Mindful Continuing Education

1. Although individuals with mental illness are over represented in the US criminal justice system, many prisons, jails and communities are not equipped to handle this growing population.

2. In jails and prisons, many inmates have multiple diagnoses and co-occurring disorders, and pre-existing mental health conditions are often exacerbated by correctional environments.

3. Each of the following is an accurate statement about the scope of the problem of mental illness in correctional facilities EXCEPT:

4. One promising trend in US corrections is that since the prison population has tripled in the past 25 years, there has been an increase in the focus on mental health needs of inmates.

5. In addition to direct mental health care costs, mentally ill prisoners have higher rates of misconduct and accidents in prisons and higher rates of recidivism.

6. Federal statutes determine whether mentally ill individuals in the criminal justice system should be held liable for their criminal acts, and states must adhere to such statutes.

7. While many states approach defining mental illness from a behavioral or symptomatic perspective, others focus on specific abnormalities:

8. Each state is responsible for assessing the mental capacity at the time of the crime for individuals whose competency is in question, which in general is merely a summary of legal technicalities.

9. According to New York State Department of Corrections, which of the following is NOT one of the AXIS-1 diagnoses included in the definition of seriously mentally ill?

10. While mental status is an integral part of the clinical assessment of prisoners, risk of incidence while incarcerated such as suicide, violence, and substance dependence must also be evaluated.

11. As an alternative to traditional court proceedings, mental health courts (MHC) are diversionary mechanisms that offer the following to mentally ill offenders:

12. While MHCs operate differently in terms of eligibility criteria, generally the two types of eligibility criteria are considered: clinical eligibility and legal eligibility.

13. Extensive empirical data has indicated that MHCs have greater effectiveness in reducing recidivism rates than interventions provided in correctional facilities.

14. Which of the following is NOT one of the focus areas of the rigorously evaluated programs that offer promising re-entry results for mentally ill offenders?

15. Once mentally ill offenders leave jail or prison, they may become overwhelmed by the stresses and challenges associated with reentry into society, and may need immediate referral to mental health services to comply with treatment goals.

16. A promising policy for reducing recidivism rates for offenders with severe mental illness is to offer Medicaid enrollment at the time of jail release.

17. Recent legislation enacted in Montana assists mentally ill parolees and probationers by ensuring the coordination of community based services in which of the following areas:

18. One of the most beneficial aspects of diversion programs for mentally ill offenders is that they may help to eliminate criminal justice ramifications such as: