NCJ Number
150012
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (August 1994) Pages: 377- 394
Date Published
1994
Length
18 pages
Annotation
A survey obtained standardized data to provide a description of the approaches used in the 50 States and the District of Columbia to obtain court ordered, competence-to- stand-trial and criminal-responsibility evaluations.
Abstract
Respondents were forensic mental health administrators and forensic mental health professionals. Data were obtained for variables that describe the organizational characteristics of the States' pretrial forensic evaluation systems. A typology of the States' systems was developed, based on their predominant reliance on inpatient versus outpatient approaches and on service providers with court referral catchment areas that were statewide, regional, or local. Five types allowed classification of 43 States. The types are described on the major organizational and functional variables used in the survey. The traditional practice of obtaining most court-ordered evaluations from a central inpatient facility has been replaced by a number of oupatient models in all but a few States. These models are more complex than past descriptions would suggest. 7 tables and 28 references