NCJ Number
207519
Journal
Psychiatric Services Volume: 53 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2002 Pages: 1469-1471
Editor(s)
Avran H. Mack M.D.
Date Published
November 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated the efforts of New Jersey jails to plan for the postrelease treatment needs of inmates with mental illness compared to that of inmates with other chronic illnesses.
Abstract
This study evaluated the release planning process for three types of chronic illness, mental illness, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS, to determine whether release planning for inmates with mental illness differs from that for inmates with other types of chronic illness. Data were obtained from 17 of the 21 county jails in New Jersey through interviews with correctional health care staff conducted from August through October 2000. The survey found that 71 percent of the respondents believed that it is very or extremely important to have release planning for inmates with serious mental illness. In addition, the survey found that 76 percent of the jails provide some type of release planning for inmates with serious mental illness, while 4 percent provide some type of planning for those with heart disease and 14 percent provide some type of planning for those with HIV/AIDS. However, these averages conceal large variations in effort among facilities, with some facilities offering services to less than 10 percent of the inmates while other facilities provide plans for 75 to 100 percent of the chronically ill inmates. The evaluation found that the lack of planning for postrelease treatment is not unique to mental illness. While it appears that jails are reluctant to assume primary responsibility for release planning, this survey found evidence that they are willing to build community connections that facilitate such planning. 1 table and 7 references