PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

CWRU researcher finds released inmates need programs to meet basic and mental health needs

2014-01-06
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Susan Griffith
susan.griffith@case.edu
216-368-1004
Case Western Reserve University
CWRU researcher finds released inmates need programs to meet basic and mental health needs When inmates with severe mental illness are released from jail, their priority is finding shelter, food, money and clothes. Even needs as basic as soap and a place to bathe can be hard to come by for people leaving jail, according to a new study from Case Western Reserve University's social work school.

"Reentering the community after a period of incarceration in jail is a complex situation," said Amy B. Wilson, who researches jail and prison issues, and even more difficult for inmates who suffer from a major mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia.

Wilson, assistant professor of social work, conducted the study to learn why inmates with mental illnesses don't take advantage of available mental-health services after release. She used ethnographic research techniques to follow along with the day-to-day activities of clients and staff from a reentry program that helped inmates with mental illness transition from jail to the community.

As part of this study Wilson also surveyed 115 participants in this program prior to their release to ask them about what types of help they would need after release. When surveyed, housing topped the list of priorities for 65 percent, followed by 35 percent who needed money to start a new beginning. Only 12 percent said treatment for their mental health was one of their top two priorities.

Her findings were reported in the Qualitative Health Research journal article, "How People With Serious Mental Illness Seek Help after Leaving Jail."

According to Wilson, It's been long known in the social work field that people need food and housing to survive and seek to fill those needs first, but sometimes these basic needs get overlooked when building programs to address complex problems, such as those facing people with mental illness exiting jail.

Jails, unlike prisons, house offenders serving short-term sentences or those awaiting trial. Therefore releases from jails are more unpredictable then prisons, allowing less time for planning and transitional services, Wilson said.

The problems associated with the transition from jail to the community is also compounded by a general assumption within the correctional system that family and friends will house and care for released inmates, said Wilson, who has found the reality, for some, is quite different.

Some inmates lose everything they own while in jail, including a driver's license and social security card, she said. And once released, access to their apartment or house might be lost as well.

While observing inmates for this study, she saw some released during winter wearing summer clothing. One woman was released wearing see-through pajamas. Other inmates reported having no money or a place to go.

The transition from jail to community requires inmates to navigate a number of social service systems such as public assistance, public mental health, and substance abuse services. But Wilson found that even released inmates with case managers advocating for them experienced a lot of difficulty obtaining the services they needed. Wilson also found that only 40 percent of the program's clients ever engaged in long term received mental health services.

"Eventually people gave up on the system," she said.

Wilson believes the study should serve as a reminder to social workers and policymakers about how difficult the transition can be for released inmates. To have people take advantage of mental health services, their basic needs must be met first, she said.

And since we as a society have assumed some responsibility for seeing to the care and treatment of people with serious mental illness, Wilson stated that we must ensure that we are seeing to both their basic and treatment needs during the critical transition from jail to community.

When inmates with severe mental illness are released from jail, their priority is finding shelter, food, money and clothes. Even needs as basic as soap and a place to bathe can be hard to come by for people leaving jail, according to a new study from Case Western Reserve University's social work school.

"Reentering the community after a period of incarceration in jail is a complex situation," said Amy B. Wilson, who researches jail and prison issues, and even more difficult for inmates who suffer from a major mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia.

Wilson, assistant professor of social work, conducted the study to learn why inmates with mental illnesses don't take advantage of available mental-health services after release. She used ethnographic research techniques to follow along with the day-to-day activities of clients and staff from a reentry program that helped inmates with mental illness transition from jail to the community.

As part of this study Wilson also surveyed 115 participants in this program prior to their release to ask them about what types of help they would need after release. When surveyed, housing topped the list of priorities for 65 percent, followed by 35 percent who needed money to start a new beginning. Only 12 percent said treatment for their mental health was one of their top two priorities.

Her findings were reported in the Qualitative Health Research journal article, "How People With Serious Mental Illness Seek Help after Leaving Jail."

According to Wilson, It's been long known in the social work field that people need food and housing to survive and seek to fill those needs first, but sometimes these basic needs get overlooked when building programs to address complex problems, such as those facing people with mental illness exiting jail.

Jails, unlike prisons, house offenders serving short-term sentences or those awaiting trial. Therefore releases from jails are more unpredictable then prisons, allowing less time for planning and transitional services, Wilson said.

The problems associated with the transition from jail to the community is also compounded by a general assumption within the correctional system that family and friends will house and care for released inmates, said Wilson, who has found the reality, for some, is quite different.

Some inmates lose everything they own while in jail, including a driver's license and social security card, she said. And once released, access to their apartment or house might be lost as well.

While observing inmates for this study, she saw some released during winter wearing summer clothing. One woman was released wearing see-through pajamas. Other inmates reported having no money or a place to go.

The transition from jail to community requires inmates to navigate a number of social service systems such as public assistance, public mental health, and substance abuse services. But Wilson found that even released inmates with case managers advocating for them experienced a lot of difficulty obtaining the services they needed. Wilson also found that only 40 percent of the program's clients ever engaged in long term received mental health services.

"Eventually people gave up on the system," she said.

Wilson believes the study should serve as a reminder to social workers and policymakers about how difficult the transition can be for released inmates. To have people take advantage of mental health services, their basic needs must be met first, she said.

And since we as a society have assumed some responsibility for seeing to the care and treatment of people with serious mental illness, Wilson stated that we must ensure that we are seeing to both their basic and treatment needs during the critical transition from jail to community.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Suicide risk doesn't differ in children taking 2 types of commonly prescribed antidepressants

2014-01-06
Suicide risk doesn't differ in children taking 2 types of commonly prescribed antidepressants A Vanderbilt University Medical Center study released today shows there is no evidence that the risk of suicide differs with two commonly prescribed ...

Laying money on the line leads to healthier food choices over time

2014-01-06
Laying money on the line leads to healthier food choices over time People are more likely to choose healthy options at the grocery store if they use the risk of losing their monthly healthy food discount as a motivational tool, according ...

MRSA infection rates drop in Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities

2014-01-06
MRSA infection rates drop in Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities Washington, DC, January 6, 2014 – Four years after implementing a national initiative to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates in Veterans Affairs (VA) long-term care facilities, ...

Stimulating brain cells stops binge drinking, animal study finds

2014-01-06
Stimulating brain cells stops binge drinking, animal study finds Results suggest it may be possible to use gene therapy in the brain to treat substance abuse, neurological diseases and mental illnesses BUFFALO, N.Y. – Researchers at the University at Buffalo have ...

US Army identifies 6 critical research targets for improving outcomes in traumatic brain injury

2014-01-06
US Army identifies 6 critical research targets for improving outcomes in traumatic brain injury New Rochelle, NY, January 6, 2014—The U.S. Department of Defense funds more than 500 neurotrauma research projects totaling over $700 million. ...

Establishing guides for molecular counting using fluorescent proteins

2014-01-06
Establishing guides for molecular counting using fluorescent proteins The study recently published in Nature Methods has been able to determine the photoactivation efficiency of fluorescent proteins, an important parameter that has so far ...

New technique targets specific areas of cancer cells with different drugs

2014-01-06
New technique targets specific areas of cancer cells with different drugs Researchers have developed a technique for creating nanoparticles that carry two different cancer-killing drugs into the body and deliver those drugs to separate parts of the cancer ...

ALMA spots supernova dust factory

2014-01-06
ALMA spots supernova dust factory Striking new observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope capture, for the first time, the remains of a recent supernova brimming with freshly formed dust. If enough of this dust makes the perilous transition into ...

BIDMC researcher looks at race and bariatric surgery

2014-01-06
BIDMC researcher looks at race and bariatric surgery Quality of life considerations are key when patients consider surgery BOSTON – While weight loss surgery offers one of the best opportunities to improve health and reduce obesity related illnesses, ...

Tiny proteins have outsized influence on nerve health

2014-01-06
Tiny proteins have outsized influence on nerve health And could make tarantula bites less painful Mutations in small proteins that help convey electrical signals throughout the body may have a surprisingly large effect on health, according to results of a new Johns ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

[Press-News.org] CWRU researcher finds released inmates need programs to meet basic and mental health needs