MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM1 Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System Hillary P. Waller SocW 6111 Walden University May 6, 2018
MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM2 Introduction Social service is an area that serves a vast variety of populations. These populations consist from infants to older adults in almost every situation possible. When choosing to become a social worker, it is essential to understand each population and their needs. This understanding will help the social worker make the decision about which area they would like to most work. Every population has their rewards and struggles. Mental health is an area that affects all groups of people and in a disparateness of ways. One category that is affected by mental health is the criminal justice system. Mental health and the criminal justice system have coincided for many years creating the continuous need for improved resources and practices. The presenting problem is mental health interventions provided to those within the criminal justice system. The population, evidence-based interventions, specific skills, cultural attentiveness, and ethical values are all aspects that need to be understood clearly to provide adequate treatment. Population and Presenting Problem According to Ali, Teich, & Mutter (2018), “Mental health conditions have been found to be two to five times higher in the criminal justice system involved population than in the general population, and approximately 25% of adults with serious mental illness have criminal justice system involvement (pg. 214).” There has been an increase in studies that involve individuals that have mental illnesses involved in the criminal justice system and the strategies used to get them connected to treatment (Ali et al., 2018, pg. 215). The study of mental health treatment being unmet among people involved in the criminal justice population is minimal (Ali et al., 2018, pg. 214). Offenders have a 5-30% greater chance of being diagnosed with a mental illness compared to the general population (Kupers, n.d.). Unless treatment is mandated or a person suffers from a severe or chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia they are unlikely to receive services while incarcerated (Kupers, n.d.). These prisoners tend to struggle and have a harder
MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM3 time due to lack of treatment while incarcerated make reintegration into the community more difficult (Kupers, n.d.). Research Gained Knowledge Through the research gathered there was knowledge acquired regarding the attitudes of mental health professionals towards the people they work with that have criminal involvement. Generally, one may think that there may be a high amount of stigma and disdain surrounding this population, but this is false. It can be seen through the research that the worker's involvement in the client’s treatment shows high regard towards them (Sachini, Bandara, Daumit, Kennedy- Hendricks, Linden, Choksy, & McGinty, 2018, pg. 474). A great tool that has become utilized
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