| MPRI eNews
Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Update April 2009: Focus on Mental Health and Health Care | |
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| Data Points |
Total MPRI Releases through 2/2009: 16,223
Expected number of returns: 5,014
Actual number of returns: 3,532
Improvement: 1,482
Note: While these results for MPRI parolees are precisely what was hoped for, it is still too early to say that MPRI activities alone caused the changes. For much more information, click here. |
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| Welcome to the April 2009 MPRI eNews! |
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It's spring in Michigan and there's lots happening with MPRI. In this issue of the MPRI eNews, we update you on several items which deal with mental health and health care issues for prisoners and former prisoners. You'll also read a first-hand account of how MPRI affects day-to-day life for a prison employee.
Please help!
Before we get to that, I want to ask for your help. we're trying to get the MPRI eNews in the hands of everyone with an interest in the MPRI. Please send an e-mail to your network of colleagues, friends, or family and tell them why you read this report. Then, suggest that they subscribe by going to this link (You can just cut and paste it into your e-mail):
Thanks for your help. And, as always, we thank you for reading! Please send us your comments and suggestions.
Jeff Padden and Paul Elam
Public Policy Associates, Inc. |
| Improving Mental Health Care for Corrections in Michigan |
| The Michigan Prisoner Mental Health Care Improvement Project has issued 18 recommendations for transforming mental health care before, during, and after prisoners serve sentences in Michigan prisons. This blueprint is the result of an 18-month collaboration between the Michigan Departments of Corrections and Community Health, and private advocacy and service organizations.
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Promising Practices for Corrections Mental Health Care in the Community |
A new report from the Council of State Governments Justice Center describes promising practices for improving outcomes for people with mental illnesses under community corrections supervision. While there are significant limitations to the research, it shows the nature and extent of the problem and provides good guidance for how to address it.
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| While in Prison: What Happens to Benefits? |
 A major question for those locked up or returning to their communities is: "What happens to my government benefits?" The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington, DC published a brochure that provides some answers. This should be of value to service providers and to returning prisoners. To see the brochure online, click here. Hard copies are available for a small fee. | |
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| Legislature Hears Testimony on Mental Health Services to Prisoners |
 A Michigan Senate committee heard testimony on April 28, 2009 about the status of mental health services in prisons and ideas for improvement. In a Gongwer Michigan Report story, Linda Zeller, Health Services Administrator for MDOC, said although there were some challenges mentioned at the hearing, she couldn't dispute anything she heard. She agreed that, "the state needs to address how it deals with the mentally ill 'on the way in and on the way out' of the corrections system." Senator Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) was especially concerned about detention of juveniles with mental health issues. According to Gongwer, Sen. Brater said that lawmakers and the department should work together to address that situation. Commenting on the report, MDOC Deputy Director Dennis Schrantz point out that, as of March 2009, 1,082 prisoners have been released to their communities under the MPRI Mentally Ill Prisoner Demonstration Program. Of those, 102 have returned to prison for a 9.4% return rate. At the same time, a special component of the program that serves "max outs" has witnessed a 2% return to prison rate - so far, only five returned out of 230 prisoners released. For the complete story, click here. |
| Consensus Project Report on CJ and Mental Health |
 The Council of State Governments Consensus Project produced a comprehensive report on how the criminal justice system should address the challenges posed by those with mental illness. Since it was issued in 2002, the report - which contains 46 policy statements and hundreds of specific recommendations - has become an important resource for policymakers and practitioners. According to the report, the Project is "a unique effort to define the measures that state legislators, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, corrections administrators, community corrections officials, and victim advocates, mental health advocates, consumers, state mental health directors, and community-based providers agree will improve the response to people with mental illness who are in contact (or at high risk of involvement) with the criminal justice system."
To download the whole report (450 pages) or sections, click here. |
| New Health Care Contractor Brings Hope for Improvement |
In a recent editorial, the Detroit Free Press noted the beginning of the MDOC's contract with a new contractor to provide health care services in the prisons. While calling for continued improvements, the editorial acknowledged that the new contract was "...a necessary first step...."
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| Other States Face Mental Health Challenges in Prisons |
 Michigan is not alone in addressing the challenges of providing mental health services to prisoners. According to the Winona Daily News, the state of Wisconsin is under threat of a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit for inadequate treatment of mentally ill female prisoners. To avoid the suit, the state, which has a $5.7 million budget deficit, will spend $11 million to construct a new women's mental health facility and nearly $10 million per year to operate it.
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| Data on Mental Health Problems Among Prisoners |
 According to the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, 56% of state prisoners report symptoms of mental health problems. Of those, 43 percent had symptoms of mania, 23 percent major depression and 15 percent psychotic disorder. Female inmates had higher rates of mental health problems than male inmates, 73 percent of females and 55 percent of males in state prisons. The researchers interviewed 14,500 state prisoners in 287 prisons.
To see the report and related materials, click here. |
| Collaborative Case Management in Practice |
Collaborative Case Management is a new way of dealing with those in prison and returning to the community. In theory, it ensures that the right services are delivered across disciplines and that service providers engage with their customers in a constructive fashion. For a candid, enlightening account of how it looks from the point of view of an Assistant Resident Unit Supervisor in a Michigan Prison, click here. | |
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