Mental Health Courts Appear to Shorten Jail Time, Reduce Re-Arrest for Those With Psychiatric Illness

Special mental health courts appear to be associated with lower post-treatment arrest rates and reduced number of days of incarceration for individuals with serious psychiatric illnesses, according to a report posted online October 4 that will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

"Mental health courts are an increasingly popular post-booking jail diversion program," the authors write as background information in the article. "Mental health courts have the laudable goal of moving persons with serious mental illness out of the criminal justice system and into community treatment without sacrificing public safety." These courts have expanded from one or two in 1997 to approximately 250 today. In general, eligible clients follow specific procedures for enrollment into the court, such as having a hearing before a mental health court judge, entering a guilty plea and agreeing to the terms of the court. Treatment is usually a condition of enrollment, and courts reserve the right to sanction defendants who violate the terms.

Specifically, in the 18 months following enrollment in the mental health court, participants were significantly less likely than those treated in the usual manner to be arrested again (49 percent vs. 58 percent). Over the same period, mental health court participants had a decline of 0.8 arrests per year (from 2.1 to 1.3), compared with a decline of 0.6 in the usual treatment group (from 2.6 to 2.0).

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by MHA of MT staff) from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.