To document the scope of recent trends in performing pretrial mental
health evaluations, telephone interviews were conducted with 157
authorities in 50 states and the District of Columbia. These authorities
included forensic mental health program directors and forensic clinical
professionals. In all states, evaluations were made on an outpatient basis
to some extent, and 45 states used inpatient evaluations. However, only ten
states relied primarily on inpatient pretrial evaluations, generally in
facilities with statewide catchment areas. A total of 32 states relied
primarily on outpatient evaluations, generally conducted by providers with
regional or local catchment areas.
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