What is it about?
A greater percentage of adult inmates in Minnesota county jails have mental illness than elsewhere in the country. Of Minnesota’s 78 county jails, 28 (36%) responded to a paper survey about their release-planning procedures for inmates who have mental illness. More than 2/3 of respondents reported that at least 40% of their inmates take psychiatric medication during incarceration. At release inmates were provided 3 to 30 days’ worth of their psychiatric medications. Beyond that, planning to ensure that these inmates continue to receive their psychiatric medications after release was only rarely undertaken. Jail staff would like to see greater collaboration between jails, human services agencies and community mental health providers to help support discharge planning for inmates who have mental illness.
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Why is it important?
Evidence from earlier studies suggests that released inmates who have mental illness and who do not continue with their psychiatric medications are more likely to re-offend and be re-incarcerated. This survey was an attempt to catalogue current pre-release planning practices among Minnesota county jails to learn what these facilities are doing to help ensure that released inmates who have mental illness remain on their psychiatric medications. Respondents indicated, however, that they cannot do this alone: Jails need the support of local human service agencies to help obtain the resources needed for these released inmates to receive their care they need, including medication therapy.
Perspectives
This survey supports earlier findings that a high percentage of adult inmates have mental illness being treated with psychiatric medications. Yet, the survey also revealed that many of these inmates are released from jail without adequate connections to community mental health services required to continue medication and psychiatric treatment. This lack of continuity of care for inmates who have mental illness after their release is both a health policy and public safety concern. Expanding discharge planning activities for inmates who have mental illness requires a paradigm shift to support jail staff who would lead these efforts, increasing collaboration between jails, human services agencies and community mental health providers.
Tim Stratton
University of Minnesota System
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Continuum of Care for Inmates Taking Psychiatric Medications While Incarcerated in Minnesota County Jails, Journal of Correctional Health Care, August 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1078345817727283.
You can read the full text:
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