Decriminalization in action: lessons from the Los Angeles model. (5th October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ochoa, Kristen; Appel, Oona; Nguyen, Viet; Kim, Elizabeth
• Is Part Of: CNS spectrums. Volume 25:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 561
• Page End: 565
• Publication Date: 2020-10-05
• Subjects: Diversion, -- Mental health, -- Jail, -- Office of Diversion and Reentry, -- Decriminalization; Neuropsychiatry -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; 616.8005
• DOI: 10.1017/S1092852919001561
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1092-8529

Abstract

Abstract : Los Angeles County's Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR) has removed over 3800 people from the largest jail system in the country. Across various diversion programs, ODR's fundamental goal is to provide permanent, lifetime care for each diverted person. This article describes ODR's various diversion programs, and elucidates the types of elaborate clinical and court-related interventions that are necessary to remove persons with serious mental disorders from jail custody. As Los Angeles continues to build the necessary community-based continuum of mental health care, ODR's model proves that thoughtfully removing persons with serious mental disorders from jail is possible and necessary for the health of both patients and community.