Jails & Prisons - Behavioral Health Issues

Articles/Papers

Animated figure behind prison bars

ISSUE BRIEF:
​Criminal Justice

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ADVICE for MH/BH Boards & Commissions
​Reviewing Mental Health Programs in COUNTY JAILS

SPEAKERS: Invite the following speakers to address Mental Health services/programs, "warm hand-offs" and access to Mental Health services in preparation and upon release:  Jail Warden/staff, BH Director/staff, related Contractors/staff, Probation Director/staff.

PATIENTS RIGHTS ADVOCATES: are authorized to review the mental health programs in jails.  They are a good source of information and they are advocates.  Invite them to participate regularly at your monthly meetings. Listing of local Patients Rights Advocates (Disability Rights California)

SITE VISITS (access varies by jurisdiction).

BOARD LIAISON - Ask one of your local board/commission members to attend the local Community Corrections Partnership (AB 109) Committee meetings and report back to your local board/commission.

CALBHB/C PowerPoint Dec. 2019
MHSOAC PowerPoint Dec. 2019

GRAND JURY Annual Reports - The local grand jury is required to look into the quality and management of the county's jails and prisons.  Links to reports:
Alameda
Alpine
Amador
Butte
Calaveras
Colusa
Contra Costa
Del Norte
El Dorado
Fresno
Glenn
Humboldt
Imperial
Inyo
Kern
Kings
Lake
Lassen
Los Angeles
Madera
Marin
Mariposa
Mendocino
Merced
Modoc
Mono
Monterey
Napa
Nevada
Orange
Placer
Plumas
Riverside
Sacramento
San Benito
San Bernardino
San Diego
San Francisco
San Joaquin
San Luis Obispo
San Mateo
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Shasta
Sierra
Siskiyou
Solano
Sonoma
Stanislaus
Sutter
Tehama
Trinity
Tulare
Tuolumne
Ventura
Yolo
Yuba

Alternatives to Jails/Prisons

Crisis Care Continuum - CALBHB/C Web Page

Mental Health Diversion Summary (AB 1810, Penal Code §§ 1001.35-1001.36), J. Richard Couzens Judge of the Placer County Superior Court (Ret.) Memorandum

SB 389 (Hertzberg) Amends the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) to clarify that MHSA funds can be used for services for individuals who are participating in a pre-sentencing or post-sentencing diversion program or community supervision, most notably parole - in short it repeals the parolee MHSA exclusion.

Behavioral Health Court(BHC) - San Francisco incorporates Evidence-Based Practices, Supported Employment and a Continuum of Care.  In 2008, BHC received the Council on Mentally Ill Offenders (COMIO) Best Practices Award.
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Stepping Up Toolkit Can Help Counties Address People with Mental Illnesses In Jails, CA State Association of Counties

​Jail Closed in Miami-Dade County, Saving Taxpayers $12 Million per year:  In 2000, Florida’s 11th Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County established a program that diverts people who have serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders, but who don’t pose a threat to public safety, into community-based care instead of jail. As a result of the program, the county has been able to close an entire jail, saving taxpayers $12 million per year. The recidivism rate has dropped from 75 to 20 percent.  Miami Herald, 2016

​LA Task Force Suggests ways to divert Mentally Ill from Jails, 2015: LA Times

​Principles of Community-Based Behavioral Health Services for Criminal Justice-Involved Individuals:  A Research-Based Guide, SAMHSA 2019

Criminal Justice MH:  Medi-Cal, Realignment and MHSA Explained DHCS 2019

Criminal Justice and Mental Health Project Report, MHSOAC, Dec. 2017

Overdose Prevention & Response for community corrections, Course Series (free), National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 2023

​Embedding Mental Health Clinicians in Public Defender’s Offices:
A Potential CalAIM Strategy for Reducing the Mentally Ill Inmate
Population in Jails, CA Health Policy Strategies, LLC,  June 2022​

Reducing Homelessness for People with Behavioral Health Needs Leaving Prisons and Jails, CCJBH, 2021

Behavioral Health:
Community Care Demonstration Project, CA Legislative Analysts Office

Jail-Based Competency Treatment Program, Shasta County

​Jail Mental Health Services in Sonoma County Executive Summary, 9/2020

MHSA Fact Sheet - Supporting Individuals in the Criminal Justice System, DHCS
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​Set, Measure, Achieve to establish and reach measurable goals that demonstrate reduced prevalence of mental illness in jails. The Stepping Up Initiative

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation It Has Poorly Administered the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees Program, and With Current Funding Cuts, It Must Find Ways to Transition Parolees to County Services, August 2020 Auditor's Report

Conducting Timely Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Jails Recorded Webinar:  
​From the Stepping Up Initiative, April 2017

How Southern California Jails Are Changing The Way They Treat The Mentally Ill The Orange County Register, August 2019

​Criminal Justice Mental Health Project  MHSOAC, 2007 - 2016

Disabled Behind Bars, The Mass Incarceration of People With Disabilities in America’s Jails and Prisons, July 2016, July 2016

Despite Millions More in Funds, Quality of Prison Rehab Programs Questionable, Audit Finds Cal Health Report 2019

Los Angeles County is breaking the cycle of homelessness through the Office of Diversion and Reentry Housing Program, YouTube

Recent rulings for Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) for those with Opioid Use Disorder in Jails, National Council for Behavioral Health, May 2019

​All too often, California’s default mental institutions are now jails and prisons, Cal Matters 2019

L.A. County agrees to new policies to end the jail-to-skid row cycle for mentally ill people, Los Angeles Times, December 2018

Prison psychiatry chief’s report accuses state of misleading court on mental health care, Sacramento Bee October 2018

Behind Bars, Mentally Ill Inmates Are Often Punished for their Symptoms, National Public Radio July 2018

CSAC Helps Kick Off "Stepping Up for Mental Health Initiative California State Association of Counties

Big Jump Seen In Number Of Inmates Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs In California National Public Radio, May 2018
Psychotropic Drug Use Up Sharply As Jails House More People With Mental Illness, CA Healthline / KQED May 2018

Health Care Revamp at The L.A. County Jails, California Healthline, 2018  The effort, overseen by the county's health services department, aims to imrove care for a population with high rates of chronic disease, mental illness and drug addiction.

Napa County breaks ground on $17 Million Correctional Re-Entry facility - "There will be classrooms and program space available to meet the needs for mental health counseling, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and job training and employment services, among others, that help offenders become self-sufficient productive members of society once they’re released."

Judge Threatens $1,000-A-Day California Mental Health Fines, April, 2017 US News & World Report
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Spike in LA Jail inmates with mental illness leads to new policies, April, 2017 ABC News

Stanislaus County opens a new criminal detention center with mental health and rehabilitation space, March 2017: LA Times

SLO Man Dies Awaiting Mental Health Transfer, January 2017: New Times SLO

California County Settles Joint Action Lawsuit over Jail Medical and Mental Health Care, January 2017: Prison Legal News

​Data Driven Justice and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Frequently Asked Questions, U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services
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When did prisons become acceptable mental healthcare facilities?,
​Stanford Law School Three Strikes Project

Position Statement 56:  Mental Health Treatment in Correctional Facilities,
​Mental Health America (MHA)

Mentally Ill Persons in Corrections, National Institute of Corrections

Processing & Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons in the Criminal Justice System:  A Scan of Practice and Background Analysis, (2015) Urban Institute
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Impact of Disproportionate Incarceration and Violence Against Black People with Mental Health Conditions In the World's Largest Jail System, (2014) Dignity and Power Now