Mental Illness And Mental Health

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration among the developed countries, with 2.2 million currently in jails and prisons. The number of inmates with mental disorders has been increasing during the past three decades, most likely the result of the deinstitutionalization of the state mental health system. Correctional institutions have become the de facto state mental hospitals. There are more seriously and persistently mentally ill people in prisons than in all state hospitals in the United States. When incarcerated these people face many disadvantages on top of their sickness. They do not receive the psychiatric help they need, nor do they receive proper medication or therapy. In addition, the guards do not know how to properly deal with people with mental disabilities. With so many issues in the criminal justice system there is no room for improvement for these inmates.

But the people that do not have that opportunity are offered little help in finding somewhere to live. Employment is also an issue faced. Many places do not want to hire someone that has been in prison before. Also, the level of education that the person has is a contributing factor to employers saying no to ex-prisoners. Often times background checks are initiated with the application process of a job and when someone tells them that they have been convicted of a crime the employer is a little more hesitant on hiring this person. But on the other end, only about 62 percent of potential employers would not consider hiring ex-inamtes, only 32 percent reported using background checks on a consistent basis. 38 percent of the potential employers would consider hiring ex-inmates (Police Operations).

There are more reasons why its hard for recently released prisoners to find a job including the stigma that goes along with being a convicted offender. “There are several reasons why incarceration reduces the employability and subsequent earning potential of released inmates. First, the stigma attached to incarceration makes it difficult for ex-prisoners to be hired. Employers are reluctant to hire individuals with a criminal record, because it signals that they may not be trustworthy. A survey of employers in five major cities across the country revealed that two-thirds of all employers

Harrison and Nadeau (2007) discusses how jails and prisons has been the last place for an individual with serve mental illness, which leads to substance abuse and repeat offenders in the criminal justice system. Harrison and Nadeau (2007) compares a sample of inmates with no medical history on repeat

Overcrowding prison has become a huge problem within the United States, which lead to seeking in alternative options. Since there isn’t enough space or resources applicable to provide for all those who are diagnosed with mental issues, a shift to community supervision have taken place; probation and parole being the greatest form of supervision. The National Institute of Corrections continues to state how parole and probation are overrepresentation of those who are mentally ill, with rates two to four times greater than the general population. Even with this being true, the combination of the cost of imprisonment, treatment needs and

In the early 1950’s and 60’s, there were a great number of mental facilities in operation and the number of mentally ill locked in prisons was not as bad as it is today. We as a society seemed to gone in reverse and returned to the practice of locking up the mentally ill up in prison while closing mental facilities over the years. Mental health services have been crippled by the shutting down of mental health facilities and reliance on health care insurance to address the needs of those who require treatments necessary in order to enable them to function in society. Whether this is reflective of a change in society as to how the mentally ill should be treated or strictly a result of drained funding remains to be seen. Currently many correctional facilities are working tirelessly with the community in bridging the gaps, and making treatment a priority in an attempt to minimize the number of mentally ill patients from coming to

With the termination of state psychiatric hospitals and the decline in funding for mental health benefits, many individuals with severe mental illnesses are entangled in the criminal justice system. Moreover, the country's jails and prisons have become hospitals for people with mental illnesses, many of whom also battle with substance abuse. There is a crucial need to repair a defective system. The criminal justice system must address the mass incarceration and impede public expenses that do not generate beneficial results in terms of providing valuable services and keeping extremely mentally ill persons out of the countries prisons and jails. Concentrating on this inadequacy will require the state and county policymakers to join forces; developing

The United States has the largest prison population in the world, with over two million people in prisons or jails across the country as of August 2016 (Morrissey, Domino, & Cuddeback, 2016). This number represents a 500% increase over the past three decades (Morrissey, et al.). Many individuals who are incarcerated suffer from at least one mental health or substance abuse disorder, with many having two or more co-occurring disorders. Mental health services in the correctional system have not kept pace with the rapid rise in the numbers of individuals who are incarcerated and in need of treatment in the U.S. Budget cuts and staff shortages have caused a lack of adequate mental health services and treatment throughout the correctional department. Additionally, the rise of for-profit prisons has created a situation where the rehabilitation of offenders is often

This withholding of mental health treatment on the basis of the type of crime one has committed supports the hypothesis that prisons tend to prioritize punishment at the cost of denying mental ill prisoners the necessary rehabilitative mental health resources. The upsetting truth is that failure to properly treat mentally ill prisoners does not appear to be a matter of lacking mental health resources, but instead a refusal to use them.

Care and treatment for the Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) has always reflected society’s intolerance and punitive attitude, typified by a desire to remove persons with mental illness from public sight (Gostin, 1983). Traditionally, health care for this population was provided in institutions until the 1950s. De-institutionalisation and large-scale closures of psychiatric institutes in the 1980s resulted from therapeutic advancement and the advent of psychotropic medication, which in turn led to a need to provide care and treatment in the least restrictive setting (Geller et al, 2006 ; Morrow e al 2003). Many patients were discharged,

In reviewing mental illness in corrections, issues arise regarding the number of affected person’s receiving treatment in correctional settings and the care being provided. As the shift of treatment of the mentally ill moved from mental hospitals and institutions to community treatment facilities and correctional institutions, a marked increase of mentally ill offenders entered the correctional system. Advocates for the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill believed that the move would create a more independent lifestyle for the mentally ill while providing local access to treatment provided by community-based programs. (Health Affairs)

The criminal justice system lacks the necessary fiscal resources to manage the needs of mentally ill offenders. Mentally ill offenders have limited access to mental health professionals, medical staff, and criminal justice professionals who can accurately assess, evaluate, diagnose and treat their mental health issues. “Prisons and jails have a legal obligation to provide health and mental health care for inmates” (Ford et al. (2007), yet mentally ill offenders are not receiving services they need or are entitled to receive. U.S. courts have ruled that persons incarcerated have a constitutional right to receive medical and mental health care. The care delivered must meet minimum standards (Ruiz v. Estelle), and the health care has no

The prison educational and mental health programs were cut, along with the implementation of the Act, and budge cuts. Through the lack of education, mental health programs and job skill programs makes it more difficult for the offender to reenter into the community and become gainfully employed in order to survive the “real” world. Mr. Patrick (2015) reminded the forum that “The Iron Law of Corrections is that most people come home.” Patrick continued, “What do we want for people when they come home? We want them to get a job and earn a living wage, support their families, be better parents, and be better neighbors” (Patrick,

The purpose of this paper is to get a better understanding of mental illness and how it coincides with the criminal justice system. As we know, mental illness has been a huge issue in the criminal justice system, the issue has predominately been ignored with only attention being drawn to this problem when a high-profile case makes the news. Therein lies the problem, we have no idea how to solve the issue of the rampant mentally ill being repeat offenders in the criminal justice system, often solutions will be made to help correct the issue, but these “solutions” tend to be ineffective and only temporary. Furthermore, what can be said of the mentally ill being constantly in and out of the criminal justice system is that they don’t recognize themselves as being mentally ill and therefore tend to forgo taking their medications once they are released from prison, consequently this creates a never-ending cycle of release, committed crime while off meds, and

There has been an concern with mental health professionals about the increasing number of mentally disordered inmates in jails and prisons. There are approximately 356,000 inmates in jails and state prisons with mental illnesses (Torrey, Zdanowicz, & Kennard, 2014). Many researchers are debating if mentally disordered inmates should be treated in prisons and jails, or if they are not equipped to care for them at all. While jails tend to house inmates sentenced with short terms, prisons house convicted and sentenced offenders serving more than 1 year. With the longer time of incarceration, prisons provide more of an opportunity for inmates to receive mental health assessments, diagnosis, and treatment (James & Glaze, 2006). It is crucial