Mental Health

This group has been examining the effectiveness of specialized mental health courts (MHCs) in the United States. The focus has been examining the effects that state regulation has on

the number of mentally ill people who are treated by MHCs as an alternative to incarceration. The research has considered the incarceration rates of the 50 states and compared

them to the extensiveness of the system of MHCs in the respective state. Also considered were

the regulations determining who was eligible to utilize these courts. Some were open to anyone with a diagnosed mental illness, while others were only available to those who had committed non-violent crimes. What this group found was there was little evidence that states which had a higher number of participants in their specialized MHCs and would have lower odds of mentally ill people being incarcerated. There was also no significant relationship between a state’s expenditure on mental health and the population served by MHCs. There was, however, a statistically significant correlation between the odds of a mentally ill person being incarcerated and the standardization of a state’s MHCs. The number of incarcerated individuals with mental illness was higher in states that had state-wide standards regarding the operation of MHCs. The next step of this research is to examine this relationship more thoroughly to see what is driving this correlation.

 

Law Enforcement and Mental Health (Hannah Fox & Shannon Lavan)

 

We are currently in the process of studying the interactions between police and individuals with severe mental illness. The main issues being researched are those that surround the lack of training that police officers receive regarding persons with mental illness, which often leads to harmful policing practices and violence. Police officers are often the first emergency personnel to arrive at a scene involving an individual with severe mental illness. Because of that, it is integral to ensuring positive outcomes that the effects of Mental Health training for Law Enforcement are studied. Through our research, we will also study how the lack of psychiatric beds can cause severely mentally ill individuals to be placed into jails instead, where they may not always receive the quality psychiatric care they need. To solve such problems within the criminal justice field, interns within the Research sector have begun to develop potential reform methods, such as implementing mobile crisis teams to tend to on-site psychiatric emergencies.

Increasing the amount of training police officers receive in mental health awareness and

procedures, and the efficient diversion of mentally ill offenders away from the criminal justice

system and into the mental health system, where they can receive proper psychiatric care.

 

Solitary Confinement (Brittany Lewis)

 

In the state of New York, the Senate passed the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term

Solitary Confinement Act (HALT). However, there are very few resources for solitary

confinement survivors after they leave prison. Their time spent in these small cells can have a detrimental impact on their mental well-being and add additional consequences when released. An individual can go into solitary confinement without any symptoms but return with extreme fits of anxiety and paranoia that ultimately defeat the intent of incarceration. Researching solitary confinement survivors would be an excellent primary resource to support our claim that this type of treatment in prison outweighs the benefits and only causes worsen mental health. From there, we will gather resources comparing pre- and post-release stages to compare inmate’s health and if there was a decline in normal functioning. Our main question is regarding how solitary confinement survivors can be reintegrated into society after being released. Will they ever be able to assimilate back into a world outside of their tiny cell?

 

Mental Health and Incarceration (Manushi Patel)

 

Mental illnesses, also known as mental health disorders, are defined as, “disorders that affect a person's thinking, feeling, behavior or mood”. Youths in the juvenile justice system have a higher rate of suffering through mental health disorders when compared to youths that grow up in a stable and successful home. Studies have shown that in the United States, as many as 70 percent of youth offenders have diagnosable mental illnesses that include affective disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, substance use disorders, and other mental issues. To help the youths, professionals in the legal system screen and assess their behavior to decide the youth’s next steps. This helps determine who needs emergent treatments and what disorder(s) a person’s symptoms are most likely exhibiting. Some of the more common treatments for the youths include individual and group therapy, mentoring and anger management lessons, and parental education and support. In many states, these mental health services are offered to the youths in need even after they have been released. This helps them get acclimated back to society more easily. Some ways that the Juvenile Justice System can be improved is by having specific mental health centers or schools where the youths can get the treatment that they need. These would have numerous options of medical care available for the different disorders that the youths might have. The system can also have more resources that are family-oriented to help the juveniles. This would help them realize that they are not alone and that their family and friends are with them every step of the way. The juvenile justice system is far from perfect, but many of the professionals in it help and support the youths as much as they can, and in the end that’s all that truly matters.