Agreement among Correctional and Community-based Diagnoses of Severe Behavioral Health Disorders: (Mis) Identifying the ‘Target Population’?

• In Event: Mental Health Issues and Treatment in Prison

Abstract

Numerous reports have documented the overrepresentation of persons with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders in the criminal justice system. Importantly, decisions of correctional mental health practitioners occur in very different organizational contexts than assessments made in the community. These two systems have distinct, and perhaps contradictory, practical concerns, resource constraints, and philosophies. The current study examines rates and correlates of severe mental illness diagnoses and co-occurring disorders diagnoses among Washington State annual prison admissions from 1998-2006. Specifically, I investigate the frequency and correspondence of prison and community-based diagnoses. I disaggregate the inmate populations based on diagnosis-source, and explore the meaningfulness of distinguishing among these categories, particularly as they relate to post-release service utilization and recidivism. Understanding the correspondence between diagnoses made in prison and those identified via community mental health agencies is important for ensuring appropriate provision of correctional treatment services and continuity of care following prison release.

Author

• Mindy S. Bradley, University of Arkansas