Jill C Fodstad, Rachel Russell, Lauren O Bryant, Lauren J Tadevich, Deanna Dwenger, Michael A Gray
{"title":"Improving Care for Autistic Youth in Correctional Settings.","authors":"Jill C Fodstad, Rachel Russell, Lauren O Bryant, Lauren J Tadevich, Deanna Dwenger, Michael A Gray","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250079-25","DOIUrl":"10.29158/JAAPL.250079-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Youth on the autism spectrum who engage in delinquent or violent crimes can be adjudicated to juvenile correctional settings. These settings, which are meant to successfully reintegrate youth back into the community through education, counseling, and skills programs, are often ill-equipped to navigate the unique needs of youth on the autism spectrum. As a result, autistic youth in juvenile correctional settings often do poorly, minimizing the likelihood that successful reintegration occurs. The purpose of this review is to summarize the literature on the prevalence of autistic youth in correctional settings and their needs, as well as the standard of care often afforded to them in these settings. Finally, we will present suggested strategies informed by the literature whereby adjudicated autistic youth are provided services and support that are feasible in a correctional setting and align with autism-informed, evidence-based practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"363-372"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145574718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Restorative Justice and the Competency Crisis.","authors":"Logan Graddy","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250077-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.250077-25","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":"53 4","pages":"354-358"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145670290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rehabilitating Youth in Juvenile Corrections.","authors":"Cheryl D Wills","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250080-25","DOIUrl":"10.29158/JAAPL.250080-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Juvenile correctional programs that focus solely on safety, education, and structure yield suboptimal outcomes. Youth in these facilities often have learning disorders, and adaptive challenges, have been exposed to severe trauma, and have mental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder. Consequently, rehabilitation programs must be comprehensive, individualized, developmentally informed, and trauma-informed to achieve better outcomes. It is imperative that staff receive training to identify, intervene in, and report specific behaviors. This approach broadens staff skill sets, addresses the rehabilitation needs of a larger group of youth, generates data that facilitate accurate diagnoses and treatment planning, and enhances the likelihood of equitable rehabilitation for all youth.</p>","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"373-376"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145597980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Different Perspectives on Managing Patients on Conditional Release.","authors":"Ronald F Means, Danielle R Robinson","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250090-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.250090-25","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":"53 4","pages":"359-362"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145670251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reflections on Missing White Women and the Gabby Petito Case.","authors":"Katie Kruse, Camille Tastenhoye, Susan Hatters Friedman, Nina Ross, Renée Sorrentino","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250081-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.250081-25","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":"53 4","pages":"348-353"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145670208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shaheen A Darani, Stephanie R Penney, Genevieve Walker, Courtney Brennan, Remar Mangaoil, Faisal Islam, Treena Wilkie, Alexander I F Simpson
{"title":"Exploring Secure Recovery Knowledge, Skills, and Education Needs of Forensic Staff.","authors":"Shaheen A Darani, Stephanie R Penney, Genevieve Walker, Courtney Brennan, Remar Mangaoil, Faisal Islam, Treena Wilkie, Alexander I F Simpson","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250076-25","DOIUrl":"10.29158/JAAPL.250076-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recovery-oriented models are rarely taught to care providers, and knowledge is insufficient on the practical challenges of implementing recovery-oriented care in secure settings with consistency and fidelity. This study identifies the knowledge, skills, and education needs of forensic care staff related to the practice and implementation of secure recovery. Our mixed-methods approach using a needs assessment survey and focus groups found that most (73.2-77.8%) staff surveyed (<i>n</i> = 108) reported \"excellent\" or \"good\" knowledge and understanding of recovery-oriented care. Fewer (43.5%) staff felt confident in their ability to administer risk and recovery-oriented assessment tools in forensic settings. The conceptual domains of knowledge, skills, and education needs were clear in focus group data. Data reflected a varied understanding among staff regarding secure recovery principles and variation as to what recovery \"looks like\" in practice. Participants perceived a lack of available training and support when commencing employment in forensic mental health, and specific gaps in knowledge and training were noted in relation to the structured risk and recovery tools used in our program. Results from this study will be used to improve forensic patient care through implementation of a tailored educational curriculum in secure recovery for forensic staff.</p>","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"415-428"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145597892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Tao of Forensic Psychiatry.","authors":"Logan Graddy","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250047-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.250047-25","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":"53 3","pages":"309-311"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144993904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding the Preference for Incarceration Among Some Forensic Psychiatric Inpatients in Ontario.","authors":"Alexandra Campbell, Jamie Robertson","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250045-25","DOIUrl":"10.29158/JAAPL.250045-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Some international jurisdictions route individuals for whom criminal responsibility is foreclosed because of mental disorder from the penal system into a forensic psychiatry regime. Such rerouting might be presumed preferable for such individuals, because it is intended to offer a humane alternative to incarceration and is often viewed by the public as an avenue for accused individuals to avoid accountability. Our clinical experience corroborates European findings that at least some individuals who have been placed into forensic psychiatric care would have preferred to remain in the penal system. We report on our preliminary qualitative investigation into the reasons why some forensic psychiatric inpatients in the Canadian province of Ontario would prefer to be incarcerated. Using a grounded theory methodology, we identify six thematic categories of reasons for this preference. Drawing on these themes, we propose that participants perceive inpatient forensic psychiatric detention as posing a greater threat to personal identity than incarceration as well as feel despair associated with the perceived futility of resisting identity-shaping pressures in this environment. Participants' concerns re-emphasize the clinical challenge, but also the importance, of providers' supporting patients to associate hope rather than harm with the aim of personal transformation through inpatient forensic psychiatric care.</p>","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"251-263"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144638430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anthony Tamburello, Ifeoma Anwunah-Okoye, Rusty Reeves, Patti Gerardo Arroyo
{"title":"Toward Equity in Prescribing Buprenorphine in the New Jersey Department of Corrections.","authors":"Anthony Tamburello, Ifeoma Anwunah-Okoye, Rusty Reeves, Patti Gerardo Arroyo","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250046-25","DOIUrl":"10.29158/JAAPL.250046-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including buprenorphine, are effective for the treatment of incarcerated persons (IPs) with opioid use disorder (OUD). Racial disparities in such prescribing have been researched in both community and correctional settings. We describe a performance improvement (PI) project to reduce the disparities in prescribing buprenorphine in the New Jersey Department of Corrections that involved public-facing educational efforts directed toward both prescribers and potential patients. Using reports designed to collect baseline and follow-up summary data from the electronic medical record and institutional database, we showed that, from 2021 to 2024, for the entire NJDOC census, the rate of prescribing for Black IPs increased from 3.9 to 6.3 percent (<i>p</i> < .00001) and for Hispanic IPs from 6.6 to 9.6 percent (<i>p</i> = .0009), whereas prescribing for White IPs was unchanged (19.0-18.0%, <i>p</i> = .362). When considering interest in buprenorphine by persons with OUD (either expressing interest or receiving a prescription for it), we noted increases in Black (41.1-56.5%, <i>p</i> < .0001) and Hispanic (54.9-69.7%, <i>p</i> = 0) IPs, but not White (71.6-73.4%, <i>p</i> = .360) IPs. Compared with a study on MOUD prescribing in this setting in 2019, the proportion of IPs prescribed buprenorphine identifying as Black increased (17.0-41.1%, <i>p</i> < .00001). These results support educational efforts for improving access to treatment with MOUD in carceral settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"264-272"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144643775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jeffrey Swanson, Michele Easter, Madeline Stenger, James Goodrich, Brett Gardner, Heather Zelle, Richard Bonnie
{"title":"Firearm Disqualification and Rights Restoration Among Adults with Mental Illness in Virginia.","authors":"Jeffrey Swanson, Michele Easter, Madeline Stenger, James Goodrich, Brett Gardner, Heather Zelle, Richard Bonnie","doi":"10.29158/JAAPL.250048-25","DOIUrl":"10.29158/JAAPL.250048-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study evaluated legal prohibitions on firearm possession in a population of 128,090 adults in Virginia with a serious mental illness and record of at least one psychiatric hospitalization between 1998 and 2015. Approximately half the study population acquired a gun-disqualifying record of a mental health adjudication or felony criminal conviction. Among persons with a mental health disqualification, the annualized arrest rate for gun-involved violent crime subsequently declined by 35.9 percent during the prohibition period; no such decline was seen in the arrest rate for crimes not involving guns. The likelihood of arrest for a gun-involved violent crime was further reduced among people whose disqualifying record was reported to the background check database (odds ratio (OR) = .7; 95% confidence interval (CI) .6 - .8; <i>p</i> ≤ .0010). In a subgroup analysis of individuals (<i>n</i> = 261) who lost and regained firearm eligibility, 14.6 percent had a subsequent arrest for a violent crime, 1.5 percent for a gun-involved crime. Regarding suicide, 1.5 percent of the restored group died of intentional self-inflicted injuries, half of those involving a firearm. The study provides evidence that firearm prohibitions were partially effective, especially when disqualifying records were reported to the background check database. Study findings give cause for modest concern for the safety consequences of gun rights restoration as practiced in one state.</p>","PeriodicalId":47554,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law","volume":" ","pages":"273-286"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144974183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}