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Program Works to Cut Jail Time for Mentally Ill

Posted on: Monday, 11 July 2005, 12:00 CDT

A Cumberland County program aimed at keeping people with mental illness out of jail and in treatment has cut down on arrests and now is being studied by other states considering similar approaches.

The Divert Offenders to Treatment project, a three-year collaboration among police, corrections officials and treatment professionals, is designed to keep people from going to jail because of symptoms of their mental illness.

Researchers tracked 10 people with a history of mental illness who had been in and out of jail for crimes ranging from aggravated assault to arson. By using a combination of police sensitivity, early intervention in jail and treatment after release, the number of arrests for those people fell sharply, organizers say.

"The days in jail dropped dramatically and the number of arrests went way down," said Paul Coleman, director of the program for Cumberland County. "After getting into the project, there were two (drunken driving) arrests and everything else was a probation violation. There was almost no new criminal conduct."

The program was launched three years ago with a $900,000 federal grant. The money paid for stipends to police officers who became certified in crisis intervention. Police in Portland, South Portland and Westbrook learned to identify signs of mental illness and to help de-escalate the person's behavior to reduce violent conflicts and the need for arrest.

The money also augmented Maine Pretrial Services, enabling staffers to regularly check the jail to determine whether anyone recently arrested would be better served by immediate and sustained mental health services.

The problem in Portland is acute because the city is a service center attracting many people, including those with mental illness. Roughly 60 percent of the inmates at the Cumberland County Jail are receiving medication for psychological conditions.

"The problem was Cumberland County Jail was swimming in people with mental illness. There wasn't enough programs to get them out of there," said Carol Carothers, executive director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Maine. Once the people were released on bail, there typically was no follow-up, leading to a cycle of substance abuse, unacceptable behavior and re-arrest.

Spring Harbor Hospital, part of Maine Medical Center's Psychiatry Department, was able to expand its assertive community treatment team so therapists could develop and track a person's treatment plan once released from jail. The teams are designed to make sure clients are adhering to their medications, help them find work and keep up with counseling.

Paul Ranucci, director of Maine Med's program, says getting the criminal justice and therapeutic communities to work together has been a breakthrough.

"The mental health system and criminal justice system have not had communications bridges for many years," he said. "We're all finding we need to have much more collaboration with each other to meet demands on a shrinking budget and a changing system."

Working to treat people in the criminal justice system is difficult, but worthwhile, he says.

An analysis of the 10 individuals involved in the program showed those people accounted for 87 percent fewer days in jail after enrollment than they had previously, Ranucci says. A more comprehensive study is being undertaken and coordinated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which funded the Cumberland County program.

The program has won accolades from SAMHSA and is being studied by groups interested in similar projects in Nebraska, Florida and North Carolina.

The program was financed with a three-year, $900,000 grant, and organizers are confident it will continue since much of that money was used for startup costs. Medicaid funding will enable Spring Harbor to continue staffing the therapeutic component, which will expand from 22 slots to 32 by the end of the year.

Organizers are optimistic that Cumberland County will continue funding pre-trial outreach in the jail, and local police departments have been outspoken in their support for the crisis intervention officers.

The grant also anticipated a residential facility for people who need long-term treatment and stabilization to avoid returning to jail. Volunteers of America is renovating a federally funded six- bed residential facility in Portland's West End that should be open in six to nine months.

Source: Portland Press Herald

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