Specialty Mental Health Probation in North Carolina

Specialty mental health probation for offenders with severe mental illness has been widely disseminated; however, randomized studies are needed to determine its effectiveness. The purpose of the study is to test the feasibility and efficacy of specialty mental health probation (SMHP) for probationers with mental illness in North Carolina. 320 adult probationers with mental illness in will be randomly assigned to specialty mental health probation (experimental condition) or usual probation (control condition). Probationers assigned to the experimental condition will be supervised by specialty mental health probation officers, who will have reduced caseloads and advanced training in mental health and other topics. Probationers assigned to the control condition will receive standard probation. Criminal justice and mental health outcomes will be examined.