Many people don’t access mental health services that save money and keep people out of jail

WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — When it comes to providing at-risk Americans access to the mental health services they need, prevention is far better than detention, new research confirms.

However, the majority of the 950 U.S. counties surveyed in the report do not provide access to mental health and substance use disorder services that could save communities money and prevent incarceration.

“Most counties provide only a small portion of the community services that are needed to keep people out of jail,” said study author Jennifer Johnson, a public health professor at Michigan State University and author of the study.

“We hope that by publishing this article, county administrators will review the list of services they do not yet offer and try to make them a reality,” Johnson said in a university news release.

His team assessed the availability of 59 mental health practices known to help at-risk people stay healthy.

The survey asked people representing the counties studied whether such programs could be accessible “to people who interact with police, 911, courts, prisons, probation or parole.”

The results were disappointing. For example, only 29% of counties offered permanent supportive housing to people with mental health conditions, while even fewer (about 27%) offered what is known as assertive community treatment.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, assertive community treatment is “treatment, rehabilitation, and support services that use a person-centered, recovery-based approach,” largely focused on people with the schizophrenia spectrum of disorders.

Johnson’s group said both supportive housing in the community and assertive treatment help stabilize people with serious mental illness and stay out of jail.

The study found that access to those programs often depended on geography, and availability was much more limited in rural counties than in urban ones.

A particularly worrisome issue was the suspension of Medicaid privileges when a person is in jail for even a day. There are often delays in regaining access to Medicaid once the person is released.

This can be devastating for people who are dependent on psychiatric medications, Johnson said.

“We’ve had people who were standing in line at the pharmacy to get their medications and were told, ‘Your Medicaid is on hold because you’re in jail,’ and yet the person is just standing there,” he said. ,

The findings were published in the March issue of the journal Psychiatric Services.

There are other ways that better access to health programs can help people stay stable and out of prison.

For example, ensuring access to pain-relieving therapy could prevent people from becoming dependent on opioids, the researchers said.

Employment centers can also help reduce poverty and homelessness, and drop-in crisis centers can prevent incarceration.

The bottom line, Johnson said, is that permanent housing and employment, coupled with professional and/or peer support, “are better than keeping people in jail, and they’re 100% cheaper. Our goal is to keep treated and stable people in jail. Is.” Don’t go through community and local jails.

more information

Learn more about schizophrenia and its treatment at Mayo Clinic.

Source: Michigan State University, press release, March 5, 2024