The program’s work includes:

• Using information-sharing to improve service provision
  Many people in contact with the criminal justice system have mental health and substance use problems. Yet health and justice systems rarely share information with each other to improve awareness of clients’ needs or to enhance the services they provide. SUMH integrates data from mental health, substance use, and criminal justice agencies to help jurisdictions better identify and serve people with behavioral health problems.
   
• Measuring the impact of drug policy
  States are increasingly reconsidering ways to respond to non-violent drug offenses and policymakers have a pressing need for empirical evidence that can help inform their decisions. SUMH conducts research on the impact of drug policy, such as the use of treatment-based alternatives to incarceration in lieu of lengthy prison sentences.
   
• Informing jail reentry planning
  Many people leaving jail face a range of problems, from accessing mental health treatment to securing a place to live. Evidence shows that access to appropriate services can improve individual health outcomes and reduce the likelihood of future arrests. SUMH is working with jail administrators and communities in New York City and Los Angeles to design more accessible and effective reentry services.
   
• Informing culturally conscious behavioral health services
  While individuals involved with criminal justice systems are diverse in many ways, agencies tend to use a one-size-fits-all approach to providing substance use and mental health interventions. As a result, many people may find these services to be inaccessible or poorly suited to their specific needs. SUMH is conducting research to inform culturally conscious service models for criminal justice settings.

Why this Work Matters
There are three times as many people with serious mental illness in jails and prisons than in hospitals, and about two-thirds of people in prison report regular drug use. However, justice systems around the country are ill equipped to provide behavioral health services, and individuals often fail to get the help they need. SUMH research helps jurisdictions design policies that increase access to treatment, reduce reliance on the criminal justice system as a response to these problems, and improve public safety. 

For more information, contact program director Jim Parsons.