National and state-level trends in the availability of mental health treatment services tailored to individuals ordered to treatment by a court: United States, 2016, 2018, and 2020.

Publisher: Springer International Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 8804358 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1433-9285 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09337954 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: [Berlin] : Springer International, [c1988-

Mental Health Services*/legislation & jurisprudence ; Mental Health Services*/statistics & numerical data ; Mental Health Services*/trends ; Health Services Accessibility*/legislation & jurisprudence ; Health Services Accessibility*/trends ; Mental Disorders*/therapy ; Mental Disorders*/epidemiology ; Criminal Law*/statistics & numerical data; Humans ; United States ; Male ; Adult ; Female ; Logistic Models ; Substance-Related Disorders/therapy ; Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology

Purpose: We sought to identify trends and characteristics associated with the availability of tailored mental health services for individuals involved in the criminal justice system and ordered to treatment by a court, nationally in the US and by state.
Methods: We used National Mental Health Services Survey to identify outpatient mental health treatment facilities in the US (2016 n = 4744; 2018 n = 4626; 2020 n = 4869). We used clustered multiple logistic regression to identify changes over time as well as facility- and state-level factors associated with the availability of specialty court-ordered services.
Results: Slightly more than half of the outpatient mental health treatment facilities offered specialized services for individuals ordered to treatment by a court, with wide variation between states. Nationally, there was a significant increase in the odds of offering court-ordered treatment in 2020 compared to 2016 (aOR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.06-1.27, p < 0.01). Notable associations included offering integrated substance use treatment (versus none, aOR = 2.95, 95% CI = 2.70-3.22, p < 0.0001) and offering trauma therapy (versus none, aOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.85-2.27, p < 0.0001).
Conclusion: The availability of mental health services for individuals ordered to treatment by a court is growing nationally but several states are lagging behind. Court ordered treatment is a promising strategy to improve health and reduce reliance on the carceral system as a healthcare provider. At the same time, we express caution around disparities within behavioral health courts and advocate for equity in access to incarceration alternatives.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

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Keywords: Court-ordered treatment; Epidemiology; Health services; Incarceration; Mental health

Date Created: 20240109 Date Completed: 20241009 Latest Revision: 20241009

20241009

10.1007/s00127-023-02589-8

38193943