INTERSECTIONS
ADDRESSING BARRIERS IS CRITICAL TO SUCCESS
7 . Mental Health
Facing complex challenges ( e . g ., homelessness , addiction , and victimization ), individuals with mental illnesses experience increased odds of supervision failure , such as rearrests and revocations . Unsurprisingly , assisting people with mental illness takes an emotional toll on officers , which affects their willingness or ability to deliver evidence-based supervision . Hence , we devote much attention to increasing our understanding of the intersection between community supervision and mental illness .
Adopting a Case Consultation Model to Enhance Mental Health Supervision
With support from the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program , we are conducting a multi-site pilot project to improve service delivery for people with mental health needs . This project will support officers through clinical case consultations that build their skills and knowledge to effectively assist clients with mental illnesses .
Research Partner Tonya Van Deinse , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mental Health Special Conditions
In addition to matching risk level to supervision intensity and prioritizing the criminogenic needs that drive recidivism , the RNR framework calls for us to address individual characteristics that inhibit engagement in and adherence to supervision ( i . e ., the Responsivity principle ). Yet , it is unclear how including a mental health condition as part of a person ’ s parole impacts their supervision experience . Therefore , we are assessing the relationships between mental health conditions , officer decisions , mental health engagement of supervisees , and criminal justice outcomes .
Research Partner Michael Applegarth , University at Buffalo
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