Public expenditures related to the criminal justice system and to services for arrestees with a serious mental illness

Abstract

Objective: The study identified expenditures related to criminal justice, health, mental health, and social welfare services over a four-year period for arrestees with serious mental illnesses in a large Florida county and characteristics of subgroups. Methods: Multiple data sets were used to identify 3,769 persons arrested in a one-year period who had serious mental illnesses. Multiple regression with all variables mutually adjusted was used to explore associations with a log of aggregate criminal justice, health, mental health, and social welfare expenditures. Results: Aggregate expenditures were $94,957,465, with a median per person of $15,134. Individuals with the highest expenditures were at least 40 years old with a psychotic disorder, an involuntary psychiatric examination, and more arrests and mental health contacts. Medicaid enrollees had higher expenditures than nonenrollees overall but lower criminal justice expenditures. Conclusions: Identifying characteristics of subgroups with higher expenditures may assist policy makers and providers in designing appropriate criminal justice and treatment responses.