Addiction Services, Research Division MS # 14 RSD, Hartford, CT
Loel Meckel, LCSW , Forensic Services Division, CT Dept of Mental Health & Addiction Services, Middletown, CT
Joseph Grzelak, PsyD , Forensic Services Division, CT Dept of Mental Health & Addiction Services, Middletown, CT
Eleni Rodis, MS , CT Dept Mental Health & Addiction Services, Research Division MS # 14 RSD, Hartford, CT
Hsiu-Ju Lin, PhD , CT Dept Mental Health & Addiction Services, Research Division MS # 14 RSD, Hartford, CT
The Advanced Supervision and Intervention Support Team (ASIST) program operates in 7 Connecticut cities. It supports jail diversion for individuals with mental illness who are not usually approved for diversion because of high rates of minor crimes, past failures to appear in court, and/or homelessness. The program pairs increased criminal justice supervision with clinical care and case management. We conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation on 111 ASIST participants, with data collection at baseline and 6 months as well as clinician ratings and administrative data collection on arrest and incarceration. The program resulted in improved outcomes on several domains, including employment, living situation, and substance use. In addition to pre-post comparisons, we will present comparisons on arrest and incarceration with a propensity-matched population. We will discuss implications for diversion programming in other states.

Learning Areas:
Other professions or practice related to public health
Program planning
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the elements of a structured jail diversion program for high-risk offenders with mental illness. 2. List the positive outcomes of participants in the jail diversion program.

Keywords: Forensic Populations, Mental Illness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator for the evaluation project being described.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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