Reducing the burden of mental illness on the criminal justice system: Evidence from light-touch outreach

Abstract

One quarter of people in jail have a serious mental illness (SMI); we study a county in a multi-state area that screens all inmates to identify those with one. Immediately after jail exit, county staff attempt to contact and connect these individuals to a mental healthcare provider, making successful connections in one in four cases. As outreach began on a specific date and residents of neighboring counties are ineligible for outreach, we compare residents and non-residents exiting the same jail over time in a difference-in-differences design. When the program begins, 180-day recidivism rates fall by 12 percentage points more for eligible residents than for would-be-eligible non-residents. Measured effects at one year are consistent with a persistent impact over time. We also find suggestive evidence that recidivism effects are larger for people without a history of mental healthcare.