Diversion programs and alternatives to incarceration

Abstract Decreasing the number of individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system remains a public mental health priority—one that has even reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Diverting individuals with mental illness from jail or prison decreases their exposure to that traumatic environment and addresses security concerns of corrections professionals charged with their care and management. When diversion is coupled with the court-based, problem-solving approach of monitored care and treatment in the community, public safety is improved, and the clinical success of the individual is enhanced. When treatment in the community includes an explicit focus on criminogenic factors, the ability to meet public safety goals is enhanced even further. Given these goals, as well as the considerable variability from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in court resources, treatment resources, social supports, political philosophies, and fiscal realities, the types of diversion that will work for one community may not work for another. This chapter reviews the major models used to divert individuals with serious mental illness from incarceration, with particular attention to the research on mental health courts, recent trends that have changed the diversion landscape, and specific considerations for jail-based providers.