Evaluating the efficiency and community safety goals of the Broward County Mental Health Court

Annette Christy; Norman G Poythress; Roger A Boothroyd; John Petrila; Shabnam Mehra

doi:10.1002/bsl.647

Evaluating the efficiency and community safety goals of the Broward County Mental Health Court

Behav Sci Law. 2005;23(2):227-43. doi: 10.1002/bsl.647.

Authors

Annette Christy¹, Norman G Poythress, Roger A Boothroyd, John Petrila, Shabnam Mehra

Affiliation

¹ Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa 33612, USA. achristy@fmhi.usf.edu

PMID: 15818603
DOI: 10.1002/bsl.647

Abstract

Mental health courts have developed as one response to persons with mental illness who are involved with the criminal justice system. This study investigated the efficiency and safety goals of one such court in Broward County, FL. Mental health court (MHC) clients spent significantly fewer days in jail for the index arrest associated with study enrollment than a comparison group. MHC clients had similar survival time to re-arrest up to one year after study enrollment. MHC clients did not significantly differ from the comparison group in self-reported aggressive acts over an 8 month follow-up period, while they did self-report significantly fewer acts of violence than the comparison group at the 8 month follow-up. These findings suggest that some of the benefits associated with the MHC reported in prior studies were not achieved at the expense of efficiency and safety.

Publication types

Clinical Trial
Comparative Study
Controlled Clinical Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aggression / psychology
Case-Control Studies
Community Mental Health Services / legislation & jurisprudence*
Community Mental Health Services / statistics & numerical data
Female
Florida
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Interview, Psychological
Judicial Role*
Length of Stay / legislation & jurisprudence
Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data
Male
Odds Ratio
Organizational Objectives*
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Prisoners / legislation & jurisprudence*
Prisoners / psychology
Prisoners / statistics & numerical data
Psychotic Disorders / epidemiology
Psychotic Disorders / psychology
Psychotic Disorders / rehabilitation*
Referral and Consultation / legislation & jurisprudence*
Referral and Consultation / statistics & numerical data
Secondary Prevention
Security Measures / legislation & jurisprudence*
Self Disclosure
Violence / legislation & jurisprudence
Violence / prevention & control
Violence / statistics & numerical data