Mental health treatment in jails provides a critical opportunity to support people in need. Jail may be the first time many of these people have access to medical treatment of any kind, including mental health services. This post examines the importance of mental health treatment in jails and why more funding should be allocated for this type of care.
Why Mental Health Treatment in Jails Is Critical
An estimated 2-in-5 people in U.S. jails and prisons have a diagnosed mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It’s a rate far higher than in the general population. And because many cases go undiagnosed, the true scope is likely even greater. These statistics highlight the connection between mental health and incarceration, and they underscore the importance of providing quality mental health care in correctional settings.
Multiple factors contribute to this issue, including:
- Lack of access or consistent access to mental health care before entering the justice system
- Structural issues like poverty or homelessness
- Untreated trauma or other mental health conditions that impact behaviors
As a result of these issues and others, including addiction, jails often become de facto mental health providers.
What Healthcare Services Do Jails Provide?
Jail administrators have a constitutional responsibility to provide care to people in their custody. Correctional healthcare is legally required under the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. This means that prisons and jails must provide health care that addresses serious medical needs in a reasonable and timely manner.
Still, jailed people aren’t guaranteed specialized care or access to elective treatments. Non-essential medical procedures or services are generally not required or provided. Mental health issues aren’t always life-threatening in a way that they must be addressed immediately. If they are, the person should receive that treatment while they’re in jail.
Many correctional facilities offer basic mental health services that include:
- Mental health screening at intake to identify urgent needs or risks.
- Medication management, ensuring proper prescribing, monitoring, and continuity.
- Crisis intervention services for people experiencing acute episodes.
- Suicide prevention protocols, including observation and follow-up care.
Barriers to Mental Health Treatment in Jails
One of the primary barriers to mental health treatment in jails is simply the nature of how patients come to be seen. People don’t call or walk into the jail like they would a doctor’s office or mental health treatment center and request an appointment. Instead, they likely already have a mental health issue and may be in crisis when they are jailed. That means mental health care providers in correctional environments are playing catch-up, trying to immediately assess the patient’s needs and address them as well as possible before they are released or moved to another facility.
In addition to this concern, the level of mental health care available in jails can vary widely depending on factors like location and budget. Remember that the federal requirement is only to address serious, immediate medical needs. Therefore, services such as ongoing therapy sessions or various therapeutic modalities aren’t typically funded or offered.
Finally, when a person is discharged from jail or moved to another facility, their mental health care may end. Community-based mental healthcare services may not be available, or the individual may not seek them out. If they’re moved to another facility, their care may essentially restart with only the documentation from the jail healthcare provider to guide new providers. This can put these patients at high risk of crisis, relapse, and even rearrest.
Why Fund Mental Health Treatment in Jails?
In general, mental health is often treated separately and with less immediacy than physical health. After all, mental health concerns are frequently invisible to the naked, untrained eye, and behaviors associated with mental health issues can usually be attributed to other things.
However, mental health is a massive issue for many people who are jailed, and sometimes these untreated issues keep them stuck in the system.
Government funding for mental health treatment in jails is a matter of public responsibility. Providing funding for this treatment can help people improve, avoiding crises inside facilities, decreasing the risk of self-harm, and stabilizing them in a way that reduces disruptive behaviors and improves their long-term health outcomes.
As awareness of the connection between mental health and incarceration grows, so does the momentum for access to community mental health programs and a push for greater treatment options for those who are incarcerated and those who aren’t.
Want to learn more about Mental Health Treatment in Jails and why it’s such an important issue to address? Download our full e-book on the topic.
