Strategies for Postrelease Supervision of Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: Comparing Specialized Community Corrections Officers to Those Not Serving on a Specialized Team

Abstract

Specially trained parole/probation officers (STOs) increasingly manage caseloads of persons with serious mental illness (SMI). Using an online survey, we compared the supervision approaches of 90 STOs to 132 non-STOs who also currently work directly with adults who have SMI. Results indicate differences between STOs and non-STOs in caseloads and in knowledge and support regarding rehabilitative approaches (i.e., risks-, strengths-, or mental health-focused approaches). Support for a variety of approaches appears common despite the lack of models indicating how to combine aspects of each in practice and a lack of research as with whom specific combinations may be most effective.