NCJ Number
110260
Journal
American Jails Volume: 1 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1988) Pages: 52-54,56,58
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The mental health unit of the Suffolk County Correctional Facility (1,000 inmates) in Riverhead, N.Y., has assumed a leadership role in jail suicide prevention and progressive jail mental health programs.
Abstract
The unit is a direct service clinic operated by Suffolk County Health Services, Community Mental Health Division. The staff provides a wide range of services that includes consultation to corrections for mentally ill and suicidal inmates, crisis intervention, advocacy, individual and group therapy, chemotherapy, alcoholism and drug counseling, correction officer training, and case management services for the mentally ill. The unit is housed in a six-trailer modular structure attached to the jail proper. Emerging issues the unit is addressing are comprehensive counseling for inmates with AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), Spanish-speaking therapists for the increasing number of Hispanic inmates (drug arrests), and treatment programs for the sex offender or sexually abused. The unit's value is particularly seen in the reduced number of inmate suicides and the reduction of tension and acting-out in an oppressive, overcrowded environment.