Publications by authors named "Ira Packer"

Individuals within the criminal justice system are at greater risk of substance use-related morbidity and mortality and have substantial healthcare needs. In this quasi-experimental study, we assessed utilization patterns of Massachusetts Medicaid Program (MassHealth) services and associated expenditures among drug court probationers compared to a propensity score-matched sample of traditional court probationers. Risk of reoffending, employment status, age, and living arrangement data were used to calculate propensity scores and match probationers between the two court types, producing a final sample of 271 in each court (N=542).

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Across the United States, court orders for competence to stand trial (CST) evaluations and competence restoration services have been increasing much more rapidly than states can provide these services, prompting what has been called a national "competency crisis." The challenge in providing timely competence restoration services has, in several jurisdictions, prompted a change in competence evaluations. Evaluators are more often required to address broader clinical issues-such as recommending placement or addressing the urgency of hospitalization-rather than addressing only CST.

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In 2015, the Office of Diversion and Reentry Division (ODR), an internal department of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, was created to redirect individuals with serious mental illness from the criminal justice system. Part of ODR's mission is to identify individuals currently incarcerated in a Los Angeles County jail who are experiencing a serious mental health disorder and, to the extent practical, provide them with appropriate community-based care with the goals of reducing recidivism and improving health outcomes. Such redirection from the traditional criminal justice process is often characterized as diversion.

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Background And Objectives: Drug courts provide an array of substance use treatments and community-based services for probationers struggling with substance use disorders. We assessed substance use treatment services utilization and related expenditures and relapse and recidivism outcomes and identified predictors of cost of provision of substance use treatment services in a matched cohort of Massachusetts probationers in drug courts and traditional courts.

Methods: This was an observational quasi-experimental study with 542 propensity-score-matched probationers initiating drug court between August 1, 2015 and February 28, 2018 and a minimum 6-month follow-up period.

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Mental health expert witness testimony involves complex tasks, and the capacity to perform under pressure is a fundamental skill of a forensic professional. In this context, it is important to understand the nuances of the provision of expert witness testimony. There have been several efforts to examine gender bias across legal and medical systems.

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Among 5,181 inmates indeterminately sentenced to life in California who were evaluated for parole suitability between January 2009 and November 2010, 11% were granted parole. After administration of the HCR-20, LS/CMI, and PCL-R, psychologists judged most inmates (78%) to be at low or moderate risk for future violence. This overall risk rating (ORR) was significantly associated with parole suitability decisions.

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Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system have been widely reported, as have racial and ethnic disparities in diagnoses and certain aspects of clinical management. This study examined the association between race and ethnicity and dispositions for pretrial defendants who were referred for forensic mental health evaluations.

Methods: Available data were reviewed for all defendants in Massachusetts who were referred to a Massachusetts court clinic from 1994 to 2001 for a screening evaluation of their competence to stand trial, their criminal responsibility, or both.

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Lack of access to hospitalization is an often-cited risk factor for incarceration among persons with severe mental illness. This proposition is examined by comparing self-reports of lifetime psychiatric hospitalization histories of mentally ill jail inmates with data from a national sample of non-incarcerated mentally ill. Roughly 52% of mentally ill jail detainees reported at least one psychiatric hospitalization, a rate nearly three times that of the comparison group.

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Objectives: One of the goals of managed mental health care has been to lower the use of inpatient psychiatric treatment. In the past, interventions that have limited hospitalization for persons with severe mental illness have led to greater involvement of these individuals with the criminal justice and forensic mental health systems. The authors examined associations between Medicaid managed mental health care in Massachusetts and rates of admission to the inpatient forensic mental health service maintained by the state's mental health department.

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