Mental Health Public Defender Evaluation

• In Event: Treating Mental Health: From Initial Contact to Reentry

Abstract

During the past decade, the creation of Mental Health Public Defender (MHPD) offices has emerged as one of several new innovations that have improved how the justice system responds to mentally ill criminal defendants. This study of the Travis County MHPD provides a workload-process evaluation of six full fiscal years and a recidivism outcome analysis of five years of disposed cases. Study findings indicate that legal clients that received MHPD representation had a shorter time to court disposition, were more likely to receive dismissals on their legal cases, and had a lower recidivism rate compared to clients who did not receive MHPD representation. This latter component is especially relevant as State policymakers and county officials have begun to focus on examining how specific interventions and programs are impacting recidivism and criminal justice costs. This evaluation discusses the implications of these findings for criminal justice policy and practice.

Author

• W. Carsten Andresen, Travis County Public Safety Division