Georgia FY24 SJSP

The Georgia Statistical Analysis Center (GASAC) in partnership with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and Applied Research Services (ARS) will conduct a comprehensive study of DBHDD's competency restoration processes, case outcomes, and judicial outcomes. The goal is to (1) understand the total cost of restoration services and identify potential savings if individuals were diverted to community mental health services instead of hospitalized for restoration; (2) identify a cohort known to DBHDD who may benefit from diversion as opposed to undergoing the restoration process; and (3) ascertain the proportion of individuals court-ordered to undergo forensic inpatient restoration services who ultimately reintegrate into the community post-restoration and the indicators associated with this outcome. To accomplish this, the GASAC will contract with ARS to assist in merging computerized criminal history data with forensic referral data from DBHDD. The findings from the proposed project will be an extremely beneficial resource for DBHDD in determining the extent to which they can shift existing resources to support diversion to community mental health treatment in lieu of prosecution, when approved by the courts, or seek additional resources to increase the number of people eligible to receive restoration services in the community instead of a state hospital.