Comparing outcomes for diverted and nondiverted jail detainees with mentalillnesses

Jail diversion programs have been proposed for use with persons with mental illnesses. While much support exists for these programs in theory, little is known about their characteristics, the individuals they divert, or their effectiveness. The current study focuses on identifying the characteristic s of persons diverted through a court-based program in one midwestern city and their outcomes during the first 2 months after diversion. Information o n participants (n = 80) was gathered through detainee interviews, staff int erviews, and record abstracts. Two factors appear to be important in divers ion: (I) community risk and (2) availability of specialized programs for di verted offenders. Demographic, clinical, and social context variables appea r to influence diversion decisions. Overall, the diverted and nondiverted g roups did approximately the same upon release, but one third of the nondive rted group never got released during the follow-up.