The Police-Mental Health Linkage System
A Trial of a Police-Mental Health Linkage System for Jail Diversion and Reconnection to Care
3 other identifiers
interventional
1,405
1 country
2
Brief Summary
The aim of this randomized, controlled trial is to study the effectiveness of a potential new form of pre-arrest jail diversion for people with serious mental illnesses: the Police-Mental Health Linkage System. In the case of an encounter with a police officer, for half of the participants, during the background check, a message will notify the officer that the subject has mental health considerations. The notice contains a phone number of a provider working at the mental health clinic where the subject is receiving services, who can provide telephonic support to the officer. For the other half of participants, the message will not appear to the officers in the case of an encounter.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Feb 2019
Longer than P75 for not_applicable
2 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
October 21, 2018
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
November 14, 2018
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
February 6, 2019
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
April 12, 2024
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
April 12, 2024
CompletedSeptember 16, 2025
September 1, 2025
5.2 years
October 21, 2018
September 10, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Lower likelihood of being arrested and lower number of arrests for participants randomized to receive the Police-MH linkage system.
Hypothesis A: Patients randomized to the linkage system will be less likely to be arrested in the 24-month study period than those not in the system, based on administrative (rap) sheet data provided by GBI. Hypothesis B: Patients randomized to the linkage system will have fewer arrests than controls in that 24-month period.
24 months of study enrollment
Secondary Outcomes (1)
Lower number of absences from care of >3 months for participants randomized to receive the Police-MH linkage system.
24 months of study enrollment
Study Arms (2)
Intervention
EXPERIMENTALThe Police-Mental Health Linkage System In the case of an encounter between law enforcement and subjects randomized to this group, the officer will receive a notice disclosing that the participant receives services in a mental health clinic and that he/she has the opportunity to call to speak with a mental health professional.
No Intervention
NO INTERVENTIONIn the case of an encounter between law enforcement and subjects randomized to this arm of the study, the officer will not receive any notice.
Interventions
When, during an encounter, the police officer decides to call the number provided in the notice, the Linkage Specialist (a licensed mental health provider from the mental health service where the subject was recruited, who has access to the clinic's EMR) can provide telephonic support to the officer.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Receiving outpatient services from DeKalb, Gateway, Pineland, or Unison Community Service Boards in Georgia
- Able to speak/read English
- Clinical diagnosis of one of the following: psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder
- History of at least one prior arrest within the past 5 years
- Capacity to give informed consent
You may not qualify if:
- Enrolled in any other research project or currently enrolled in the Opening Doors to Recovery research project
- Known or suspected intellectual disability, mental retardation, or dementia
- Known or suspected autism-spectrum disorder, organic mental disorder, and/or traumatic brain injury
- Significant medical condition compromising ability to participate (e.g., short of breath, in pain)
- Has a guardian
- Received service less than 3 times in the previous year
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Columbia Universitylead
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)collaborator
Study Sites (2)
DeKalb Community Service Board
Decatur, Georgia, 30030, United States
Gateway Behavioral Health Services
Savannah, Georgia, 31406, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Michael T Compton, MD, MPH
Columbia University
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT
- Masking Details
- Subjects will not know the arm that they are randomized to.
- Purpose
- HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Professor of Psychiatry
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
October 21, 2018
First Posted
November 14, 2018
Study Start
February 6, 2019
Primary Completion
April 12, 2024
Study Completion
April 12, 2024
Last Updated
September 16, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-09
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Time Frame
- To Be Determined
- Access Criteria
- To Be Determined
Data collected from this clinical trials research will be deposited into the National database for Clinical Trials Related to Mental Illness (NDCT). In order to deposit the data, we will use a consent form that allows broad data sharing within the research community. A global unique identifier (GUID) will be created for each research participant using the software that NIMH will provide. Dr. Compton and Dr. Pauselli will work with NIMH to create data dictionaries that are relevant to their research. We will share our results, positive and negative, specific to the cohorts and outcome measures studied