Kiana Griffin. 2 May 2017. Rhet 105 – M2. Rehabilitation

The inhumane conditions seen in state prisons today eerily mimic many of the same issues seen in state psychiatric institutions prior to the 1970s. These institutions sought to solve the problem off overcrowding by deeming many of them stable enough to leave, even though many of them were not. The patients were placed into group homes instead of hospitals. This caused an influx of people with mental health problems into a society where they could not function. Many of them inevitably ended up committing crimes, pushing them into the

With states closing many of its mental facilities in the communities, there were a lot of people in need of outpatient care who fell through the cracks of the system and ended up in prison. Prison is where many of them died from inadequate treatment. Prisons were suddenly receiving inmates with the following types of mental illnesses: Schizophrenia, bipolar, and deep depressions. These prisons just did not provide these inmates with any medication during their incarceration. Because the community based health services is lacking, and patients aren’t receiving sufficient outpatient care, it makes the effectiveness of deinstitutionalization a serious problem. Without the availability of 24/7 psychiatric services that are well structured, I believe that deinstitutionalization is what is accounting for the increase of the mentally ill inmates in the correctional facility.

The shutdown of state mental hospitals and lack of available financial and institutional resources force mentally ill people to the United States Judicial System for mental health. Every year thousands of people are arrested for various crimes and they are sent to jail. Sixteen percent of these people have some type of mental health problem (Public Broadcasting System , 2001). When we consider that the United States has the largest incarcerated population in the world at 2.2 million, this number is staggering (Anasseril E. Daniel, 2007). This is about 1% of the entire population of the United States. There are many reasons as to why the situation has taken such a bad turn and when the history of the treatment of mental illness is examined one can see how the situation developed into the inhumane disaster it is today.

According to a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that over half of the inmates in both prisons and in jails had a problem concerning their mental health (James & Glaze, 2006). The estimates in this report were separated by federal prisons, which contained 45 percent of inmates suffering from mental illness, 56 percent in state prisons, and

Dismantling our mental health has led to an increase of prisoners in the united states. Instead to putting people mental asylums, we are putting them in prison, and

In Harcourt’s (2011) article on “The Impact of Mental Hospitalization and Imprisonment on Homicide in the United States,” he states that the United States institutionalized a great portion of the population in mental institutions from 1930 into the 1950s. During this time, there was stability among both the prison and mental hospital populations, but with this stability, there were also high rates of institutionalization in mental hospitals. After the 1960s, markedly the 1970s, rates of mental hospital institutionalization plummeted while prison populations rose. One reason for this switch can be attributed to Congress’s Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act in 1963. This act led to a period in the United States that promoted deinstitutionalization.

The general public is effect by someone who is mentally ill because they may not be able to work or have anywhere to live. This leaves them homeless and can lead to them committing crimes, panhandling, attracting more people who are mentally ill, and a higher crime rate. These communities may need more police which can cause tax increases and a longer waiting time for a response. The long-term effects could mean reduced home worth and unsafe conditions. Studies have found that up to 73% of the homeless population suffer from mental health issues and programs offered were not able to change their inability to work and care for themselves (De Vet, Van Luijtelaar, Brilleslijper-Kater, & Vanderplasschen, 2013).

What a fascinating article and it speaks volume on how recent history of our prisons have become ways in which we deal with mental health and that is to lock them up. According to Hoke (2015) the mental illness is disproportionately represented in the prison system, people get re-incarcerated because of social factors such as mental illness. In this article it seem that in prison they only send you to psychiatric ward to stabilize you almost like our ER or psychiatric inpatient beds are utilized. Therefore a strategic plan needs to be put in our prison system which is a complicated with complex issues, and deep seated problems which are often contained in large institutions (Stringer, 2014). If prisons created a comprehensive mental health

The penal system has been no help in alleviating the stigma attached to mental illness, routinely and historically treating mentally unstable inmates with just the same harsh approach as their criminally insane counterparts. Indeed, the distinction between these two populations is significant; however, authorities have long been reluctant to entertain such a concept. Similar to the treatment availed to them in institutions, mentally ill inmates have a history of being shackled, beaten and deprived of the most basic human needs. One might readily argue how state and federal penitentiaries exist for one reason and one reason only: to lock up the criminal and throw away the key. The conspicuous absence of rehabilitation programs speaks to

Mental healthcare within the forensic and correctional settings should be addressed because better mental health care for offenders allows for a safer correctional environment, improved rehabilitation, and lower recidivism rates; however, there are barriers to improving quality of care (Deslich et al., 2013). A few examples of these barriers are the geographic isolation of correctional facilities, Lack of providers willing to work in correctional and forensic facilities, and costs (Combessie, 2002). Because of this limited access to care, many people within these environments deal with untreated mental illnesses (Leonard, 2005). Research estimates that around half of the nation’s prisoner population have some form of mental illness (Deslich et al., 2013).

In this country, individuals with a mental health illness make up half of all correctional facility intakes, which is rivaled with eleven percent of the overall populace, however, only 1 in 9 incarcerated individuals are given any care for their mental illness (Anasseril, 2007). When the much-needed care is absent in prisons and jails, inmates with mental health disorders experience excruciating signs and their disorder can decline and be plagued with misconceptions and delusions, unbearable worries, dangerous and uncontainable temperament (Ambrasky,2003). There are varying estimates on precisely how many individuals within the confines of prisons and jails that are mentally ill. According to a report by Abramsky, (2003) there is a projected 16% of state, federal, and local jails that consist of inmates with mental health issues. Althouse had comparable estimates in 2010, conveying study outcomes that suggested roughly 16% of the incarcerated individuals were quantified as having a mental disorder and more than 100,000 were being given psychotropic medication. Deslich, Thistlewaite, and Coutasse, (2013) estimated around 14-15% of inmates had a form of mental health disorder. These percentages are significant when compared to the 5% of the outside population that endure a mental disorder (Abramsky, 2003, pg. 17). According to reports from some states, there is a substantial rise in the percentage of incarcerated

Prisons are the wrong place for many people in need of mental health treatment, since the prison system emphasizes deterrence and punishment rather than treatment and care. For people with mental

The US has a growing problem of overcrowding in the prisons that are leading to a decline in inmate health care and other basic needs. Inmates who are diagnosed with mental health issues are being subjected to the harsh prison environments without receiving adequate treatment for their disabilities. Not only does their mental health decline but they are also easy and frequent targets of abuse from other inmates. By placing these individuals in the prison system instead of an assertive community health facility we are hurting these inmates instead of giving them the treatment they need can fully rehabilitate so that they can eventually leave prison and become a positive member of society. We must make this problem known and fight for reform

Providing mental health care to offenders have their challenges. For one, incarcerated people already have mental problems when they enter jail. According to Safran et al., over 50% of offenders have at least one mental disorder before entering the criminal justice system (1964). Secondly, mentally ill offenders receive an inadequate amount of treatment while in jail. Since 97% of these offenders are released and left untreated, they’re more than likely to become unstable and be reincarcerated. From these statistics, studies need to research ways to increase mental health access and apply public health interventions in the correctional

The number and acuity level of inmates in correctional settings with mental health disorders continues to increase. The harsh, institutional climate of correctional facilities is the antithesis of a therapeutic environment, causing many mentally ill inmates to decompensate rather than recover.