Development of a Web-Based Officer's Field Guide to Mental Illness.

摘要

Probation and parole officers supervise a disproportionate amount of offenders with mental illness. Many causes contribute to this over-representation ranging from deinstitutionalization, to co-occurring disorders, to homelessness. It appears there may be a lack of training specifically for probation and parole officers on the topic of mental illness. In an effort to offer a cost-efficient resource that educates and supplements face-to-face training, a website has been designed to provide basic but useful information regarding mental illness and topics related to mental illness that are recommended for field officers. One could not be found prior to beginning this project. Content for the website was chosen based on information collected through a review of the literature and adapted into plain, non-clinical language for officers. The website also includes very practical information, such as medications commonly prescribed to treat mental illnesses so that officers may use the site as a resource on a smart phone while in the field.