Jail Screening Assessment Tool (JSAT)
The JSAT (Nicholls, Roesch, Olley, Ogloff, & Hemphill, 2004) is a structured interview designed to identify mental health problems and risk for suicide, self-harm, violence, and victimization among new admissions to jails and pre-trial facilities. The instrument relies upon structured professional judgment and is designed to be used by non-mental health professionals. That being said, screeners should have some familiarity with mental disorders. The JSAT has been validated for use with males and females within correctional institutions. Dr. Nicholls has also conducted introductory workshops on the JSAT to B.C. corrections and numerous pre-trial facilities across the province, as well as to the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.
Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System – The STAIR Model
In this book chapter (in press.) Dr. Butler, Dr. Nicholls, and Dr. Kate Rossiter examined the characteristics and needs of individuals with mental illness who come into contact with the law. Additionally, the authors discussed the psychosocial characteristics that can result in the overrepresentation of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system. Different aspects of the Canadian criminal justice system (police interactions, diversion programs, specialty courts, corrections, re-entry) were discussed, as well as the Canadian forensic mental health systems (including legal concepts such as fitness to stand trial and criminal responsibility). The STAIR Model (Screening, Triage, Assessment, Intervention, and Re-integration; Forrester, Till, Simpson, & Shaw, 2018) is also discussed, as it encapsulates the necessary service provisions for custodial settings. Dr. Nicholls also led a prior book chapter about how to assess and treat offenders with mental illness using the STAIR model.
Complex and Concurrent Disorders in the Provincial Correctional System in British Columbia (B.C.)
People with co-occurring mental disorders (MD) and substance use disorders (SUD) have substantially elevated risk of multiple incarcerations compared to those with either MD or SUD alone. In addition to increased involvement in the criminal justice system, people with complex co-occurring disorders (CCD) have increased mortality, suicide risk, adverse health outcomes, unemployment and homelessness after release from remand centre or jail.
This study, being conducted for Amanda Butler’s dissertation (co-supervised by Dr. Tonia Nicholls) will use mental health screening information and administrative justice data to estimate the prevalence/incidence of mental disorders among B.C. offenders, and examine the impact of mental and substance use disorders on criminal recidivism and reincarceration. This will be accomplished by analyzing over 10 years (~200,000 records) of data collected via the Jail Screening Assessment Tool (JSAT). The JSAT is a validated, detailed screening instrument for mental health and management needs that has been used in B.C. Corrections for nearly two decades.
This study is currently ongoing.
Measuring Changes to Overdose and All-Cause Mortality After the Transfer of Prison Medical Services to the Health Sector
The primary objective of this project will be to determine whether the transfer of responsibility for healthcare delivery in B.C. Provincial Correctional Centres has affected health care utilization and mortality following release from incarceration. The project will have two main aims:
Aim 1: Measure changes to the utilization of preventative health care services including mental health care; addictions treatment, primary health care, and acute care utilization (emergency department visits and hospitalizations) after the transfer of responsibility for correctional health services to public sector health organizations (PHSA)
Aim 2: Model changes to overdose and all-cause mortality in the five years before, and three years after, transfer of responsibility for correctional health services to PHSA.
This project is being led by Drs. A. Slaunwhite, T. Nicholls, H. Palis, and F. C. Schütz.
Client and Provider Satisfaction of Online Delivery of the Forensic Sexual Offences Program
The Forensic Sexual Offences Program (FSOP) was designed to provide a coordinated continuum of services to men who have committed sexual offences presently living in the community under BC legal supervision orders. As a result of COVID-19, the FSOP is now offered through a virtual platform and in-person with social distancing precautions. This study aims to evaluate client and clinician experiences with the FSOP in both virtual and in person formats. Participants will be provided with a short survey assessing several domains (e.g., reliability, quality, usability). It is hoped that results will help improve the delivery of future FSOP services. This project is ongoing, with data collection set to begin soon. The study is funded by a CIHR grant to Dr. Nicholls.