Working with Patients with Criminal Justice Involvement

Bowring v. Godwin established that prisoners with mental illnesses are entitled to medically necessary, adequate psychiatric care as a constitutional right under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and that failure to provide such care constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Various organizations publish standards of care in correctional settings, including the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. Standards include numerous components such as mental health screening and evaluation, treatment, suicide prevention, and planning for release. Due to a lack of community resources, the correctional system has become the primary interface between people with serious mental illness and treatment. Access to quality community mental health care must be improved with adequate resources and funding, giving specific attention to the transition period following release from incarceration.