Mental Health and Incarceration
Class
About this Module
Class 1: Mental Health and Incarceration in the 21st Century
Introduction:
This class introduces students to the twenty-first century issue of mental health and incarceration in the U.S. criminal justice system. Students learn about the high numbers of people with mental health and substance abuse conditions in prisons and jails and the psychiatric services provided there. Students then study how policymakers have responded, through police trainings, mental health courts, and other efforts to reduce the rates of incarceration in the United States.
Class Resources
Readings
- Vera Institute of Justice. The Burden of Mental Illness Behind Bars. June 21, 2016. https://www.vera.org/the-human-toll-of-jail/inside-the-massive-jail-that-doubles-as-chicagos-largest-mental-health-facility/the-burden-of-mental-illness-behind-bars
- Roth, Alisa. Insane: America’s Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness. New York: Basic Books, 2018, pp. 1—12, pp. 195—269.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Principles of Community-based Behavioral Health Services for Justice-involved Individuals: A Research-based Guide. HHS Publication No. SMA19-5097. (Rockville, MD: Office of Policy, Planning, and Innovation. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019).
Discussion Questions
- Why is the issue of mental health so important in today's criminal justice system?
- What are the challenges with providing mental health and substance abuse treatment in correctional facilities? What challenges do these individuals face upon leaving prisons and jails?
- What specific actions are police departments taking to improve the system? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches?
- What are the challenges facing the courts regarding mental health and law–breaking? What innovations in court systems have emerged in response to this issue?
- Activity: Students research the conditions of incarceration for people with mental health conditions in their own area, write a short paper analyzing them, and offer possible solutions based on the source materials. One possible resource for this activity is PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/), which provides abstracts to research on topics such as mental health and incarceration.
