Racial Variation in Effects of Mental Health Court Experience on Recidivism

Background and Purpose: Mental health courts (MHCs) are diversion programs specialized for offenders with mental illness. While research consistently has demonstrated the efficacy of MHCs in decreasing recidivism, little is known about how court experiences differ by racial minority status and how this variation affects future criminal behaviors among offenders with mental illness. The purpose of this study was to examine how MHC experiences and recidivism differ based upon race.

Methods: Data were obtained from the MacArthur MHC Project, which is a multi-site and prospective research project that involved the participants from four MHCs across three states. The sample consisted of 304 MHC participants including 172 self-identified White and 132 self-identified Black respondents. Arrest records were obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (18 months before and after enrollment in the MHC). Recidivism was measured as the number of arrests during the 12-months after enrollment. MHC experiences were operationalized with measures of program satisfaction, life changes, court sanctions, and court incentives. Independent samples t-tests and chi-square tests were conducted to compare sample characteristics between majority and minority respondents, and a negative binomial regression was conducted to examine the effect of MHC experience on recidivism.  

Results: Bivariate statistics indicated that minority respondents had a higher number of arrests, earlier age of first arrest, and a higher number of arrests since age 15, compared to White counterparts. However, minority respondents reported more positive MHC experiences than majority respondents (i.e., higher program satisfaction, more life changes as a direct benefit of the program, more incentives). Results of the negative binomial regression model indicated that life changes had positive effects on arrest whereas court sanctions were associated with increased number of arrest for both White and Black respondents. Higher program satisfaction was positively associated with recidivism but, only among minority respondents. 

Conclusion and Implications: Racial minority groups may come to MHCs with substantially different backgrounds than White-majority MHC participants. Despite these differences, findings underscore the importance of life changes after program enrollment in predicting future criminal behaviors among offenders with mental illness, for both racial minority and majority groups. MHCs may not only be successful in reducing recidivism but may also decrease racial/ethnic variation in the experiences of MHC participants. To provide adequate services for offenders with mental illness in the criminal justice system, mental health professionals should ensure the life change as a direct benefit of the program, which can facilitate decreasing future criminal activities.