About the Continuum Diagram
The continuum diagram represents the sequence of events that may occur for individuals with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system. This sequence of events also corresponds to the components of the criminal justice and mental health systems that can lead collaborative efforts to more efficiently and effectively respond to this population:
| Event |
Component of the criminal justice and mental health systems |
Color on the diagram |
| Arrest |
Law enforcement |
Blue |
| Pre-trial, adjudication, and sentencing |
Courts (mental health and non-speciality courts) |
Red |
| Incarceration and re-entry |
Corrections (jail, prison, and community) |
Yellow |
| Effective involvement with the mental health system |
Community supports |
Green |
Site visitors can use the diagram and the ideas it represents to quickly locate specific information on the site. Content across six different types of information—programs, advocacy, statewide coordinating activities, research studies, media articles, and legislation—has been classified according to the four components of the criminal justice and mental health systems. Visitors can sort and filter this wealth of information according to these components throughout the site.
The diagram is more than a search and navigation tool: as a framework for discussing the issues that arise from the high numbers of people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system and the responses to this problem, the diagram also promotes a common vocabulary among national organizations, funders, and practitioners within and across systems that often approach the issue from different perspectives.
What is Systems Interface?
Law enforcement, courts, and corrections agencies are all affected by the high numbers of people with mental illnesses involved in the criminal justice system, and one agency’s response to this population has ramifications across all systems. How criminal justice agencies respond to people with mental illnesses also has an impact on the network of mental health and other supports and services available in the community.
The term systems interface refers to the relationships between the different systems that are impacted by the problem: the “interface” occurs between the different components of the criminal justice system and between the criminal justice and mental health systems. This concept highlights how collaboration between agencies and systems is at the core of an effective response.
How is it represented?
Systems interface is represented by the blurred boundaries between the law enforcement, courts, corrections, and mental health components of the continuum diagram. Collaboration between the mental health system and the components of the criminal justice system is represented by the green band that runs along the circumference of the diagram.
What is Diversion?
A large number of people with mental illnesses become involved in the criminal justice system for low-level offenses, which are often precipitated by the effects of untreated mental illness. In such cases most criminal justice and mental health professionals agree that both public safety and public health objectives are better advanced by diverting these individuals from traditional case processing into the network of community supports and services. On the InfoNet, the term diversion refers to criminal justice/mental health collaborative initiatives designed to provide alternatives to further involvement in the criminal justice system for individuals who have committed low-level offenses, often as a result of untreated mental illness.
The term jail diversion is commonly used to refer to a variety of programs that connect justice-involved individuals with serious mental illnesses (and often co-occurring substance use disorders) to community-based treatment and support services. This term, however, may be used differently depending on professional orientation and perspective. For a more detailed discussion of jail diversion, please click here.
How is it represented?
The green band along the circumference of the diagram, and the green quadrant/arrow into which the band leads, represents the system of community supports and services to which individuals with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system can be diverted.
What is Re-Entry?
Nearly all of the roughly 2 million people incarcerated in this country will eventually return to the community. A significant number of these individuals have a mental illness and a co-occurring substance use disorder, and will require ongoing treatment and other services in order to successfully reintegrate into the community and avoid future contact with the criminal justice system. Re-entry is the process of transitioning from jail or prison to the community. To read more about re-entry issues generally click here for the Re-Entry Policy Council site.
How is it represented?
Re-entry is represented in the continuum diagram by the faded boundary between corrections (yellow) and community supports (green). The arrow extending from the community supports component represents individuals’ successful return to the community and the continuity of ongoing treatment.
What is Recidivism?
Recidivism occurs when individuals released from jail or prison are arrested for a new offense, or are returned to custody for violating the terms of their supervision (either parole or probation). The term recidivism reflects the cyclical nature of many individuals' involvement with the criminal justice system. Collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives are designed to disrupt this cycle by connecting individuals with mental illnesses to community supports and services.
How is it represented?
Recidivism is represented in the diagram in several ways. The dotted gray line that originates in the corrections (yellow) quadrant, extends into the community supports (green) quadrant, and leads to the law enforcement (blue) quadrant represents instances in which an individual is arrested for a new offense. The clockwise yellow line that extends from corrections into the courts (red) quadrant represents instances in which an individual on parole or probation appears before a judge for violating the terms of his or her supervision.
What do we mean by Professions?
The components of the continuum diagram—law enforcement, courts, corrections, and community supports—represent more than the points of contact individuals with mental illness may encounter if they become involved in the criminal justice system. They also represent the fields in which many professionals affected by this problem work:
- Law Enforcement: police chiefs, sheriffs, officers, dispatchers, etc.
- Courts: judges, court administrators, public defenders, prosecutors, pre-trial service providers, administrators, etc.
- Corrections: state corrections directors, jail administrators, correctional mental health officials, parole board members, parole and probation officials, etc.
- Community Supports: mental health treatment providers, state mental health directors, substance abuse treatment providers, housing officials, etc.
How is it represented?
Clicking on Profession in the left hand navigation bar leads to a page that looks much like this one, where users can search their professions by selecting a point along the criminal justice continuum.
