Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The purpose of this research synthesis was to examine treatment effects across studies of the service providers to offenders with mental illness.
Meta-analytic techniques were applied to 26 empirical studies obtained from a review of 12, research documents. Outcomes of interest in this review included measures of both psychiatric and criminal functioning.
Furthermore, interventions specifically designed to meet the psychiatric and criminal justice needs of offenders with mental illness have shown to produce significant reductions in psychiatric and criminal recidivism. Finally, this review highlighted admission policies and treatment strategies e. Results of this research synthesis are directly relevant for service providers in both criminal justice and mental health systems e.
In addition, the implications of these results to policy makers tasked with the responsibility of designating services for this special needs population are highlighted. Of greatest concern to mental health professionals working with offenders with mental illness OMI , and compounding the problem for correctional administrators, are the findings that PMI have been incarcerated at disproportionately increasing rates over the last ten years e.
The clinical picture in American jails is even more disconcerting note that jails incarcerate individuals awaiting trial or convicted of less serious offenses , as local jails have superseded mental health facilities as providers of mental health treatment. With these shifts in placement of PMI, treatment efforts for OMI have been unable to keep pace with the incarceration rates in state and federal jail and prison facilities.
