When Do Mental Health Courts Work and For Whom They Work Better?: Lessons From a Matched Case-Control Evaluation of the Brooklyn Mental Health Court

• In Event: Implications and Policy for Mental Health and Correctional Settings

Abstract

With more than one half of all prison and jail inmates having a mental health problem (BJS 2005), it is not surprising that mental health has increasingly become a key consideration in the management of offender populations. Mental health courts (MHCs) were created to reduce recidivism and improve the clinical outcomes of justice-involved individuals who suffer from mental illness. Despite the fact that over 250 MHCs exist today, there are only a few rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness. Furthermore, there is little known about how to optimize court (program) settings to achieve better performance. Based on a matched case-control design, this study presents an evaluation of the Brooklyn Mental Health Court and examines ways in which to increase the effectiveness of the MHC program. We conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of our findings.

Authors

• Bryce Elling Peterson, Urban Institute

• KiDeuk Kim, Urban Institute

• Kamala Mallik-Kane, Urban Institute