BeyondtheBridge:EvaluatingaNovelMentalHealth ProgramintheNewYorkCityJailSystem

The concentration of persons with serious mental illness in jails and prisons is a growing problem for managers of these systems as well as patients who come to be incarcerated. As the proportion of jail and prison inmates with mental illness increases, so too does friction between these patients and the rigid correctional setting in which they are housed. 1 Approximately one third of persons admitted into the New York City jail system become recipients of mental health services while in jail, with one quarter of these patients diagnosed with mental illnesses meeting criteria for serious mental illness. Consequently, between 700 and 1000 of the approximately 12 000 inmates in the New York City jail system have serious mental illness at a given time. Most patients with a serious mental illness designation are housed in dedicated mental observation units (MOUs) that are staffed with specially trained security and mental health professionals. Patients who exhibit psychosis or other symptoms that cannot be effectively managed in these units are transferred to a nearby hospital forensic ward for a higher level of care. In the New York City jail