Social Triage and Exclusions in Community Services for the Criminalized

This article examines perspectives and practices related to social triage and the exclusion of criminalized and marginalized individuals in community services such as shelters, mental health, substance use, and court supports. Based on two years of fieldwork and interviews with 105 practitioners, I analyze narratives and practices related to working with people described as having (or being) complex, high-needs, or high-risk. I show that individual factors, such as risk, need, or responsivity, are but one type of factor considered when practitioners make decisions about triage or service eligibility. Building from theory about the governance of “risk” and “risky people,” I examine how organizational and systemic factors shape individualized understandings of and responses to risk. I argue that given current practices in under-resourced community supports, triage and resulting exclusions exacerbate social problems and contribute to punitive exclusions, especially for those who seek services, supports, or housing but have records of sexual offense, fire setting, drug use, violence, self-harm or so-called non-compliance. Examining these dynamics bolsters claims that we should shift the responsibilizing gaze upwards to pressure institutional and state bodies who could transform the landscape for practitioners and their clients.