Hj. Steadman et al., A SAMHSA research initiative assessing the effectiveness of jail diversionprograms for mentally ill persons, PSYCH SERV, 50(12), 1999, pp. 1620-1623
For nearly 30 years jail diversion programs have bad wide support: as a way
to prevent people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders from u
nnecessarily entering the criminal justice system by providing more appropr
iate community-based treatment. Although these programs have had wide suppo
rt, very few systematic outcomes studies have examined their effectiveness.
This paper discusses findings on rates of incarceration of persons with se
rious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders in U.S. jails
, summarizes recently completed research on jail diversion programs, and de
scribes a three-year-research initiative begun ih 1997 by the Substance Abu
se and Meatal Health Services Administration that uses a standardized proto
col to examine the characteristics and outcomes of various types of jail di
version programs in nine sites throughout the U.S.