Welcome to the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
JUNE 29, 2009
A recently released study documents a high prevalence of serious mental illnesses among the nation’s jail populations and it is no exception at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio in rural Stryker.
The new study, released June 1, was conducted by a team of researchers from the nonpartisan Council of State Governments Justice Center and Policy Research Associates. It found that 14.5 percent of males and 31 percent of females – or 16.9 percent overall – had serious mental illnesses. The percentage of women with serious mental illnesses in jails is double that of men. Researchers noted this was a major concern given the overall growth in the female jail population and the lack of research in past years.
Based on the research estimates, it indicates that there are as many as 2 million bookings of people in the United States with serious mental illnesses occurring each year.
At CCNO, about 20 percent of the population has mental health issues based on the issuance of psychotropic medications. CCNO has a psychologist, a psychiatrist as well as a mental health nurse available to evaluate inmates with a history of mental illness. Counseling sessions are held to discuss appropriate medications, address concerns as well as help develop a discharge plan prior to the inmate’s release. If necessary, an inmate can be placed on 10 or 20-minute watches if there is concern of self harm with appropriate staff reviewing the inmate’s mental heath status and making appropriate treatment plans. Emphasis is placed on maintaining, stabilizing and educating those inmates who need mental health care until their release.
During 2009, on average about 100 inmates at CCNO receive mental health programming assistance while incarcerated at CCNO. About a third is linked back into the community with the assistance of Recovery Services that provides programs and services for dual diagnosed inmates. Another third return to their previous mental health providers upon their release. The remaining third are transferred to a state facility, linked by the mental heath nurse or released before assistance can be provided.
CCNO Executive Director Jim Dennis said, “CCNO is turning into a surrogate mental health facility. CCNO has both acute psychiatric and long term chronic consumers. For many, we are their primary provider. They come in and we stabilize them on their medications. Some refuse to take their medications and become behavioral management problems.”
“At CCNO,” said Mr. Dennis, “We estimate that about 20 to 25 percent of the male population has mental health needs. We believe that those with shorter sentences may not be getting the services they need to include diagnoses and medication. We also believe that the female population is twice as likely to have mental health needs. Half of all females may have mental health needs.”
Mr. Dennis continued, “Thirty years ago, state mental health institutions were forced to release hundreds of patients to community mental health agencies with the idea that the new medications were a cure all and anything was better than the old state hospitals. I don’t believe anyone thought that jails and prisons would be part of the new mental health system. Clearly, corrections are a part of the equation but I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of the consumer. I think we need to reinvent the mental health system to help the chronically mentally ill instead of forcing jails to meet the needs of these consumers as though CCNO was a mental health agency.”
The report findings, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Services, underscore the challenges faced by jail administrators to address the needs of individuals with mental illnesses while having to deal with budget cuts and limited resources.
The data was collected between 2002 and 2006. Serious mental illnesses included major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic disorder, delusional disorder and psychotic disorder.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policy makers at the local, state and federal levels from all branches of government. It provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies informed by available evidence to increase public safety and strengthen communities.This site was updated on June 10, 2010