NCJ Number
190466
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 5 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 80-83
Date Published
August 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes how to design mental health programs that will provide proper identification and quality treatment for mentally ill offenders.
Abstract
The article discusses the importance of planning for this population, the need to have a diagnostic algorithm in place for identification and diagnosis, and a treatment algorithm for cost-effectively managing offenders' medication needs. It is estimated that between 20 percent and 30 percent of individuals in jails or prisons have diagnosable mental illnesses. In addition, 60 percent to 80 percent have significant drug and alcohol abuse problems. Further, head injuries, substance abuse, and other afflictions to the brain have left a significant number of inmates with a subtle dementia that impairs their ability to make rational decisions and formulate plans. Jail mental health programs must operate on three levels of care: acute (to identify mental health problems at the time of arrest), subacute (to design and implement an accurate diagnostic work-up and rational treatment plan), and chronic (to deal with offenders' long-term psychiatric needs). Prison medical staff must also consider the high incidence of borderline intelligence and mental retardation in this population. Because of their inability to think abstractly and their lack of verbal skills, many offenders cannot explain what they are feeling and are often thought to be malingering, thus delaying diagnosis of and treatment for legitimate problems. Reference