A survey of administrators at U.S. jails shows that only about one-third of facilities use information from behavioral health screening and assessment tools to divert people from jail. Most facilities do conduct screenings and assessments, but few use them for diversion purposes. That represents a significant missed opportunity to connect people to the care they may need.
The Pew Charitable Trusts invited more than 1,400 U.S. jail administrators through their professional association, the American Jail Association, to take the survey that was fielded from May 2023 to February 2024. (See methodology for details.) One hundred jail administrators responded, a relatively small sample but enough to provide some insights into what’s happening in the nation’s jails.
Jail administrators were asked about facility practices related to mental health and substance use screenings and assessments. These screenings are brief, routine procedures that can include short interviews or self-reporting to identify if an individual has urgent health concerns when entering a facility. Assessments, meanwhile, are more in-depth evaluations that help determine treatment and care of individuals with health issues, including diversion from jail to treatment, and care while in jail or after release.