The Importance Of Mental Care In Prisons

I am an administrator with New York City Health and Hospital, Corporation. The unit I work for is responsible for providing mental health treatment for all mentally ill inmates throughout all of the New York City Correctional facilities. Services include, but are not limited to, providing mental health counseling services during the inmates’ incarceration, referrals to outside community treatment providers, assistance with obtaining Medicaid insurance, linkage to housing assistance, medications at the time of release, etc. The forensic population is predominately African-American and Latino, disenfranchised men and women. They are also often heavy substance abusers who are in need of psychotropic medications for the purpose of obliging them with their inability to obtain the illicit substances they were able to retrieve while in the community. Other patients engage in mental health treatment because they are in need of assistance with coping with a new or existing incarceration; lastly, referrals to the department are due to a continuity of care for patients who were receiving mental health treatment in the community.
Ray is a 27-year-old, single, domiciled, Afghanistan male who was arrested and charged with possession of a fire
At this stage, the main focus of the encounter is for the patient to receive a referral for ongoing mental health treatment when they are released to the community. If the staff learns that the patient will not be returning to the community because he/she is going to state prison, awaiting deported, extradition, or going to a state hospital, a declination will be provided instead of a referral for on-going mental health treatment. Even if the patient declines services with me, they will continue to receive mental health treatment during their incarceration, unless, they opt not to participate in