Descriptive study of older adults encountered by crisis intervention team (CIT) law enforcement officers.

Increasingly, older adults who experience a mental health crisis come to the attention of crisis intervention team (CIT) law enforcement officers. These encounters are due largely to a lack of local mental health care resources. With few options available, individuals call 911 for assistance when an older adult exhibits alarming behavior.

Evaluation of an intensive in-home family treatment program to prevent out-of-home placement.

Family preservation programs were developed out of concern that some abused or neglected children were being placed unnecessarily in foster care without adequate attempts first being made to rehabilitate and retain the intact family. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an intensive, in-home family preservation program, which provides counseling services to families at imminent risk of having a child or children removed from the home. Pre- and post-intervention scores showed statistically significant, positive change between the initial and termination assessments across five domains: family environment, family social support, family interactions, parent(s)/caregivers, and child well-being.

Drug courts and mental health courts: implications for social work.

In recent years communities across the United States have instituted specialized criminal courts for defendants with substance abuse disorders and mental illness. These specialized courts seek to prevent incarceration and facilitate community-based treatment for offenders, while at the same time protecting public safety. The authors describe two types of specialized courts: drug courts and mental health courts.