RT Article
T1 A aimulation modeling approach for planning and costing jail diversion programs for persons with mental illness
JF Criminal justice and behavior
VO 39
IS 4
SP 434
OP 446
A1 Hughes, David
A2 Steadman, Henry J.
A2 Case, Brian
A2 Griffin, Patricia A.
A2 Leff, H. S.
LA English
YR 2012
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1886064490
AB A core public policy question for jail diversion programs, regardless of what outcomes they achieve, is whether and to what extent they generate cost savings. Apart from a general pattern of cost shifting from the criminal justice system to the community mental health system, studies on the costs of jail diversion programs have yielded limited and equivocal results. In response to the mixed results on cost findings, we tested a simulation model to project the fiscal impact of jail diversion programs using data from actual criminal justice and mental health systems and the best outcome data from the literature. Using data from Travis County, Texas, in 2006 and 2007, our simulations that produced a net savings to the county had two key findings: (a) Unless the most serious misdemeanants and low-level felons are included for diversion, there will be no cost savings since there are too few jails days avoided; and (b) the cost burden was shifted from the criminal justice system to the community-based service system, which is already strained for resources.
K1 cost savings
K1 Jail diversion
K1 Mental Illness
K1 simulation model
DO 10.1177/0093854811432434