Abstract
The national offender reentry movement, Second Chance Act, and the widespread transfer of offender programming to community corrections have coalesced to substantially increase treatment for mental health and substance disorders within the criminal justice system. Intervention commonly entails program evaluation for accountability and empirical evidence by which to specify what works. Though mixed methods evaluation is preferable to a singular qualitative or quantitative approach, process steps are commonly overlooked. This paper relates an implementation and process design and evaluation midpoint findings for the Louisiana 22nd Judicial District’s Behavioral Health Court program, a post-conviction treatment initiative for mental health offenders. Interview guides and a fidelity instrument facilitated site visit data collection. Findings inform program implementation intensity, performance, improvement opportunities, and related fidelity research.
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Acknowledgments
Research reported in this article was supported by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration and the United States Bureau of Justice Assistance, award # TI025928. Opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. Special thanks to former Court Administrator Adrienne Stroble for assistance with description of the study Parishes and the Behavioral Health Court’s history and logisitics.
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Miller, J.M., Khey, D.N. An Implementation and Process Evaluation of the Louisiana 22nd Judicial District’s Behavioral Health Court. Am J Crim Just 41, 124–135 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9326-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9326-2