Specialty Mental Health Probation in North Carolina

NCT02990026 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 14-04922015-SM-BX-0004
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 311
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Mental Illness; Substance Use; Criminal Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Recidivism

  Recidivism, probation revocation or other criminal justice events

  24 months

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Mental health service engagement

  24 months

• Mental health functioning

  6 months

• Social support

  6 months

• Life events checklist

  Baseline

• Substance use

  24 months

Study Arms (2)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Specialty mental health probation - delivered by probation officers who receive specialized training and ongoing clinical consultation with a licensed mental health professional and who have reduced caseloads of exclusively mentally ill offenders.

Behavioral: Specialty Mental Health Probation

Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Standard probation - delivered by a standard probation officer - care as usual

Behavioral: Specialty Mental Health Probation

Interventions

Specialty Mental Health Probation BEHAVIORAL

Specialty mental health probation includes the following components: (1) exclusively mentally ill caseload of probationers; (2) reduced caseload of 40-45 probationers; (3) problem-solving supervision orientation; (4) ongoing training and consultation; and (5) greater connection with local mental health services

Control; Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years - 64 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Qualifying diagnosis of severe mental illness - schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder + on probation in North Carolina + capable of passing study competency quiz administered by the research team

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: lead
• North Carolina Department of Public Safety: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27759, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Criminal Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced Disorders; Behavior

Study Officials

• Gary Cuddeback

  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 6, 2016
• First Posted: December 12, 2016
• Study Start: September 22, 2016
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2019
• Study Completion: September 30, 2019
• Last Updated: March 17, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)