COSIG CONFERENCE BROCHURE.pdf - Drexel University College ...

COSIG Co-Occurring Disorders Conference, Hershey PA, May 15-17, 2006
What is a forensic issue?
Forensic Prerequisites to
Facilitate Diversion
Sam K. Gully, III
• Forensic is generally associated with matters
that involve an overlap of law, science, and
health (physical/mental).
• The term is also used to describe judicial
processes and court proceedings.
• It is also used to describe debate and public
discourse.
• For our purposes, it refers to mental health and
contact with the criminal justice system.
Forensically Related Positions
Cont’d
• Forensic psychiatrist
or psychologist
• Corrections
Psychologist
• Criminologists
• Police Chiefs
• Consumers
• Legislators
• Probation Officers
• Parole Officers
• Judges
• County Executives
• State Corrections
Executives
• Jail Administrators
• Mental Health
Advocates
• Judicial Officers
• Mental Health
Administrators
• Researchers
• Crime victims
• Mental Health
Providers
• Prosecutors
• Defense Attorneys
• Sheriffs
• Police Officers
• Mental Health
Professionals
• Case Managers
• Substance Abuse
Professionals
• Correctional Mental
Health Officials
Fact Sheets
(MH/CJ, 2002; GAINS Center, 2003)
• Today, there are over 2 million people
incarcerated in U.S. prisons or jails, the
equivalent of one in every 142 U.S.
residents—and another 5 million people
on probation or parole.
• Approximately 10 million people are
booked in U.S. jails over the course of a
year.
Cont’d
• About 5% of the U.S. population has a serious
mental illness (SMI)—about 16% of the prison
system has SMI.
• Men involved in the public mental health system
are four times as likely to be incarcerated as
men in the general population—for women the
ratio is six to one.
• Three-quarters of inmates have a co-occurring
substance –related disorder.
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