TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing outcomes for diverted and nondiverted jail detainees with mental illnesses
AU - Steadman, Henry J.
AU - Cocozza, Joseph J.
AU - Veysey, Bonita M.
N1 - Funding Information:
The diversion program is funded by the state's Department of Mental Health. The program focuses on prearraignment diversion in the courts. It averages about 20-25 new cases per month. The program can receive referrals in one of two ways. About 80% of referrals come from public defenders, who contact the clinic directly for an evaluation of clients who appear to have a mental illness. About 20% of referrals come from pretrial services. These include all individuals who through routine screening at booking into the jail appear to be mentally ill and require a more detailed evaluation.
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - Jail diversion programs have been proposed for use with persons with mental illnesses. While much support exists for these programs in theory, little is known about their characteristics, the individuals they divert, or their effectiveness. The current study focuses on identifying the characteristics of persons diverted through a court-based program in one midwestern city and their outcomes during the first 2 months after diversion. Information on participants (n = 80) was gathered through detainee interviews, staff interviews, and record abstracts. Two factors appear to be important in diversion: (1) community risk and (2) availability of specialized programs for diverted offenders. Demographic, clinical, and social context variables appear to influence diversion decisions. Overall, the diverted and nondiverted groups did approximately the same upon release, but one third of the nondiverted group never got released during the follow- up.
AB - Jail diversion programs have been proposed for use with persons with mental illnesses. While much support exists for these programs in theory, little is known about their characteristics, the individuals they divert, or their effectiveness. The current study focuses on identifying the characteristics of persons diverted through a court-based program in one midwestern city and their outcomes during the first 2 months after diversion. Information on participants (n = 80) was gathered through detainee interviews, staff interviews, and record abstracts. Two factors appear to be important in diversion: (1) community risk and (2) availability of specialized programs for diverted offenders. Demographic, clinical, and social context variables appear to influence diversion decisions. Overall, the diverted and nondiverted groups did approximately the same upon release, but one third of the nondiverted group never got released during the follow- up.
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U2 - 10.1023/A:1022385204967
DO - 10.1023/A:1022385204967
M3 - Article
C2 - 10633579
AN - SCOPUS:0033428774
SN - 0147-7307
VL - 23
SP - 615
EP - 627
JO - Law and Human Behavior
JF - Law and Human Behavior
IS - 6
ER -