Reducing mental health recidivism in corectional facilities Article

Reducing mental health recidivism in corectional facilities - Article Example The research revealed that mental illness treatment and employment services are the most effective methods that can be used to reduce mental health recidivism in correctional facilities. Introduction Mental health recidivism refers to the relapse of a prisoner’s mental health due to provision of improper rehabilitation services. Criminals, who do not receive proper mental health treatment during imprisonment, show a higher degree of recidivism as compared to the prisoners who receive proper rehabilitation services. Rate of recidivism is the degree to which criminals come back to prison either for the same offense or for some other criminal offense. A higher rate of recidivism indicates lack of rehabilitation services for prisoners because of which they cannot stop themselves from relapsing into criminal activities upon release from the prisons. It also increases government expenses in terms of incarceration and trial expenses, as well as causes threat to the overall peace of s ociety. On the other hand, a lower degree of mental health recidivism indicates presence of a proper correctional management system which performs its role efficiently to improve the negative mindset of criminals. A number of mental health recidivism-reduction methods are available which can help correctional officers reduce the rate of recidivism among prison inmates. Some of those methods include educational programs, employment programs, treatment programs, parole based programs, and faith based programs. However, mental illness treatment and employment programs work best for reducing mental health recidivism rates. In this paper, we will examine the extent to which mental illness treatment and employment programs help prisoners recover from mental illness and serve the society as normal citizens. We will review existing literature to gather detailed information. Methodology We used questionnaires and personal interviews to determine the role of mental illness treatment and emplo yment programs in reducing the rate of mental health recidivism. We interviewed ten correctional officers and twenty-five prisoners from three different prisons to gather information about the current rate of recidivism and the types of rehabilitation services that are provided to prisoners. The questionnaire was able to obtain relevant information about the past imprisonment histories of the prisoners. The prisons visited for research included Albion Correctional Facility, Bare Hill Correctional Facility, and Buffalo Correctional Facility. All of these prisons are located in New York. Results The results of the research indicated that rehabilitation services being provided to prisoners in these prisons are not up to the standards. The recidivism reduction programs implemented in Albion Correctional Facility and Bare Hill Correctional Facility include treatment for substance abuse, treatment for mental illness, and employment programs. On the other hand, the recidivism reduction tec hniques being used in Buffalo Correctional Facility include employment and educational programs. One-third of the mentally ill prisoners revealed that they have been imprisoned for more than two times in their lives. They said that correctional officers do not give proper attention to the needs of mentally