About the Book
The number of individuals with severe mental illness in the criminal justice system is shockingly high. However, there is a wealth of research that shows that the traditional incarceration model is not effective with this population, and that many of these individuals can be helped in the community at less cost without increased risk to public safety by addressing their risk-relevant needs and improving their opportunities for recovery. As a result, during the last decade there has been an increasing interest in community-based alternatives to incarceration for individuals with severe mental illness. The Sequential Intercept Model and Criminal Justice offers an overview of the recent changes in correctional policy and practice that reflect an increased focus on community-based alternatives for offenders. Developed by Drs. Mark Munetz and Patricia Griffin, the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) identifies five conceptual points at which standard criminal processing can be interrupted to offer community-based alternatives: (1) law enforcement/emergency services; (2) initial detention/initial court hearings; (3) jails/courts; (4) re-entry; and (5) community corrections/support. This volume describes the SIM in detail and reviews empirical evidence for each of its five points of interception. Chapters focus on its implementation, starting with an analysis of the national and state-level initiatives, then addressing specific challenges. A final section suggests how the SIM might be applied successfully to other populations (e.g., veterans, juveniles, and those with developmental disabilities). This volume will appeal to policy makers who are considering community-based alternatives, practitioners who carry out these changes, and program evaluators who seek to document the impact of such changes.
About the Author :
Patricia A. Griffin, PhD, is an independent consultant who is also associated with the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Justice Center of Excellence, SAMHSA's GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation, and Policy Research Associates. Her training is in community psychology. Her scholarly and practice interests include diversion, specialized training of first responders, and provision of services to justice-involved individuals with behavioral health disorders. She is a co-developer of the Sequential Intercept Model. Kirk Heilbrun, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Drexel University and Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Justice Center of Excellence. His research and professional interests include risk assessment and management, forensic assessment, and diversion.
Edward P. Mulvey, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Justice Center of Excellence. His research interests include violence and mental illness, prediction of violence and crime, juvenile offenders and the juvenile justice system, and criminal justice policy. He is also interested in public agencies serving justice-involved individuals with mental health problems.
David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Law at Drexel University, where he is also Director of the JD/PhD Program in Law and Psychology, and a consultant with the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Justice Center of Excellence. His research interests include psychopathy, forensic mental health assessment, drug policy, and diversion.
Carol A. Schubert, MPH, is a researcher with the Law and Psychiatry Program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and a consultant to the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Justice Center of Excellence. Her research interests include violence risk and service provision; she has coordinated numerous large research projects focusing on these areas with justice-involved adults and adolescents.
Review :
"In The Sequential Intercept Model and Criminal Justice, Patricia Griffin and her co-editors have somehow managed to get a Who's Who of contributors to flesh out the nuanced implications of this generation's most important conceptual contribution to community-based services for justice-involved people with mental illness. The book seamlessly weaves together up-to-the-minute academic research and down-to-earth clinical practice. It provides nothing less than a pellucid roadmap for transforming the highly contested terrain where the criminal justice and mental health systems meet and often clash."
--John Monahan, Ph.D., John S. Shannon Distinguished Professor of Law, and Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia
"There is widespread agreement among police and mental health agencies that the criminal justice system is a less-than-ideal way to serve the needs of people with serious mental illness and their communities. Instead of hand-wringing over the 'criminalization of mental illness, ' Patricia Griffin and her colleagues have provided communities with a practical strategy for doing something about it. The Sequential Intercept Model is proving itself to be the very best kind of public policy, simultaneously appealing to public safety, cost-effectiveness, and more humane treatment for people with serious mental illness. Thanks to a stellar roster of editors and chapter authors, we now have a practical guide to providing better, more humane treatment at much lower cost."
-- Joel A. Dvoskin, PhD, ABPP, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Chair, Nevada Governor's Advisory Council on Behavioral Health and Wellness
"The strongest part of the book is the summary of research on each aspect of the SIM model, including related HIPAA and mental health law issues. Illustrations of local applications are thought-provoking and show the diverse nature of the programs implemented and the challenges confronted. The book also stands as a foundation for further research, program and policy development, and it will be interesting to see what grows from this foundation."
--Colleen Clark, Research Assistant Professor, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida
