Specialty Mental Health Probation in North Carolina

Substance Use Clinical Trial

— SMHP  

Official title:

Specialty Mental Health Probation in North Carolina

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02990026
• Other study ID #: 14-0492
• Secondary ID: 2015-SM-BX-0004
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 22, 2016
• Est. completion date: September 30, 2019

Study information

• Verified date: March 2020
• Source: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial 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.

Description:

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 severe mental illness in will be randomly assigned to receive specialty mental health probation (experimental condition) or standard 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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 311
• Est. completion date: September 30, 2019
• Est. primary completion date: September 30, 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 21 Years to 64 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 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

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Criminal Behavior
• Mental Disorders
• Mental Illness
• Substance Use

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Specialty Mental Health Probation
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

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	North Carolina

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill	North Carolina Department of Public Safety

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Recidivism	Recidivism, probation revocation or other criminal justice events	24 months
Secondary	Mental health service engagement	Administrative data from local and state mental health authorities will be accessed to assess mental health service utilization	24 months
Secondary	Mental health functioning	Assessment of mental health functioning - standardized measure (Symptom Checklist - SCL-10-R)	6 months
Secondary	Social support	Assessment of social support - standardized measure (Medical Outcomes Study - Social Support Scale [MOS])	6 months
Secondary	Life events checklist	Assessment of traumatic life events - standardized measure (Life Events Checklist - LEC-5 Standard)	Baseline
Secondary	Substance use	Criminal justice contact related to substance use - via administrative records	24 months
Secondary	Social network (researcher-created measure of social support network)	Access and utilization of pro-social network as measured by a researcher-created instrument	6 months
Secondary	Dual Role Relationship Inventory (DRRI, standardized measure)	Assessment of probationer's relationship with probation officer	baseline, 6 months