Improving access to community-based mental health and substance use disorder services could keep more people out of jail and save counties money, a new study finds.
as reported in the magazine psychiatric servicesResearchers identified 59 recommended mental health practices but found that U.S. counties, on average, offer only a few of them.
“The importance of this study is that most counties provide only a fraction of the community services needed to keep people out of jail,” said lead author and Michigan State University public health professor. says Jennifer Johnson.
“We hope that by publishing this article, county administrators will consider the list of services they do not yet provide and try to make them a reality.”
Researchers, including Mazi Hailemariam, an assistant professor in the College of Human Medicine, reviewed previous research to identify 59 effective practices and then surveyed 950 U.S. counties to help police, 911, and courts. , asked which of those services are available to people who interact with prisons. , probation, or parole.
Most counties provided few recommended mental health and substance use disorder services. For example, only 29.2% of counties provided permanent supportive housing for individuals with mental health conditions, and only 27.2% of counties provided active treatment in the community. Both services help stabilize individuals with severe mental illness from the community and prison.
The lack of adequate treatment programs was particularly acute in rural counties, according to the study.
Because people who are incarcerated have their Medicaid coverage suspended for even one day, the authors recommended that counties help reinstate Medicaid coverage when they are released.
“People are waiting in line at pharmacies to get their medication,” Johnson said. Right there. “
Some evidence-based services can be provided in county jails, but most can be provided through community mental health and other community-based programs, Johnson said.
Providing physical pain treatment to prevent opioid addiction can reduce the burden on county jails, she says, as can providing employment assistance and walk-in crisis centers.
Permanent housing and employment combined with professional and peer support is “better than keeping people in prison,” Johnson said. Our goal is to keep people in stable condition with treatment in the community rather than cycling through the local jail. ”
Source: Michigan
