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The Hawai‘i County Jail Diversion Program

 

Research has shown that persons with mental illness account for 7% of all police contacts (Deane, Steadman, Borum, Veysey, & Morrissey, 1999), 16% of all prison inmates, and 7% of our jail population (Steadman, Cocozza, & Veysey, 1999). Magnifying the problem even further is that almost three quarters of those detained in jail with severe mental illness (SMI) have co-occurring alcohol and/or drug use problems (Abram and Teplin, 1991; Teplin, 1994). As a result of these trends, many communities have developed alternatives to arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of individuals involved in the criminal justice system with SMI and/or substance abuse disorder. These alternatives are generally referred to as jail diversion programs.

Diversion strategies seek to address the problems that contribute to criminal involvement of persons in the criminal justice population. More specifically, the goals are to: (1) reduce inappropriate incarceration of persons with SMI and promote their well being, (2) relieve the burden on the criminal justice system presented by inmates with mental illnesses, and (3) reduce repeated criminal activity (legal recidivism), and psychiatric hospitalization (clinical recidivism).

In June 2002, the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) invited applications for proposals for jail diversion programs. Faculty from the Mental Health Services Research, Evaluation and Training Program, University of Hawai‘i in collaboration with the Adult Mental Health Division (AMHD) responded to SAMHSA’s request for applications and proposed the development, implementation, and evaluation of a post-booking pre-arraignment jail diversion program for Hawai`i County. In October 2002, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the AMHD was one of 10 successful applications and would receive approximately $300,000 per year for a total of three years for capacity development of diversion programs.

The primary purpose of the SAMHSA funds was to develop and implement a post-booking pre-arraignment jail diversion program on the Island of Hawai‘i. The mission of the Hawai`i County Post-Booking Jail Diversion Program (HCJDP) is to provide time-limited mental health and substance abuse treatment services for persons with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) with or without a substance abuse disorder. The program targets individuals with SPMI who have been arrested and booked for less serious, nonviolent crimes. The intent of the service is to reduce criminal recidivism by diverting eligible, non-dangerous mentally ill arrestees from incarceration and into the appropriate level of community behavioral health services. The Program strives to balance the individual service needs of the arrestee, the legal requirements of the courts, and the safety needs of the community.