People with mental illness who come out of prison must have access to services they need to re-integrate into community settings successfully.  The preceding policy statement discusses the importance of collaboration between mental health and community corrections agencies in ensuring that individuals with mental illness who are granted supervised release receive appropriate mental health services.  This policy statement addresses the role of the mental health system in providing services and support for individuals released from prison who are no longer under continued supervision from the criminal justice system. This group includes those who have completed their sentence in prison or jail and are released without conditions as well as those who have successfully met the conditions of release and are no longer under supervision in the community.

Once offenders have completed the terms of their sentence or conditional release, ongoing monitoring by and reporting to the criminal justice system is neither warranted nor justifiable.  However, in light of the high recidivism rates of offenders with mental illness, it is crucial that the mental health system maintain contact with individuals who have been incarcerated to prevent their renewed involvement with the criminal justice system.

As is true of anyone with mental illness attempting to live independently in the community, offenders have basic needs for housing and supports that must be adequately met if reentry is to succeed. By ensuring access to appropriate services and necessary supports, especially housing, and by developing and utilizing mechanisms to ensure ongoing contact, community mental health providers can play an important role in successful community reintegration of former prisoners who have mental illness.

Community mental health providers must be attuned to the special needs and circumstances of released offenders with mental illness and provide services that enhance their ability to live independently. By identifying recently incarcerated clients with mental illness as a "special needs" or "priority" population, community providers can develop treatment plans and provide services that ensure monitoring and outreach to fit an individual's circumstances. (See Policy Statement 1: Involvement with the Mental Health System.)

While services available to released offenders ultimately may not need to be more intensive than those available to other clients, mental health care providers should be prepared to help these clients meet challenges related to the transition to community life. Treatment and rehabilitative models such as Assertive Community Treatment should be employed when appropriate to monitor the client's transition and address problems that could lead to rearrest and incarceration (see Policy Statement 35: Evidence-Based Practices, for more on Assertive Community Treatment).  Special attention should be given from the outset to provision of rehabilitative services that will both address specific needs and help establish a routine for the released offender attempting to grow accustomed to new freedom.

Mental health providers have both an opportunity and an obligation when an offender with mental illness is released from prison. The opportunity arises from the fact that, unlike those people with mental illness with no prior criminal justice contact who seek services, released offenders with mental illness will have treatment histories and may have additional incentives to engage in care.  Their criminal histories and service provision while incarcerated are relevant to the mental health system in effectively designing an individual treatment plan.  Whether an offender will be supervised in the community or released unconditionally, communication between the systems is key. (See Policy Statement 20: Release Decision and Policy Statement 21: Development of Transition Plan.)

It is the providers' obligation to seize the opportunity and to provide the services needed to ensure that the released offender does not return to the criminal justice system because services were not available, accessible, or effective. For mental health service providers to meet their obligation to people with mental illness who are leaving prison, sufficient resources must be made available to fund effective services and programs.  Success in this endeavor should result in a reduction in demand for crisis services as well as in recidivism and the resultant drain on criminal justice resources.

Recommendations:

a.

Develop mechanisms to engage ex-offenders with mental illness who have been released to the community.

b.

Develop programs to provide appropriate levels of service and supports to ex-offenders with mental illness who have re-entered the community.

c.

Develop an understanding of the factors leading to community reintegration success or failure for clients with mental illness who have been released from prison.