Final-Stage Diversion

Abstract

Diversion programs for offenders with mental disorders typically focus on early intervention as the ideal avenue for redirecting individuals from the criminal justice system. Although this approach is advantageous in many respects, sentenced offenders on probation have few available options for the intensive treatment provided by such programs. ATLAS, a mental health court in Dallas, Texas, adopts a reverse approach in selecting individuals on the brink of probation revocation. When compared to a matched sample, ATLAS participants had lower rates of rearrest within 12 and 24 months of their intake, supporting the efficacy of final-stage diversion programs as a pragmatic alternative to early interventions.

Methodological Challenges in Retrospective Evaluation of Mental Health Court Effectiveness

“…Criminal and treatment histories prior to MHC were established by using the MHC agreement date for MHC cases and the sentence date for comparison cases as a hinge date separating the pre- and post-periods. The following historic variables (pre-agreement date or sentence date, respectively), derived from past research (Anestis and Carbonell 2014; Fiduccia and Rogers 2012; Luskin 2013; McNiel and Binder 2007; Steadman et al 2014) were considered in the PSM process (owing to statistical considerations including, multicollinearity, appropriateness for the MHC, model fit, and sample size, not all variables were considered in a model for each MHC):…”