Mental health resources and the criminal justice system: Assessment and plan for integration in Charlottesville, Virginia - Phase III expansion

Evidence based evaluation systems are critical to the analysis and improvement of programs aimed at providing consumers of mental health services with proper treatment. This paper describes enhancements to the evidence based evaluation tools used by the Crisis Intervention System (CIS), a program run by the Thomas Jefferson Area Community Criminal Justice Board, to provide a more effective approach to resolving crisis situations involving mental health consumers and law enforcement agencies in Central Virginia. Initial versions of this evaluation tool demonstrate the value of capturing and sharing information among the system of agencies engaged in the CIS. The enhancements described in this paper transformed the prototype into a fully functional, scalable, and more user friendly application that supports evaluation and decision making. Through iterative usability testing, the team was able to achieve a more efficient evaluation tool which provides the client with a more accurate and intuitive resource to make operational decisions. Enhancements targeted shortcomings in the prototype design, specifically with respect to comprehension of graphical data and efficient navigation of available functionality. Prototype and final design usability testing results, comparing time, error and user feedback metrics, prove the final tool design enables users to navigate the with less difficulty and comprehend graphical data more accurately.