Pandemic perspectives on mental health and substance use services for people released from custody: a focus on service providers.

PURPOSE: Accessible mental health and substance use services are key supports for people released from custody. The purpose of this paper is to describe the primary changes and challenges to mental health and substance use service provision early in the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, with a specific focus on people released from custody and the service providers who supported them during this transition.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of service providers who provide mental health and substance use services and support criminal-legal-involved individuals.

FINDINGS: Participants reported high levels of disruption to mental health (66.7%, n = 28) and substance use (68.2%, n = 30) services. Open-ended responses illustrated three key themes: how infection prevention and control measures were marked by implementation challenges; how providers responded to widespread service disruptions with local adaptations; and how client needs and barriers to care became increasingly more complex and critical.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Although several studies have examined provider perspectives on the challenges of delivering mental health and substance use services during the pandemic, few have focused on service provision to people released from custody. During the early COVID-19 pandemic, service providers confronted a rapidly evolving service landscape that limited their ability to support the mental health and substance use needs of people released from custody. Study results highlight the need for improved emergency discharge planning and coordination of releases.