Sponsor

Muskegon County

Project staff

Stephanie Evergreen

Description

This evaluation served two primary purposes: to provide frequent formative feedback to improve the implementation of the jail assessment process and to provide an account of the process’ impact on jailing and recidivism rates for persons with mental health or substance abuse problems.  Information was gathered through focus groups with the booking staff, screening staff, assessment staff, and other key stakeholders.  The focus groups took place when the program was implemented, at six months after implementation, and one year after implementation.  The impact of the Muskegon County Jail assessment process was assessed regarding jailing rates in general, jailing rates for persons with mental health or substance abuse problems, and recidivism rates to determine if the program was effective and should be implemented on a larger scale.