Correlates of Mental Health Diversion Completion in a Canadian Consortium

Abstract

Mental health diversion is an important option for offenders with mental illness who do not pose a serious risk to public safety and who would otherwise be better served outside the criminal justice system. Predictors of complete vs. incomplete diversion were examined in a sample of 708 defendants seen in Toronto's mental health diversion programs. Univariate analyses revealed that unsuccessfully diverted defendants were significantly more likely to be younger, homeless, and have more clinical and legal needs compared to those who were successfully diverted. In multivariate analyses, criminological factors (e.g., criminal history) had the strongest association with diversion completion, compared to clinical (e.g., primary diagnosis) and psychosocial (e.g., employment status) factors outside of marital status, which was strongly associated with completion. The results from this research add to previous research on mental health courts and diversion by giving guidance on how to select and prepare diversion candidates. These findings suggest that diversion programs may benefit from adaptations in order to better suit high need clients.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Andrews

D. A.

Bonta

J. L.

(2000). The Level of Services Inventory—Revised: User's manual. Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.

Andrews

D. A.

Bonta

J. L.

(2010). The psychology of criminal conduct (5th ed.). New Providence, NJ: Anderson Publishing.

Barber-Rioja

Dewey

Kopelovich

Kucharski

L. T.

(2012). The utility of the HCR- 20 and the PCL:SV in the prediction of diversion noncompliance and reincarceration in diversion programs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39(4), 475–492. doi:10.1177/0093854811432609

Bonfine

Ritter

Munetz

M. R.

(2016). Exploring the relationship between criminogenic risk assessment and mental health court program completion. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 45, 9–16. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2016.02.002

Bonta

Blais

Wilson

H. A.

(2014). A theoretically informed meta-analysis of the risk for general and violent recidivism for mentally disordered offenders. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(3), 278–287. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2014.04.014

Broner

Lattimore

P. K.

Cowell

A. J.

Schlenger

W. E.

(2004). Effects of diversion on adults with co‐occurring mental illness and substance use: Outcomes from a national multi‐site study. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 22(4), 519–541. doi:10.1002/bsl.605

Burns

P. J.

Hiday

V. A.

Ray

(2013). Effectiveness 2 years postexit of a recently established mental health court. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(2), 189–208. .doi:10.1177/0002764212465416

Campbell

M. A.

Canales

D. D.

Wei

Totten

A. E.

Macaulay

W. A. C.

Wershler

J. L.

(2015). Multidimensional evaluation of a mental health court: Adherence to the risk-need-responsivity model. Law and Human Behavior, 39(5), 489–502. doi:10.1037/lhb0000135

Criminal Code, R.S.C. (1985), c. C – 46

10.

Case

Steadman

H. J.

Dupuis

S. A.

Morris

L. S.

(2009). Who succeeds in jail diversion programs for persons with mental illness? A multi‐site study. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 27(5), 661–674. doi:10.1002/bsl.883

11.

Cosden

Ellens

J. K.

Schnell

J. L.

Yamini‐Diouf

Wolfe

M. M.

(2003). Evaluation of a mental health treatment court with assertive community treatment. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 21(4), 415–427. doi:10.1002/bsl.542

12.

Dirks-Linhorst

P. A.

Kondrat

Linhorst

D. M.

Morani

(2013). Factors associated with mental health court nonparticipation and negative termination. Justice Quarterly, 30(4), 681–710. doi:10.1080/07418825.2011.615756

13.

Durbin

Sirotich

Durbin

(2014). Predictors of unmet need for medical care among justice-involved persons with mental illness. Psychiatric Service, 65(6), 826–829. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201300301

14.

Frailing

(2011). Referrals to the Washoe County mental health court. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 10(4), 314–325. doi:10.1080/14999013.2011.625592

15.

Hastings Jr.

Mosteller

Tukey

J. W.

Winsor

C. P.

(1947). Low moments for small samples: A comparative study of order statistics. The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 18(3), 413–426. doi:10.1214/aoms/1177730388

16.

Hartford

Heslop

Stitt

Hoch

J. S.

(2005). Design of an algorithm to identify persons with mental illness in a police administrative database. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 28(1), 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.12.001

17.

Hart

S. D.

Cox

D. N.

Hare

R. D.

(1995). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.

18.

Hiday

V. A.

Ray

Wales

H. W.

(2014). Predictors of mental health court graduation. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20(2), 191–199. doi:10.1037/law0000008

19.

Hiday

V. A.

Wales

H. W.

Ray

(2013). Effectiveness of a short-term mental health court: Criminal recidivism one year postexit. Law and Human Behavior, 37(6), 401–411. doi:10.1037/lhb0000030

20.

Honegger

L. N.

(2015). Does the evidence support the case for mental health courts? A review of the literature. Law and Human Behavior, 39(5), 478–488. doi:10.1037/lhb0000141

21.

Lamb

H. R.

Weinberger

L. E.

Reston-Parham

(1996). Court intervention to address the mental health needs of mentally ill offenders. Psychiatric Services, 47(3), 275–281. doi:10.1176/ps.47.3.275

22.

Lange

Rehm

Popova

(2011). The effectiveness of criminal justice diversion initiatives in North America: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 10(3), 200–214. doi:10.1080/14999013.2011.598218

23.

Laub

J. H.

Sampson

R. J.

(2003). Shared beginnings, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

24.

Lowder

E. M.

Desmarais

S. L.

Baucom

D. J.

(2016). Recidivism following mental health court exit: Between and within-group comparisons. Law and Human Behavior, 40(2), 118–127. doi:10.1037/lhb0000168

25.

Luskin

M. L.

Ray

(2015). Selection into mental health court distinguishing among eligible defendants. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(11), 1145–1158. doi:10.1177/0093854815601158

26.

Mental Health Commission of Canada . (2012). Changing directions, changing lives: The mental health strategy for Canada [Summary]. Retrieved from http://strategy.mentalhealthcommission.ca/pdf/strategy-summary-en.pdf

27.

Mental Health Court Support Consortium . (2005). Mental health court support policies and procedures, 1st ed. Unpublished manual.

28.

Moore

M. E.

Hiday

V. A.

(2006). Mental health court outcomes: A comparison of re-arrest and re-arrest severity between mental health court and traditional court participants. Law and Human Behavior, 30(6), 659–674. doi:10.1007/s10979-006-9061-9

29.

Naples

Morris

L. S.

Steadman

H. J.

(2007). Factors in disproportionate representation among persons recommended by programs and accepted by courts for jail diversion. Psychiatric Services, 58(8), 1095–1101. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.58.8.1095

30.

Naples

Steadman

H. J.

(2003). Can persons with co-occurring disorders and violent charges be successfully diverted? International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2(2), 137–143. doi:10.1080/14999013.2003.10471185

31.

Olfson

Mojtabai

Sampson

N. A.

Hwang

Druss

Wang

P. S.

Kessler

R. C.

(2009). Dropout from outpatient mental health care in the United States. Psychiatric Services, 60(7), 898–907. doi:10.1176/ps.2009.60.7.898

32.

Olver

M. E.

Stockdale

K. C.

Wormith

J. S.

(2011). A meta-analysis of predictors of offender treatment attrition and its relationship to recidivism. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(1), 6–21. doi:10.1037/a0022200

33.

Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General: Criminal Law Division . (2005). Practice memorandum on diversion (PM [2005]No. 22). Retrieved from http://www.hsjcc.on.ca/Resource%20Library/Mental%20Health%20Reports/

Ontario

%20MAG%20Practice%20Memorandum%20-%20Mental%20Illness%20 or%20Developmental%20Disability%20Diversion%20-%202006.pdf

34.

Quinsey

V. L.

Harris

G. T.

Rice

M. E.

Cormier

C. A.

(2006). Violent offenders: Appraising and Managing Risk (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

35.

Redlich

A. D.

Han

(2014). Examining the links between therapeutic jurisprudence and mental health court completion. Law and Human Behavior, 38(2), 109–118. doi:10.1037/lhb0000041

36.

Ryan

Brown

C. K.

Watanabe-Galloway

(2010). Toward successful postbooking diversion: What are the next steps? Psychiatric Services, 61(5), 469–477. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.61.5.469

37.

Schneider

R. D.

Bloom

Heerema

(2007). Mental health courts: Decriminalizing the mentally ill. Toronto, ON: Irwin Law.

38.

Seto

M. C.

Charette

Nicholls

T. L.

Crocker

A. G.

(review). Individual, hospital, and neighborhood predictors of violence among mentally disordered persons.

39.

Sirotich

(2009). The criminal justice outcomes of jail diversion programs for persons with mental illness: A review of the evidence. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 37(4), 461–472.

40.

Sly

K. A.

Sharples

Lewin

T. J.

Bench

C. J.

(2009). Court outcomes for clients referred to a community mental health court liaison service. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32(2), 92–100. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.01.005

41.

Steadman

H. J.

Cocozza

Veysey

B. M.

(1999). Comparing outcomes for diverted and nondiverted jail detainees with mental illness. Law and Human Behavior, 23(6), 615–627. doi:10.1023/A:1022385204967

42.

Steadman

H. J.

Morris

S. M.

Dennis

D. L.

(1995). The diversion of mentally ill persons from jail to community-based services: A profile of programs. American Journal of Public Health, 85(12), 1630–1635. doi:10.2105/AJPH.85.12.1630

43.

Steadman

H. J.

Naples

(2005). Assessing the effectiveness of jail diversion programs for persons with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 23(2), 163–170. doi:10.1002/bsl.640

44.

Steadman

H. J.

Redlich

A. D.

Callahan

Robbins

P. C.

Vesselinov

(2011). Effect of mental health courts on arrests and jail days: A multisite study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(2), 167–172. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.134

45.

Wang

(2007). Mental health treatment dropout and its correlates in a general population sample. Medical Care, 45(3), 224–229. doi:10.1097/01.mlr.0000244506.86885.a5

46.

Webster

C. D.

Douglas

K. S.

Eaves

Hart

S. D.

(1997). HCR-20. Assessing the risk of violence. Version 2. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University and Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission of British Columbia.

47.

Wolff

Fabrikant

Belenko

(2011). Mental health courts and their selection processes: Modeling variation for consistency. Law and Human Behavior, 35(5), 402–412. doi:10.1007/s10979-010-9250-4