The United States has higher rates of incarceration than any other country. Incarceration has negative effects on individuals, their families, and society. Jails face two major issues that this study focuses on: high rates of behavioral health disorders and high rates of recidivism. Of all correctional settings, jails have been found to have the highest rates of behavioral health disorders. This is problematic for these facilities, as there is a legal requirement that jails assess for, and treat, mental illness. Recidivism is also a concern for jails, contributing to the overcrowding that many of these facilities experience. Research is in general agreement that mental health disorders (MHD) and substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with a higher risk of recidivism; however, research in rural jails is lacking. The current study includes a three and a half year follow up to assess the link between behavioral health and recidivism among 283 rural county jail inmates. The relationship between MHDs, SUDs, & recidivism is investigated in order to determine which, if any, behavioral health disorders are associated with higher risk of rearrest. Findings support the need for correctional facilities to implement evidence-based interventions for individuals at higher risk of recidivism, potentially leading to a decrease in recidivism rates.

Today’s high recidivism rates, combined with the rising costs of jails and prisons, are increasingly seen as problems that must be addressed on both moral and financial grounds. Research on prison and jail reentry typically focuses on barriers stemming from employment, housing, mental health, and substance abuse issues from the perspective of offenders returning to urban areas. This book explores the largely neglected topic of the specific challenges inmates experience when leaving jail and returning to rural areas. Rural Jail Reentry provides a thorough background and theoretical framework on reentry issues and rural crime patterns, and identifies perceptions of the most significant challenges to jail reentry in rural areas. Utilizing three robust samples—current inmates, probation and parole officers, and treatment staff—Ward examines what each group considers to be the most impactful factors surrounding rural jail re-entry. A springboard for future research and policy discussions, this book will be of interest to international researchers and practitioners interested in the topic of rural reentry, as well as graduate and upper-level undergraduate students concerned with contemporary issues in corrections, community-based corrections, critical issues in criminal justice, and criminal justice policy.

The 15 years since publication of the second edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s task force report on psychiatric services in correctional facilities have seen increasing rates of incarceration of mentally ill individuals, continuing criminalization of substance use disorders, and a lack of accessible and appropriate care in the community. The purpose of the new edition, Psychiatric Services in Correctional Facilities, and the aim of the work group that authored it over many years of research, dialogue, and development, is to provide leadership in addressing the needs of the often disenfranchised population of the incarcerated and to provide guidance to mental health clinicians working in correctional settings. Urging an expanded role in leadership and advocacy, the work group members present the foundational principles that apply to providing care in correctional facilities, outline the basic types of services that should be provided, and apply the principles and guidelines previously established to specific disorders, patient populations, treatment modalities, and special needs. Working with these patients and in these settings presents particular challenges that clinicians are unlikely to have encountered elsewhere in practice, such as the use of seclusion and restraint and administrative issues. Psychiatric Services in Correctional Facilities provides critical guidance and support for mental health professionals operating in this often frustrating environment, enabling them to provide both effective treatment and informed advocacy for their patients.

This book is about the need for social reform programs along with the Department of Corrections to gain more appropriate and more satisfying treatments for affected individuals. Studies have shown that more inmates, upon release from incarceration, have little to no resources that help with assistance of mental health treatment, employment, housing, and education. Redirecting and modifying upon release would help the inmate not only with what’s out in the community to face but also in helping to ease the tension of it. Programs and access to mental health resources—medication, continuous counsel, skill-building, and everyday living skills—prove to make a major positive impact on one’s transition. Active mental health treatment deemed by the inmate’s release team should proactively be a team consensus for the inmate on a long-term basis to redirect the thoughts of recidivism. With all involved, a power of guidance would leave one feeling as though they have a strong sense of support. I believe that by implementing these measures at the beginning of juvenile delinquency, the problems we face in America would result to a lesser number of incarcerations. It is a problem that starts in the adolescent years, not in adulthood. Proper and early treatment of mental illness, diagnosis, and treatments would make a world of difference in the lives of such population. Proper and more guided involvement would lessen thoughts of crime.

Over the past four decades, the rate of incarceration in the United States has skyrocketed to unprecedented heights, both historically and in comparison to that of other developed nations. At far higher rates than the general population, those in or entering U.S. jails and prisons are prone to many health problems. This is a problem not just for them, but also for the communities from which they come and to which, in nearly all cases, they will return. Health and Incarceration is the summary of a workshop jointly sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences(NAS) Committee on Law and Justice and the Institute of Medicine(IOM) Board on Health and Select Populations in December 2012. Academics, practitioners, state officials, and nongovernmental organization representatives from the fields of healthcare, prisoner advocacy, and corrections reviewed what is known about these health issues and what appear to be the best opportunities to improve healthcare for those who are now or will be incarcerated. The workshop was designed as a roundtable with brief presentations from 16 experts and time for group discussion. Health and Incarceration reviews what is known about the health of incarcerated individuals, the healthcare they receive, and effects of incarceration on public health. This report identifies opportunities to improve healthcare for these populations and provides a platform for visions of how the world of incarceration health can be a better place.

The United States is currently home to one of the largest prison populations in the world. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) the United States currently incarcerates about 2.3 million people in its jails and prisons. Due to the large number of inmates the Department of Justice (DOJ) has had to ask for a monetary increase of 1.5 billion dollars to their budget. Many of the inmates being incarnated are recidivists. These are offenders who already went through the prison and jail system who were rearrested upon release. Recidivists are of special interest to the criminal justice system (CJS) because they contribute to the overcrowding that is plaguing the correctional system. When looking into this class of offenders one population stands out as having multiple barriers that perpetuate recidivism. This population is offenders who suffer from severe mental illness (SMI). These offenders face environmental risk factors, suffer from fragmented mental health services, and face biases that make it more likely for them to recidivate. This study evaluates the mental health courts a diversion program that seeks to connect recidivists who suffer from SMI with services and lower recidivism. The results of this study found that the mental health courts had a significant effect on lowering recidivism among offenders with SMI.