You may not realize that 80 percent of the people that are incarcerated today are under the influence of substance abuse. This not only affects the lives of those that are in prison, but many children that are victimized by this, and faced with a great deal of hardship and loss. Many families are completely split and some never recover. Children are also very vunerable to the system as well, because there is very little help for these that did not commit the crimes but they too, wear the numbers on there backs through the entire process. The point of this blog is to say, we have a horrible problem that is only getting greater. I think it is time to come up with more solution
instead of taking tax dollars to build more prisons.
In the last year they have also laid off many chaplains that are closely associated to those that are incarcerated. I do not believe the solution is going to get better by merely building more prisons. It is much less expensive to help rehabilitate than to house. Also the war on drugs is causing greater sentencing than those of pedifils which are let out and repeatly reoffend. It is hard to understand how violent people are set free and non violent drug offenders are kept 3 times longer.
There is a growing concern about the prison systems and the mentally ill. Large numbers of people with mental health disorders are filling the prison systems. According to the Human Watch statement for the record to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Human Rights and the law it is clearly documented that prisons were never a place for the mentally ill, however; that is exactly what it has become. There are many people in the communities that cannot get the proper mental health care that they need, and they fall into the cracks of the judicial system.
There are Mental Health courts that are set up in different areas of the country that bring this into the judicial system to plead with the courts on the cases of the mentally ill that are being convicted of crimes, or that are currently serving charges in the prison systems. According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Mental Health Courts provide a number of services to those that have been diagnosed with Mental Illness. They address to the courts, the mental health issues of offenders and those that are mentally disabled. They try to access the circumstances of the offender and provide resources, life skills, mental health care plans and also consider relapse from substance abuse to keep from occurring by providing these services to keep the mentally ill from becoming a revolving door into the prison systems. The Bureau of Justice Assistance further concluded that The Mental Health courts also try to establish continuing supervision and long term treatment long after the probation or parole has ended. These courts deal with nonviolent offenders who have clearly been diagnosed with a mental disorder or suffer from substance abuse.
According to (Judge Charlotte Cooksey), the mentally ill spend needless amounts of time in
jail, and they do not have the proper care for their mental health problems. After the offender is
released and enter back into society, he or she will normally be recycled back into the system,
and it continues to repeat it’s self throughout the life of the accused offender. This is not a
service to community, and tax payers are paying extreme amounts while the offender continues
to have the same pattern of problems and risks of reentering back into the prisons systems.
The Mental Health Court is a team of professionals that are specialized in the field of Mental Illness, and also law. The goal of the Mental Health Court according to (Cooksey), is to improve outcomes for this special population, including the mentally ill and those that are suffering from substance abuse while increasing public safety. The court strives to cut downthe rate of offenders that commit petty crimes due to their mental illness and also suffer from drug addictions. The outcome is to provide the needed services and networks of community support to help the offender lead a more sustainable life, and to break away from the revolving door of the judicial system.
According to (Maiken, Scott), if we can give these mental ill offenders the resources that are
needed in order for them to succeed, there are great opportunities to give this population hope
that one day they can be productive citizens. Many of these included in the mental health
population are homeless, and because of there need to survive they have used the prison systems
to be able to exist. In this group of offenders they have not been able to effectively work through
the system that is currently provided and giving them the needed resources can certainly provide
them with a greater opportunity to take the next step forward. There are housing concerns,
needed psychiatric treatment, and many of them need help and assistance in finding jobs
according to (Maiken). He also further concluded, Mental Health courts and drug courts are
similar in nature with addicts, and they are succeeding in the efforts to prevent reentry back into
the judicial system. There are still many problems ahead because incarceration will never be a
right solution for those that are mentally impaired according to (Wagner, Peter).
Prisons are very expensive and they are less effective than mental health treatment, and the sad tragedy according to (Wagner), is that state governments are cutting mental health budgets in order to build more facilities to hold offenders. The budget is to build more prisons and to provide less mental health care. This definitely raises a huge concern. (Wagner) further concluded his regards of destroying the mental health system, and at the same level resorting to raising criminal charges and incarceration to the population of mentally ill. (Wagner) noted, “Rikers Island is the largest Psychiatric facility in the country”. The statistics show approximately 16 percent of the prison population is mentally ill. The most shocking numbers are those that are suffering a form of chemical dependency and this is 80 percent of the prison population. Many are facing dual disorders, mental health issues as well as chemical dependency. The numbers appear to be skeptical according to (Wagner) because these are only the ones that have been diagnosed or treated and many of the others are swept under the rug, or never addressed.
(Wagner) further states, “Prison is harm and not a treatment”. When the mentally ill are
imprisoned without the proper mental health treatment according to (Barr, Heather) in Wagner’s
Research article she concluded, that this population are the ones that fall victim and remain
isolated. When the rules become distorted and difficult for the mentally challenged to follow
they fall into the pit of segregation; being locked away 24 hours a day. (Barr) concluded her
statements further, bringing attention and addressing it with this statement. “This is a problem of
services, not a legal problem. Alternatives to incarceration are needed”, implemented from(Wagner’s) final closing statement.
From the research that I have compiled, there is a huge need for mental health care of the mentally ill, and those suffering from substance abuse in the prison systems. The problems I have noticed, is the funding for these programs are being slashed and the problems are increasing more every year. Prisons are no answer for the population suffering from mental health disorders. Many of these offenders are unable to get help and then paroled out and continue to return. In my conclusion in the review of the Human Rights Watch Statement on Human Rights and the Law, Mental health treatment can help and possibly save offenders lives and also prevent suicidal measures. The statement reported that 22 states out of forty correctional centers reported that they did not have the adequate number of mental health staff to deter the problems they faced.
From the observations of the research, we have yet to scratch the surface, and we definitely need to provide these mental health services in the prison systems. By disallowing treatmentwe are robbing a society of hope, along with the families of those that are suffering as well, and unfortunately many of them are children. To change these circumstances it will begin from the local level in my opinion, and to elect the officials that will support the mental health issues we are facing around the country. Prison time is hard for a person that is mentally stable, but for someone that has a mental disorder it can further impair there thinking, and without healthy resources they are sure to return back to a system that have become entangled into with no real coping skills of returning into society.
I do not see an end in sight to this problem until it is properly addressed and implemented, so the recycling process can be reduced, and people can be given the mental health care they rightfully deserve. Mentally ill, and those suffering from addictions are not criminals; they are broken individuals with serious mental health concerns, and resources for this population are desperately needed, and I do not see how this could be denied or ignored. It is my hope that more advocacy will bring this growing problem to the National level and funding will be granted to give hope to those that cannot help themselves. In my own personal view, I see this population as the least of these, and I firmly believe if this part of the prison population is not given the proper mental health care, it will further grow and erode our entire society.
I have seen children's lives destroyed, or also turned to the judicial system after one of there parents has been incarcerated. They to become a statistic. I am not taking away the accountablity from the wrongs of what one does. There are consequences we all must learn from;however, this problem is not disolving, but growing in huge magnitude. The attack is always on the future seed, the children. I seriously must question something of great importance to this generation. Where are the spiritual leaders of today? This is not isolated problem. It is not totally the responcibility that should fall upon the government, but upon the house of God to reach out on this issue that is totally eroding the next generation of the young.
Many of these mentally ill that are incarcerated, or those suffering from addiction problems are spiritually broken, and many families can be brought back together if these problems were addressed. Many children are falling into the system of foster care and suffering more abuse. Where there is no hope, the people perish. It seems that the spiritual leaders of our country would care more about these things that building the walls of their palaces that will one day rot and leave nothing but a stack of stubble. Something to consider, and there are people that can make a difference if they wanted to truly open there eyes. Our churches are blinded in many ways of self and binding up their people in a building to have there ears tickled, and go home, and it bring about very little change. We have problems here at home and this is affected at every local level.
I pray more will give thought to this, and pray that the Lord might use your professional experiences, or the compassion you might feel to make a difference. I pray that Churches and clergy would no longer sweep this problem under the rug. 80 percent of the prison population. The numbers enough tell there own story. The number of children is staggering. Over 50 percent of these children are also entering into the prison population. This should raise enough concern to fuel God's people to act of this alone. Solemn prayers that outreach will here the cries of these children, and awareness to make some type of difference for them.
References:
(Bureau of Justice Assistance), Mental Health Courts Program
Cooksey, Charlotte, Mental Health Programs
Human Rights Watch (Sept 2009), Mental Illness, Human Rights, and US Prisons
Maiken, Scott (May 2010), Mental Health Courts offers new beginning.
Wagner, Peter (April 2000), Prison Policy Initiative, Incarceration is not a solution to mental illness.
