It is estimated that in the US, some 4 Million people previously incarcerated continue to be monitored on probation and parole and, though there is no systematic recording of that data, of that monitored population some half a million have varying forms of mental health disorders. If the assumption is that the criminal justice system is meant to rehabilitate rather than punish, a total absence of accurate statistics re. who may need - benefit from - an appropriate support structure, has serious implication. The objective of Adaptive Testing Technologies Inc is to move towards enabling compilation of useful/accurate statistics by piloting an online test for mental illnesses among Cook County probationers. If successful, the innovative program being tackle by Adaptive Testing Technologies personnel could serve as a model: a test that can be taken from any computer, smartphone or tablet with an internet connection. Designated CAT-MH and anchored in 15 years of continuous NIH funding, the system has already been used by UChicago physicians to provide treatment. An article published in the journal Psychiatric Services found that the CAT-MH accurately identified the presence of mental health issuesmeasuring the severity of disorders such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicide risk. TThe effort is now to apply the test to confront problems in the criminal justice system - enabling a more scientifically grounded understanding of how people with mental illnesses get caught in the cycle of incarceration: information that could go a long way toward producing better solutions. Screening those on probation for mental illnesses could enable more to be connected to needed services, having important impact not only on those individuals but on decarceration at large.
