Over the years, the rates of confinement in the United States (U.S) have increased drastically. Dvoskin et al. (2003) argue that this fact is commensurate with the “increasing number of imprisoned individuals who have a mental illness.” According to research, more than twenty percent of prisoners in the U.S suffer from mental diseases and need mental care. These mentally ill inmates pose serious problems to prison administrators. For instance, they are highly likely to cause injury to staff and other prisoners owing to their unruly behavior. This can lead to violence within the affected correctional facility (Dvoskin et al., 2003). Therefore, the mental health administrators in correctional facilities are mandated to balance the clinical needs of inmates and the welfare and security of the prisons. Subsequently, the mental health administrations in correctional facilities are characterized by various features and require professionals with a particular set of skills. Such structures are established through legal frameworks which determine the quality, management, staffing, medical processes, electronic health records, and innovations required to improve the system (Tamburello et al., 2017). This essay will thus explore Correctional Mental Health as an exemplary correction program. It will provide a description of the program and the elements that fuel its success, leading to its consideration as a best practice in the correctional field. Likewise, it will highlight the structure and design that provide for an effective and successful correctional program.
Correctional mental health is undeniably becoming more complex. This is because apart from the growing number of inmates with mental illnesses, the group is also comprised of individuals of all ages. Thus, both elderly and juvenile inmates require mental treatments and regular assessments (Scott, 2009). This is because prison and jail administrators are mandated to warrant safety and smooth running of the institutions established to manage individuals involved with the criminal justice system. In this regard, Tamburello et al. (2017) reckon that “correctional agencies must provide health care services to inmates, although they are also held accountable for safety, security, and the responsible use of public funds.” Moreover, while incarcerated people are criminals, they have the constitutional rights to proper and quality healthcare. The role of prisons is not merely to punish wrongdoers but also to rehabilitate them. Thus, mental health care should be provided to prisoners just as the same is availed to the general public. Moreover, the correctional facilities may be held liable for violating the prisoners’ civil rights. Therefore, a Correctional Mental Health Program within a particular correctional facility is charged with the responsibility of providing mental health care to all the eligible prisoners that have been incarcerated in the facility.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The structure of providing mental health in prisons is comprised of two primary levels (Tamburello et al., 2017). These levels include the administrative structure of the correctional agency and the administration of the firm offering the mental health care services. In most correctional facilities, the managers are mostly law enforcers and lack clinical background. The agencies may therefore either employ professionals or contract independent firms to offer these services. Irrespective of the chosen option, the program’s success relies on its leadership. Also, the program should have a clear mission and vision. Moreover, a mechanism for holding every member of the team accountable to the stated mission and vision should be put in place. Further, those mandated to lead the Correctional Mental Health Program need to understand and work within the ‘correctional culture.' There must also be strong mutual respect among team members, and a clear understanding of the facility’s management structure. All the involved parties must also appreciate the contributions made by members (Tamburello et al., 2017).
The Correctional Mental Health Program administrators are required to promote the goals of the agency while offering the maximum possible care to inmates. In this case, a balance should be maintained between treatment and security concerns, while promoting open communication with all the key decision makers. For instance, the manager must be able to engage and communicate with all level of employees to harmonize the “custody, organizational, and healthcare objectives” (Tamburello et al., 2017). Provision of the mental health care services must be cost-effective and meet all the needs of staff so as to guarantee retention of competent professionals. Moreover, it is important to ensure that quality enhancement is adopted as a key strategy for the mental health care provision. Correctional mental health care must also manage such related issues as suicide risks (Tamburello et al., 2017).
The basis of the Correctional Mental Health Program’s structure should include a clear goal and mission statement, reflecting the underlying purpose and philosophy of care provision. A clear goal and mission statement assists practitioners to recognize possible conflicts since they are involved in providing both correctional and treatment services. Mental health care must be accessible to all inmates and be of high quality. Likewise, the staff members participating in the provision of correctional mental health care must be sufficient. The developed standards advocate for having “qualified mental health personnel available to provide access to inmates for evaluation and treatment consistent with contemporary standards of care” (Metzner, 1997). Also, there must be proper procedures to identify the inmates suffering from various mental illnesses. Three primary processes are designed to identify prisoners suffering from mental illnesses. These processes are receiving mental health screening, intake mental health screening, and mental health evaluation. However, all agencies involved in correction must undertake assessments to identify the inmates suffering from mental illnesses (Metzner, 1997).
Correctional Mental Health Programs involve numerous core principles. However, the effectiveness of mental health care in correctional facilities is influenced by the administration and leadership, the mission and vision, staffing as well as the compensations, screening, and assessments of inmates admitted in the institutions. The task of correctional mental health administration is somewhat complex. This is because there is a need to balance the financial, clinical and custodial needs of the facility while offering quality care. It is the culmination of all these factors that makes Correctional Mental Health Programs exemplary, leading to their consideration as ‘best practice’ in the correctional field.
References
Dvoskin, J. A., Spiers, E. M., Metzner, J. L., & Pitt, S. E. (2003). The structure of correctional mental health services. Principles and practice of forensic psychiatry. 2nd edition. London: Arnold , 489-504.
Metzner, J. L. (1997). An introduction to correctional psychiatry: Part I.
Scott, C. L. (Ed.). (2009). Handbook of correctional mental health . American Psychiatric Pub.
Tamburello, A., Kaldany, H., & Dickert, J. (2017). Correctional mental health administration. International Review of Psychiatry , 29 (1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2016.1248908
