Implementing Reform: Approaches to Alter the Use of Local Jail for People with Behavioral Health Conditions.

To reduce the overrepresentation of people with behavioral health conditions in jails, jurisdictions have implemented evidence-based programs/policies (EBPPs) and treatments (EBTs). Using survey data from 519 U.S.

Cascade of care for substance use and mental health disorders for justice-involved populations.

Introduction: Justice-involved populations have dramatically higher rates of substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) compared to the general population. Despite high rates of SUD and MHD, treatment for this population is often limited and not evidence-based. The cascade of care model estimates drop-offs in the continuum of care from screening to identification of need, referral, care initiation, care engagement, and care completion.

Pandemic Procedures: Adapting Problem-Solving Court (PSC) Operations and Treatment Protocols During COVID-19.

With an ongoing pandemic claiming hundreds of lives a day, it is unclear how COVID-19 has affected court operations, particularly problem-solving courts (PSCs) which have goals rooted in rehabilitation for participants in their programs. Even with practical recommendations from national organizations directing courts on how to manage COVID-19, whether and how PSCs met the needs of PSC participants during this time is underexplored. This study, drawn from a larger national study using a survey of PSC coordinators, examines the COVID-19 responses of PSCs to remain safely operational for participants.

State Medicaid Initiatives Targeting Substance Use Disorder in Criminal Legal Settings, 2021.

To document state Medicaid pre- and postrelease initiatives for individuals in the criminal legal system with substance use disorder (SUD). An Internet-based survey was sent in 2021 to Medicaid directors in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia to determine whether they were pursuing initiatives for persons with SUD across 3 criminal legal settings: jails, prisons, and community corrections. A 90% response rate was obtained.

Predictors of mental health among U.S. adults during COVID-19 early pandemic, mid- pandemic, and post-vaccine eras.

Background: A collective trauma like COVID-19 impacts individuals differently due to socio-contextual and individual characteristics. Younger adults, minorities, affiliates of certain political parties, and residents of some regions of the United States reported experiencing poorer mental health during the pandemic. Being diagnosed with COVID-19, or losing a friend/family to it, was related to more adverse mental health symptoms.

Endorsement of COVID-19 misinformation among criminal legal involved individuals in the United States: Prevalence and relationship with information sources.

Criminal legal system involvement (CLI) is a critical social determinant of health that lies at the intersection of multiple sources of health disparities. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates many of these disparities, and specific vulnerabilities faced by the CLI population. This study investigated the prevalence of COVID-19-related misinformation, as well as its relationship with COVID-19 information sources used among Americans experiencing CLI.

Medication-Assisted Treatment in Problem-solving Courts: A National Survey of State and Local Court Coordinators.

Problem-solving courts (PSCs) are a critical part of a societal effort to mitigate the opioid epidemic's devastating consequences. This paper reports on a national survey of PSCs (N = 42 state-wide court coordinators; N = 849 local court coordinators) and examines the structural factors that could explain the likelihood of a local PSC authorizing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and MAT utilization. Results of the analyses indicate that MAT availability at the county level was a significant predictor of the likelihood of local courts authorizing MAT.

Recommended Mental Health Practices for Individuals Interacting With U.S. Police, Court, Jail, Probation, and Parole Systems.

Objective: Tens of millions of individuals with mental health problems interact with the U.S. criminal legal system (including 911, police, jail detention and sentences, courts, and probation and parole) each year.

Openness to change among COVID misinformation endorsers: Associations with social demographic characteristics and information source usage.

Rationale: Misinformation is a major concern for public health, with its presence and impact strongly felt in the COVID-19 pandemic. Misinformation correction has drawn strong research interest. In contrast, relatively little attention has been given to the likelihood of favorable behavioral change post correction (i.

Viewing Then Doing?: Problem-Solving Court Coordinators' Perceptions of Medications for Opioid Use Disorders from a Nationally Representative Survey in the United States.

Overdose deaths in the United States (U.S.) surpassed 100,000 in 2021.

Impact of County-level health infrastructure on participation in a reform effort to reduce the use of jail for individuals with mental health disorders.

Background: The national Stepping Up Initiative has attracted over 500 counties interested in reducing the use of jail for individuals with mental health disorders. This paper identifies socioeconomic, criminal legal, and health care factors that predict the likelihood of counties joining Stepping Up.

Results: After performing variable selection, logistic regression models were performed on 3,141 U.

The adoption and sustainability of digital therapeutics in justice systems: A pilot feasibility study.

Background: This study explored whether participants with substance use disorder (SUD) would adopt and use a smart-phone app with a cognitive behavioral therapy program, weekly Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM) assessments, daily check-ins, tools to track sobriety and treatment, and other patient-centered resources. In addition, participants with SUD could access a social worker and peer support specialists.

Methods: The study sought participants from two groups: those referred by a justice-related agency and participants who responded to outreach from the Addiction Policy Forum (APF).

Juvenile Probation Officers' Perceptions of Sanctions and Incentives as Compliance Strategies.

In juvenile probation, noncompliance with probation conditions is a common occurrence. To deal with this, juvenile probation officers (JPOs) may use different strategies, such as sanctions and incentives. This study uses survey and focus group data from 19 JPOs to evaluate their perceptions of the effectiveness of sanctions and incentives in reducing youth noncompliance, specifically in the form of substance use.

JUVENILE PROBATION OFFICER PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN JUVENILE PROBATION AND WITH CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT.

Probation is a common sanction for youth substance users, and as such, juvenile probation officers (JPOs) shoulder much of the burden for treatment and rehabilitation. To improve youth outcomes and alleviate some of the burden, JPOs may seek parental involvement in the probation and substance use desistance processes. Using focus group data, we analyzed JPO perceptions of the role parents play in contingency management (CM)-an incentive system designed to produce and reward decreased substance use-and whether they perceived any value in CM.

Facilitators and barriers to collaboration between drug courts and community-based medication for opioid use disorder providers.

Introduction: Access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is limited for individuals in drug courts - programs that leverage sanctions for mandatory substance use treatment. Drug courts rely on community agencies to provide MOUD. However, relationships with MOUD agencies, which impact access to treatment, are understudied.

Exploring county-level spatio-temporal patterns in opioid overdose related emergency department visits.

Opioid overdoses within the United States continue to rise and have been negatively impacting the social and economic status of the country. In order to effectively allocate resources and identify policy solutions to reduce the number of overdoses, it is important to understand the geographical differences in opioid overdose rates and their causes. In this study, we utilized data on emergency department opioid overdose (EDOOD) visits to explore the county-level spatio-temporal distribution of opioid overdose rates within the state of Virginia and their association with aggregate socio-ecological factors.

Misunderstanding and Sensemaking Among Juvenile Probation Officers Working with Evidence-Based Practices.

Evidence-based practices and programs (EBPs) have been adopted in juvenile probation agencies nationwide to maximize the number of successful probation cases. However, various pragmatic studies have found that JPOs are not yielding the expected benefits when compared to efficacy studies (Lipsey et al., 2010; Taxman & Belenko, 2011).

Providing substance use disorder treatment in correctional settings: knowledge gaps and proposed research priorities-overview and commentary.

This manuscript is the product of the authors' discussions, literature overview, and consultation with experts in the field, and identifies important gaps in the evidence base for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment effectiveness within criminal justice (CJ) settings. Lacking from the extant literature are longitudinal investigations of treatment related outcomes during and after incarceration. Such studies could provide rich contextual data about treatment delivery and effectiveness across the CJ continuum, and would provide important insight into individual characteristics (e.

"I Just Don't Know What to Believe": Sensemaking during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Criminal Legal Involved Communities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, those involved with the criminal legal system experience disproportionate vulnerability to infection, transmission, and mortality, facing additional systemic barriers due to criminal legal involvement (CLI) (e.g., prior incarcerations or probationary status affecting employability or housing security).