Racial Disparities in Access to and Utilization of Jail- and Community-Based Mental Health Treatment in 8 US Midwestern Jails in 2017.

To examine the dual disproportionality that individuals with serious mental illness and people of color (PoC) occupy in the criminal-legal system. This study follows a cohort of 623 individuals who screened positive for mental health issues at booking in 8 Midwestern jails in 2017. We followed individuals through the jails' practices of jail-based mental health treatment, and we used Medicaid billing data to assess community-based behavioral health treatment engagement in the postyear period after jail release.