Mental Health Examinations in Criminal Justice Settings Organization, Administration, and Program Evaluation

• NCJ Number: 82340
• Author(s): I Keilitz
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 670 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0070
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for State Courts
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Final report of a Phase I Assessment of Mental Health Screening and Evaluation for Mental Health Services for Criminal Justice Clientele

Annotation

This study examines the rationales underlying current practices in forensic psychiatry, describes methods used to screen offenders in 20 different forensic units throughout the United States, and then outlines a model process for forensic mental health screening and evaluation.

Abstract

Part I presents an operational definition of forensic mental health screening which covers types of offenders subjected to these evaluations, authorities who initiate the process, personnel conducting the evaluations, and how the mental health information is used by the criminal justice authorities. This study's evaluation methodology is summarized, as are the results of a preliminary telephone survey of 121 selected forensic mental health programs throughout the country. Part II details the operations of mental health screening and evaluation programs in five court clinics, four jails, seven community and regional mental health centers, two centralized hospital units, and two community corrections projects. Each description provides a history of the program, a summary of its goals, an illustration of the client caseflow, the flow of information between the referral source and the unit, and a review of procedures governing feedback, quality control, and program evaluation. The final chapters introduce a model process of forensic mental health screening and evaluation which is divided into three major components: defining the psycholegal question, data acquisition, and provision of information. These discussions suggest that formal procedures are but one very limited means of conveying the needs and wishes of the criminal justice system to the mental health system and support theories that judgments made by mental health professionals in deciding between mental illness and criminality are influenced by moral, social, and political considerations. The final chapter explores factors affecting the complex relationships formed by the mental health, law enforcement, and judicial systems and discusses strategies for monitoring, quality control, and program evaluation. References, charts, referral and evaluation forms, and survey questionnaires accompany the text.