Criminal Justice Contact and Treatment Utilization Among People With Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether a history of criminal justice involvement is related to the use of contemporaneous mental health and substance abuse treatment among adults experiencing co-occurring disorders. METHODS: Pooled 2009-2013 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health were used to analyze patterns of mental health and substance abuse treatment utilization of 8,740 adults with past-year co-occurring disorders. RESULTS: Individuals with a criminal history were more likely than those without a criminal history to receive both types of treatment or substance abuse treatment alone. CONCLUSIONS: The criminal justice system appears to be facilitating mental health and substance abuse treatment among people experiencing co-occurring disorders but may also be overreliant on substance abuse treatment alone.