An intermediate-care residential program for mentally ill male prison inmates in Washington provides medication monitoring, skills training, and a supportive milieu to help participants cope with life in prison. Participants were substantially less symptomatic when they left the program than when they entered. Comparisons of preprogram and postprogram behavior showed significant reductions in staff assaults, infractions, and use of expensive resources, as well as higher rates of work and school participation. A minority of inmates continued to be difficult to manage despite program interventions. Effectiveness measures are discussed in relation to the obligation to provide medically necessary care to inmates with severe mental illness.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, K. (1988). The disciplinary experiences of mentally disordered inmates. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 13, 297-316.
2.
Butterfield, F. (1998, March 5). Prisons replace hospitals for the nation's mentally ill. The New York Times, pp. A1, A18.
3.
Christopher Murray & Associates . (1995). Criminal justice in Washington state: Growth factors, cost components, potential economies. Olympia: State of Washington, Sentencing Guidelines Commission.
4.
Cohen, F. (1993). Captives' legal right to mental health care. Law and Psychology Review, 17, 1-39.
5.
Condelli, W. , Dvoskin, J., & Holanchock, H. (1994). Intermediate care programs for inmates with psychiatric disorders. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry & Law, 22, 63-70.
6.
Cook, T. D. & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design & analysis issues for field settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
7.
Davis, D. (1990, January/February). Do you want a performance audit or a program evaluation?Public Administration Review, 35-41.
8.
Department of Corrections, Planning and Research Section . (2000). Client characteristics, population movement, and custody report for fiscal year 1999. Olympia, WA: Author.
9.
Georgia Department of Corrections . (1999). Standard operating procedure, MH/MR organization and administration. Atlanta, GA: Author.
10.
Greene, R. (1988). A comprehensive mental health care system for prison inmates: Retrospective look at New York's ten year experience. International Journal of Law & Psychiatry, 11, 381-389.
11.
Hedlund, J. , & Vieweg, M. (1974). The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale: A comprehensive review. Journal of Operational Psychology, 11, 48-65.
12.
Isaac, R. , & Armat, V. (1990). Madness in the streets: How psychiatry and the law abandoned the mentally ill. New York: Free Press.
13.
Jemelka, R. , Trupin, E., & Chiles, J. (1989). The mentally ill in prisons: A review. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 40, 481-491.
14.
Jemelka, R. , Wiegand, G., Walker, E., & Trupin, E. (1992). Computerized offender assessment: A validation study. Psychological Assessment, 4, 138-144.
15.
Kupers, T. (1999). Prison madness: The mental health crisis behind bars and what we must do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
16.
Lamb, H. , & Weinberger, L. (1998). Persons with severe mental illness in jails and prisons: A review. Psychiatric Services, 49, 483-492.
17.
Levin, H. M. (1983). Cost-effectiveness: A primer. New Perspectives in Evaluation: Vol. 4. Beverly Hills: Sage.
18.
Lovell, D. , & Jemelka, R. (1996). When inmates misbehave: The costs of discipline. The Prison Journal, 76, 165-179.
19.
Lovell, D. , & Jemelka, R. (1998). Coping with mental illness in prison. Family and Community Health, 21, 54-66.
20.
Lovell, D. , Johnson, C., Jemelka, R., Harris, V., & Allen, D. (2000). Living in prison after residential mental health treatment: A program follow-up. Manuscript submitted for publication.
21.
Lovell, D. , & Rhodes, L. (1997). Mobile consultation: Crossing correctional boundaries to cope with disturbed offenders. Federal Probation, 61(3), 40-45.
22.
Metzner, J. , Cohen, F., Grossman, L., & Wettstein, R. (1998). Treatment in jails and prisons. In R. M. Wettstein (Ed.), Treatment of offenders with mental disorders (pp. 211-264). New York: Guilford.
23.
Michigan Department of Mental Health . (1996). Criteria and guidelines, corrections mental health program. Ypsilanti, MI: Bureau of Forensic Mental Health Services.
24.
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction . (1999). Standard operating procedure manual. Columbus, OH: Bureau of Mental Health Services,
25.
Overall, J. (1974). The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale in psychopharmacology research. In P. Pinchot & R. Martin (Eds.), Modern problems in pharmacopsychiatry: Vol. 4. Psychological measurements in psychopharmacology. Basel, New York: Karger.
26.
Overall, J. , & Gorham, D. (1962). The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychological Reports, 10, 799-812.
27.
Quay, H. (1977). The three faces of evaluation. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 4, 341-354.
28.
Sachs, L. (1984). Applied statistics: A handbook of techniques (Z. Reynarowych, Trans.). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Toch, H. (1982, Fall). The disturbed disruptive inmate: Where does the bus stop?Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 327-349.
31.
Toch, H. , & Adams, K. (1986). Pathology and disruptiveness among prison inmates. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 23, 7-21.
32.
Toch, H. , & Adams, K. (with Grant, J.). (1989). Coping: Maladaptation in the prison. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
33.
Wexler, H. , Falkin, G., & Lipton, D. (1990). Outcome evaluation of a prison therapeutic community for substance abuse treatment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17, 71-92.
