Using statewide administrative data and brief mental health screening to estimate the prevalence of mental illness among probationers
| Author | Michael Lambert,Amy Blank Wilson,Tonya B. Van Deinse,Daniel Edwards,Gary S. Cuddeback |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550518808369 |
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Using statewide
administrative data
and brief mental
health screening to
estimate the prevalence
of mental illness
among probationers
Tonya B. Van Deinse, Gary S. Cuddeback,
Amy Blank Wilson, and Michael Lambert
University of North Carolina, USA
Daniel Edwards
Missouri Department of Corrections, USA
Abstract
There is little published information about the measures that probation agencies
in the United States use to identify individuals with mental illnesses who are
under community supervision. This study used statewide administrative data to
estimate and compare the prevalence of mental illnesses among probationers
using officer report and offender self-report data. Prevalence estimates of mental
illnesses ranged from 15 percent to 19 percent, which is consistent with prior
studiesthatusedformaldiagnosticassessments. In the absence of costly and
time-consuming diagnostic assessments, probation agency-developed mental
health scales can aid in identifying those who might be in need of additional
mental health assessment.
Corresponding Author:
Tonya B. Van Deinse, School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 325 Pittsboro
Street, CB#3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Email: tbv@email.unc.edu
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
2019, Vol. 66(2) 236–247
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550518808369
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