About this Research Topic
People with severe mental disorders are highly over-represented throughout the criminal justice system including within prison, jail and community correctional settings. Several intervention strategies have emerged in recent years to address this problem including problem solving courts, specialized police teams, specialty probation and parole, and forensic assertive community treatment. These interventions utilize varying degrees of mental health and criminal justice collaboration, a strategy that is widely viewed as essential for preventing recidivism and promoting recovery among justice-involved adults with severe mental disorders. However, research into intervention effectiveness has been hampered by lack of model standardization, including how mental health and criminal justice service providers collaborate to assist their shared service recipients. As calls for criminal justice reform have risen across the United States and beyond, the need for innovative and effective strategies for justice-involved patient populations is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.
The goal of this Research Topic is to promote our understanding of how to prevent recidivism and promote recovery among people with severe mental disorders who are involved in the criminal justice system. This Research Topic encourages submission of review articles as well as qualitative and quantitative research studies addressing the following questions:
• What do we know about people with severe mental disorders who enter the criminal justice system?
• How might current calls for criminal justice reform affect justice-involved individuals with severe mental disorders and their treatment?
• Do recidivism rates among justice-involved patients vary internationally and, if so, why?
• Which interventions are most promising for treatment and community re-entry among inmates with severe mental disorders?
• Which interventions are most promising in preventing recidivism and promoting recovery among justice-involved patients in community settings?
• What barriers exist for implementation and dissemination of these intervention strategies?
• What role does mental health and criminal justice collaboration play in these strategies?
• What are the barriers to effective mental health and criminal justice collaboration?
• What ethical considerations are important in mental health and criminal justice collaboration?
• What knowledge, skills and attitudes are necessary for effective mental health and criminal justice collaboration?
• What administrative, financial and regulatory policies are needed to support mental health and criminal justice collaboration in serving justice-involved individuals?
The goal of this Research Topic is to promote our understanding of how to prevent recidivism and promote recovery among people with severe mental disorders who are involved in the criminal justice system. This Research Topic encourages submission of review articles as well as qualitative and quantitative research studies addressing the following questions:
• What do we know about people with severe mental disorders who enter the criminal justice system?
• How might current calls for criminal justice reform affect justice-involved individuals with severe mental disorders and their treatment?
• Do recidivism rates among justice-involved patients vary internationally and, if so, why?
• Which interventions are most promising for treatment and community re-entry among inmates with severe mental disorders?
• Which interventions are most promising in preventing recidivism and promoting recovery among justice-involved patients in community settings?
• What barriers exist for implementation and dissemination of these intervention strategies?
• What role does mental health and criminal justice collaboration play in these strategies?
• What are the barriers to effective mental health and criminal justice collaboration?
• What ethical considerations are important in mental health and criminal justice collaboration?
• What knowledge, skills and attitudes are necessary for effective mental health and criminal justice collaboration?
• What administrative, financial and regulatory policies are needed to support mental health and criminal justice collaboration in serving justice-involved individuals?
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
