Best Practices for Successful Reentry From Criminal Justice Settings for People Living With Mental Health Conditions and/or Substance Use Disorders

Individuals living with mental health conditions are overrepresented in criminal justice settings in the United States, including in jails and prisons and on probation/parole. In fact, nearly half of individuals incarcerated in state prisons have a history of a mental health disorder.

Past estimates of SUDs among incarcerated populations are 53.0 percent in state prisons and 68.0 percent in jails, in stark contrast to the past-year prevalence of 16.5 percent among people aged 12 and older in the general public.32 Similarly, 33.0 to 60.0 percent of people in prison and jail have co-occurring mental health conditions and substance use disorders, compared to 14.0 to 25.0 percent of people not incarcerated.