This recent article, Systemic, Racial Injustice–Informed Solutions to Shift “Care” from the Criminal Legal System to the Mental Health Care System, written by Dr. Sarah Vinson and Andrea L. Dennis, J.D. has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal, Psychiatric Services.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLE:
The current configuration and function of the U.S. societal structures drives the overrepresentation of people with serious mental illness in the criminal legal system. Although the causes are multifactorial, the mental health system poorly serves those at highest risk of criminal league system involvement. Asserting that the central problem is the division of labor between the mental health system and the criminal justice system, Bonfine et al. (1) articulated the need for an “integrated community health system—i.e., “intercept 0” for the coordination and integration of services for this population. Intercept 0 is the first step in the sequential intercept model, which describes “how individuals with mental and substance use disorders come into contact with and move through the criminal just system” and helps communities identify resources and gaps in services at each intercept and develop local strategic action plans” (2). At intercept 0, individuals in crisis are diverted into local crisis care services without requiring a call to 911. They are paired with treatment or services instead of arrested or charged with a crime (2). Responsibility for addressing the needs of those with severe mental illness should rest with the mental health system rather than with the criminal legal system. However, the current division of labor between the two systems is just part of the problem. Simply put, the mental health system is not consistently accessible to or effective for those at highest of criminal legal system involvement… Continue reading the full article here.
ABOUT PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES
Psychiatric Services, established in 1950, is published monthly by the American Psychiatric Association. The peer-reviewed journal features research reports on issues related to the delivery of mental health services, especially for people with serious mental illness in community-based treatment programs. Long known as an interdisciplinary journal, Psychiatric Services recognizes that provision of high-quality care involves collaboration among a variety of professionals, frequently working as a team. Authors of research reports published in the journal include psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol treatment counselors, economists, policy analysts, and professionals in related systems such as criminal justice and welfare systems. In the mental health field, the current focus on patient-centered, recovery-oriented care and on dissemination of evidence-based practices is transforming service delivery systems at all levels. Research published in Psychiatric Servicescontributes to this transformation.
