NCJ Number
207506
Date Published
January 2003
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses how the State of New Jersey is responding to the needs of offenders with mental health problems, by utilizing an investment strategy and addressing the problem in terms of producing and protecting mental health and prosocial behavior.
Abstract
As mental illness becomes more and more over-represented in the incarcerated population, public funding to manage this population comprehensively and effectively is significantly limited. The needs of mentally disordered offenders are complex and multi-dimensional. It is necessary for policymakers to invest available funds in responses that will address the needs that produce health and justice outcomes highly valued by society. This paper discusses how the State of New Jersey has responded to the mental health problems within their incarcerated population through such an investment strategy, treating the offenders’ needs as an investment, and evaluating alternative responses to their needs in terms of the health and justice outcomes they produce. The paper begins by first describing the prevalence of mental health and addiction problems among inmates in New Jersey, and then describes the investment responses by the New Jersey correctional facilities. Lastly, the paper discusses obstacles to protecting investments in health and justice outcomes and recommends an investment strategy and operational changes to minimize the loss and maximize the return on the public’s investment. References