Interventions in Forensic Settings: Juveniles in Residential Placement, Defendants in Drug Courts or Mental Health Courts, and Defendants in Forensic Hospitals as Incompetent to Stand Trial

Abstract

Interventions for criminal justice–involved populations have been an increasing focus of theoretical and research attention, and have also been recognized as among the “next frontier” of priorities for the forensic mental health professions. In this chapter, we present a description of three different kinds of interventions with criminal justice populations. These interventions—for adjudicated delinquents, defendants diverted into specialized courts, and defendants hospitalized as incompetent to stand trial—represent a range of population ages, traditional versus relatively new modalities, and stages of the juvenile/criminal justice systems. Perhaps surprisingly, the more established of these interventions (juvenile placement and forensic hospitalization) have relatively less empirical data regarding their effectiveness than do the newer drug and mental health court modalities. In this chapter, we summarize the evidence that does exist, describe existing and recommended practices where indicated (unfortunately, often without the assistance of effectiveness data), and draw conclusions regarding our future research needs in light of this discussion.