Approaching Jail Diversion and Prevention of Criminal Legal System Involvement Simultaneously.

Despite prolific jail diversion initiatives, people with serious mental illness continue to be overrepresented in the criminal legal system. This continued overrepresentation has led to recent calls to address social determinants of health and criminal risk factors rather than to allocate new resources to diverting people from the criminal legal system. This shift toward prevention by addressing social factors that influence health and criminal legal outcomes should occur alongside a continued focus on diversion to understand what works and for whom. An effective, well-funded, and comprehensive community-based mental health services system could serve as the ultimate intercept for preventing criminal legal system involvement.

Public space as a potential resource during reentry for formerly incarcerated people with serious mental illnesses.

BACKGROUND: Formerly incarcerated people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) are overrepresented in the criminal legal system. Professional-brokered "connecting" interventions are the predominant means for supporting community reentry, but they are vulnerable to the paucity of formalized services in areas of concentrated disadvantage. Public spaces offer unique opportunities for developing naturally occurring relationships and connecting to diverse forms of capital and resources. METHODS: This qualitative study explored how 36 formerly incarcerated people with SMI navigated risks in public spaces, as they met the practical challenges of reentry while also examining the supportive resources and relationships they derive from spaces often perceived as risky. RESULTS: Our findings indicated participants had dynamic and complex relationships to public spaces, including parks, coffee shops, and libraries and they used these spaces to create opportunities for solitude, socialization and resource acquisition. Spaces identified often featured: 1) activities and routines; 2) strong social infrastructure; and 3) opportunities for solitude and reflection. IMPLICATIONS: These findings can inform future interventions that use dynamic public space features as resources during reentry from criminal legal settings for people with MI.

Mental Health and Service Impacts During COVID-19 for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses Recently Released from Prison and Jail.

Individuals recently released from jail or prison with serious mental illnesses may be vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic. This study aims to understand how they experienced the pandemic during initial stay-at-home orders in New York City. Structured surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews examined the impact of the pandemic on participants. Survey responses are presented as percentages. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyze in-depth interviews. All participants (N = 5) knew about the coronavirus pandemic, and most took steps to minimize risk. Participants experienced changes to their services, including suspensions of some supportive services. They also reported an increase in psychiatric symptoms but utilized a variety of coping mechanisms in response. Community reintegration was essentially on hold as supportive services were suspended. Comprehensive reentry services may need to be adapted during the pandemic to address the multiple needs of individuals and to facilitate community reintegration.

Mental health recovery: Peer specialists with mental health and incarceration experiences.

Mental health recovery has not been examined widely in individuals with mental illnesses reentering the community from correctional settings. An important component of mental health recovery is engaging in work and many with lived mental health experiences become peer support specialists, yet little is known how this process unfolds for individuals who also have incarceration histories. Using life history phenomenological interviewing, this study investigates recovery pathways for peer support specialists with incarceration histories. Findings show that experiences of hope, connectedness, identity, meaningfulness, and empowerment were evident in individuals' recovery pathways of activating change, getting into recovery, integrating past and present, and living recovery every day. Notably, establishing a peer identity and drawing on past experiences were particularly salient. Training and working as a peer supported the recovery process through experiencing hope, facilitating connections, and witnessing disclosure. These findings can be applied to recovery-oriented services for those with experiences of mental illness and incarceration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A systematic review of interventions for older adults living in jails and prisons.

Objectives: The population of older adults in prison is the fastest growing demographic. Older inmates are more likely to have chronic medical conditions and cognitive decline, but these conditions occur earlier and may be more complex for older inmates. Specialized interventions to manage the unique health and mental health needs of older inmates are important to improve health and reduce burden on criminal justice systems. The aim of this research is to conduct a systematic review of empirically-tested interventions to improve the health or mental health of older adults living in jail or prison.Method: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to answer two research questions: (1) what interventions designed to improve the health or mental health of older adults living in jail or prison have been empirically tested? and (2) what are the effects of the interventions on inmates' physical or mental health?Results: Twenty-four articles were identified; seven met inclusion criteria. Several manuscripts discussed the same intervention, so the review identified five unique interventions for incarcerated older adults. The interventions are discussed including their main findings and limitations.Conclusion: Results support the need for research on interventions for incarcerated older adults. Intervention during incarceration can have a great impact on older adults' health and mental health during incarceration and upon reentry to the community. Directions for future research suggest the need for collaboration between practitioners and researchers in order to increase knowledge of what types of intervention work for older inmates living in jails and prisons.

Enacting lived experiences: Peer specialists with criminal justice histories.

OBJECTIVE: Peer specialists are frequently employed in mental health settings, with growing evidence for positive impact on subjective aspects of recovery. As more individuals within the mental health system have criminal justice involvement, peer specialists with incarceration histories are increasingly important, yet little is known about how their experiences with the criminal justice system factor into their work. This study sought to understand the experiences of peer specialists with criminal justice histories and how they incorporate these experiences into their work. METHODS: Purposive and snowball sampling was employed to recruit graduates from a peer training program. Three in-depth interviews were conducted each with 15 peer specialists who had incarceration experiences. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed that Having and Sharing Lived Experiences formed the basis of their work as peer specialists. On this foundation, participants expounded on their specialized contributions in their work as peer specialists: Engagement, Priority of Relationship, Instilling Hope, and Providing an Alternative Service. Participants' criminal justice histories influenced how they approached their work, especially around using disclosure, developing relationships, and instilling hope. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Peer specialists with incarceration histories may be a critical component toward recovery for consumers with criminal justice involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Facilitating community connections among people with mental illnesses: Perspectives from grassroots community leaders.

We conducted focus groups comprising 20 grassroots community leaders to identify social and structural elements that affect community engagement among people with serious mental illnesses. Community leaders not affiliated with mental health systems have been mostly left out of the discussions about inclusion and engagement, even though they possess unique information about the places where they live and can be essential partners in making community connections. The findings from the focus groups point to elements that both facilitate and inhibit connections, as well as roles community mental health practitioners may take on, to engage with community leaders and people with mental illness to minimize barriers and foster connections in community settings. Additionally, the focus groups elucidated the interplay between the right to be a member of one's community and a community's responsibility to create a welcoming environment. The current study garnered information regarding the broader needs and implications of community connections, as well as some specific suggestions to enhance community engagement among people with serious mental illness. Hesitation and stigma around engaging individuals with mental illnesses were identified as barriers to inclusion. Further study about how community leaders and groups may be involved in facilitating meaningful community connections is recommended.

Reincarceration Risk Among Men with Mental Illnesses Leaving Prison: A Risk Environment Analysis.

Reentry interventions for persons with mental illness leaving prison have consisted primarily of linkage to mental health services and have produced mixed results on psychiatric and criminal recidivism. These interventions primarily focus on intra-individual risk factors. However, social and environmental factors may also increase risk of reincarceration by constraining choices and pro-social opportunities for community reintegration upon release from prison. In order to add to the knowledge base on understanding reincarceration risk for men with mental illnesses leaving prison, we examined interpersonal and environmental factors that exposed men to heightened risk for reincarceration. As part of a larger study examining the effectiveness of Critical Time Intervention for men with mental illness leaving prison, in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 men within 6 months of release from prison. Policies and practices at local and state levels, community conditions, and interpersonal obligation and conflict were identified as increasing risk for reincarceration.

Role of Context, Resources, and Target Population in the Fidelity of Critical Time Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to understand departures from a model program, critical time intervention (CTI), when used with a population of men with mental illness who were leaving prison, a new population for the intervention. METHODS: A fidelity study was conducted with the CTI Fidelity Scale Manual, and six program staff participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis of interviews supplemented information on departures from the model. RESULTS: The overall fidelity score indicated a well-implemented program, but low scores on early engagement, early linking with community resources, monitoring the transfer of services from CTI to community services, and nine-month follow-up were related to the context of the prison setting, the population of men leaving prison, and environmental resources. CONCLUSIONS: The setting in which evidence-based practices are applied, the environmental resources available, and the target population may affect program fidelity.

Examining the Relationship between Choice, Therapeutic Alliance and Outcomes in Mental Health Services.

BACKGROUND: Self-determination within mental health services is increasingly recognized as an ethical imperative, but we still know little about the impact of choice on outcomes among people with severe mental illnesses. This study examines whether choice predicts outcomes and whether this relationship is mediated by therapeutic alliance. METHOD: The study sample of 396 participants completed a survey measuring choice, therapeutic alliance, recovery, quality of life and functioning. Multivariate analyses examined choice as a predictor of outcomes, and Sobel tests assessed alliance as a mediator. RESULTS: Choice variables predicted recovery, quality of life and perceived outcomes. Sobel tests indicated that the relationship between choice and outcome variables was mediated by therapeutic alliance. IMPLICATIONS: The study demonstrates that providing more choice and opportunities for collaboration within services does improve consumer outcomes. The results also show that collaboration is dependent on the quality of the relationship between the provider and consumer.