This document summarizes a presentation on mental illness among incarcerated individuals. It finds that approximately 60% of prisoners suffer from mental illness, much higher than the general public. In Louisville, 25% of jailed individuals have a serious mental illness. The presentation examines how incarcerated individuals with mental illness experience oppression, including marginalization, exploitation, cultural imperialism, violence, and powerlessness. It proposes investigating rates of mental illness in prisons, current treatment programs, and identifying solutions to better address inmates' mental health needs and minimize social injustices they face.

1. Mental Illness and
Incarcerated Individuals
SW603 SJAP Presentation
By: Tiffany Bystra, Jessica Callahan, Maresha Cash, & Deniesha Chapman

2. Mental
Health &
Incarcerated
Individuals
• An approximate 60% of individuals in the
prison and jail systems suffer from mental
illness (Raphael & Stoll, 2013)
• This equates to nearly five times the rate of
mental illness among the general public.

3. Mental
Health &
Incarcerated
Individuals in
Louisville
• Louisville Metro processes about 33,000
inmate per year. Because of overcrowding,
inmates do not have many resources
available to them. Overcrowding is
something to just deal with rather than
something to try to change for the Louisville
Metro facility.
• Two officers took on the responsibility of
getting incarcerated individuals to and from
treatment facilities, leaving the correctional
facility understaffed during those times.
• Twenty-five percent of Louisville Metro’s
jailed people “suffer serious and persistent
mental illness” (LouisvilleKy.gov, n.d.).

4. Five Faces of
Oppresssion
Marginalization
Violence
Exploitation
Powerlessness
Cultural
Imperialism

5. Marginalization
• Marginalization is face of oppression to
consider as evidenced by the
“disproportionate number of ethnic
minorities in prison” (Kreek, 2011, p.6-7)
• The social stigmas attached particularly
amongst violent offenders which creates
further distance and marginalization to
these oppressed groups (Devine et al.,
2004).

6. Exploitation
• Exploitation perpetuates disparities and
hardships faced by prisoners with mental
health problems,. It can be understood as
“social processes that bring about a transfer
of energies from one group to another to
produce unequal distributions” (Young,
2014, p. 174-195).
• As such, prisoners with mental health
problems may be seen as stuck in a cycle of
exploitation when a facility benefits fiscally
from the labor of prisoners. Those with
chronic mental health concerns whose
vocational success outside of the criminal
justice system is limited may continue to
cycle through the prison system and be
subject to participating in labor that
disproportionately benefits the prison at the
expense of the unfair wages to the prisoner
(Browne, 2010).

7. Cultural
Imperialism
• Cultural imperialism is the method that
society views the abilities of one group as
superior to another.
• Cultural imperialism may demonstrate
itself in the assumption of certain
characteristics, behaviors, and tendencies
amongst the inmate population who is
afflicted by mental health challenges.

8. Violence
• Oppressed groups may face violence
based on the aspect of their identity
which places them in said group.
• Mental health disorders and propensity
for violent behavior are often presumed
as being closely related; however,
evidence by Monahan (1992, p. 511)
suggests that although mental health
disorders “may be a consistent, albeit
modest, risk factor for the occurrence of
violence” public perception of the
correlation is much higher than it is in
acutality.

9. Powerlessness
• By nature of the criminal justice system,
oppressed inmates with unaddressed or
underdiagnosed mental health
disturbances are particularly vulnerable to
themes of powerlessness as many
elements of their daily lives are out of
their control, including: times to eat as
well as what is offered, reduced
opportunities to engage in positive and
productive social relationships, reduced
occupational justice to pursue vocations
that promote self-efficacy, as well as
limited exposure to mental health
promoting environments such as exposure
to natural light and nature.

10. Project Overview
• The purpose of this social justice action project is to investigate the incidence of
mental illness amongst inmates within the United States criminal justice system, as
well as identify current factors that support and/or inhibit institutional capacities to
address the mental health needs of the inmates. In addition, current practice in
identifying and treating inmates with mental illness will be investigated to better
understand how plans of care are created and thus outcome measures collected in the
current state of mental health services offered in prison systems. Informed by current
evidence, the group will draft proposals both on the micro and macro level in an effort
to address current gaps in mental health care for prisoners and to minimize social
injustices faced by this oppressed group.

11. Project Importance
• The impact on a mezzo level can help jail and prisons increase their work ethics. How
police officers treat the inmate has a significant effect on the inmate's psyche. Police
officers have to treat inmates who are mentally ill with special care. "In prison, more
than 50% of those who were medicated for mental health conditions at admission did
not receive pharmacotherapy in prison (Gonzalez, Connell, 2014)." If an inmate with a
mental illness is not receiving treatment in jail, they are likely to misbehave due to
their condition and stay incarcerated longer.
• This project can also increase the assistance inmates with mental illness receive after
being released from jail or prison. Helping inmates after release helps their chances of
not being arrested again.

12. Project
Goals
1. Identify the current state of mental
illness among incarcerated individuals
2. Identify and recommend potential 2-
3 solutions
3. Identify 2-3 strategies that social
work curriculums can implement to
foster enthusiasm and competence in
students for social justice action for
inmates with mental illness.

13. Identify the
current state of
mental illness
among
incarcerated
individuals
• Through research and interviews with the
agencies we will volunteer with we aim to
learn about the rates of mental illness
among incarcerated individuals.
• We will also research and learn about the
current alternatives to incarceration and
treatment programs for individuals in the
prison system.
• We will present our findings to our
classmates and create a shareable
document which our peers can share with
their practicum or work agencies to raise
awareness. Our shareable document will be
available online to share via social media.

14. New Albany
Floyd County
– Volunteer
Experience
• Ann Carruthers, a former DCS agent, has
created a System of Care that involves
filling in gaps for struggling children and
families. She works with multiple
organizations like DCS, the New Albany
Floyd County Library where she is a board
member, and a member of the school
board.
• What has been observed is that by the
third grade, the trajectory of the life of
the child can be determined.
• The most resilient schools in the U.S.
provide trauma informed academics and
mental health first aid. Ann is currently in
mental health first aid training.

15. Identify and
recommend
2-3 potential
solutions
• This project will allow our group to identify
two to three solutions to improve the lives
of individuals with mental illness within the
US prison system. These solutions will cover
interventions at the micro, mezzo, and
macro levels. Our volunteer experiences will
provide us with first hand knowledge of the
current state of incarcerated individuals
with mental illness, as well as the current
interventions and solutions that exist.
Examining and evaluating what is currently
being done will allow us to propose
educated solutions. As we learn more and
determine our solutions we will continue to
refine our actions and how we can create
change.

16. Identify 2-3
Strategies
for Social
Work
Curriculums
• By encouraging and promoting themes of
social justice advocacy in the foundational
core of a curriculum, social work students
may be more apt to adopt a solutions-based
approach to address institutional disparities
faced by oppressed groups such as prisoners
with mental health diagnoses. Objectively
identifying 2-3 strategies that social work
programs can incorporate as part of
foundational curriculum can instill timely,
proactive, and actions-oriented philosophies
in students who are still impressionable and
developing understanding of their role in
social work and future advocacy efforts.

17. Project Logistics
Research
• Investigate incidence of mental illness among current and formerly incarcerated
individuals.
• Identify the current interventions and resources.
Volunteer
• Bronx Community Solutions
• New Albany Floyd County probation facility and a DCS agent
Educate
• Build a fact sheet to share information
• Create a social media campaign to raise awareness

18. References
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