$14m to help offenders with mental health issues

Corrections will receive close to $14 million from the Justice Sector Fund to enable it to purchase mental health services for offenders in prison and in the community over the next two years.

Police has also received funding to enhance information sharing on mental health, says Corrections and Police Minister Judith Collins.

A Corrections study, released today, found that prisoners have high rates of mental health and substance use disorders. The report found that 62 per cent of prisoners had some form of mental health or substance abuse disorder in the last 12 months, and 20 per cent had both these disorders. The disorders often went undetected or were not treated properly.

This new funding will enable Corrections to better support these offenders by providing access to contracted mental health services. The additional support services include:

·       $10 million over two years to contract mental health clinicians and support workers to work with offenders in prison and in the community. Contracted service providers will work with individuals experiencing mental health issues and provide support to staff managing these cases. Increased access to mental health services will be available in all prisons and in four Community Corrections pilot districts.

·       $2 million over two years on supported accommodation for the small number of offenders with significant mental health concerns or intellectual disability.

·       $877,000 on social workers and counsellors to work with female offenders dealing with trauma, and support them with parenting and whanau issues.

·       $920,000 for a wrap-around post-release support service for prisoners and their families with multiple mental health needs.

Additional funding of $350,000 has been approved for a Police-led initiative to improve the process for sharing information between justice sector agencies regarding an offender’s mental health history.

“Improving the flow of mental health information across the justice sector will give us a much better understanding of people’s interactions with different agencies and give a clearer picture of the impact of mental health on offending.

“This is a significant increase in support for offenders suffering from mental illness. Offenders’ mental health needs can escalate quickly and tragically. We want to get them the help they need early, and reduce the likelihood of them harming themselves or those around them,’ Ms Collins says.

The funding is for two years and will be evaluated at the end of that time.