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Reinvestment Grant#RFA06H16GS1 <br /> Working Draft <br /> to high costs, it is important to recognize that this de facto approach to dealing with such <br /> a compromised population does not reflect principled values of treating individuals <br /> humanely whether they have either physical or behavioral health challenges. Mental <br /> Health America, the oversite agency for Mental Health Courts, states that numerous <br /> jurisdictions across the United States have created Mental Health Courts to respond to <br /> the increasing number of defendants with serious mental health conditions caught up in <br /> the criminal justice system Mental health courts hold offenders accountable while linking <br /> them to the treatment services they need to address their mental illness. In addition to <br /> being more compassionate, monitoring and treating offenders with SMI in a mental health <br /> court is more effective, efficient and less expensive than the remedies available through <br /> traditional justice system approaches. <br /> Evidencing the lack of effective behavioral health services for the incarcerated <br /> population who have mental health challenges, the Department of Justice's Survey of <br /> Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (2004) and Survey of Inmates <br /> in Local Jails (2002) indicate that the rate of mental health problems also differs by the <br /> type of correctional facility. In this study, a mental health problem was defined as receiving <br /> a clinical diagnosis or treatment by a mental health professional. Inmates in local jails had <br /> the highest prevalence of mental problems, with nearly two thirds of jail inmates (64.2 <br /> percent) satisfying the criteria for a mental health problem currently or in the previous <br /> year. The same Department of Justice surveys also indicate. that fewer than half of <br /> inmates who have a mental health problem have ever received treatment for their <br /> problem, a third or fewer received mental health treatment after admission; and, that <br /> these rates differ depending upon the type of correctional facility with local jails having <br /> the lowest post-incarceration treatment enrollments. <br /> Page 6 of 33 <br />