Environmental factors’ influence on criminal legal involvement for people with serious mental illness

Abstract

Summary Efforts to assess the risk of criminal legal system involvement among people with serious mental illness (SMI) often rely on strategies that locate the risk at the individual level. The present study examines environmental factors that contribute to criminal legal involvement for people with SMI in mental health treatment settings. Thirty-one people with serious mental illness and prior criminal legal involvement were interviewed in this qualitative study. Interviews focused on factors that contributed to and protected against criminal legal involvement. The research team engaged in inductive thematic analysis of interview data. Findings Findings reveal that understanding of physical, social, and treatment environments is critical to risk assessment with this population. In highlighting the role of the environment, we offer findings that may lead to improved strategies for service delivery with this population. Complicating contemporary approaches to risk assessment, our findings suggest that mental health treatment systems that serve individuals with serious mental illness should engage in meaningful consideration of environmental factors. Applications Identification of protective and risk factors in clients’ physical, social, and treatment environments is critical for social work practice with individuals who have a history of criminal legal involvement and serious mental illness. Treatment settings can create opportunities for the development of protective factors by integrating wrap-around services, treatment services that follow an empowerment-participation strengths model, and post-incarceration services with clients.