A foot in the (revolving) door? : A preliminary evaluation of Tasmania's mental health diversion list

There is a strong intersection between the health system and the criminal justice system, as exemplified by problems encountered with mentally ill offenders. Therapeutic jurisprudence and the problem solving court model seek to overcome issues associated with the failure of traditional sentencing for this offender population, the 'revolving door' and deficits in treatment support. Evaluation research was utilised in this study to conduct a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the Mental Health Diversion List pilot project. Rich qualitative data contributed to the emergence of various themes and issues indicating the general success of the List. However, different practitioner perspectives and debates revealed opportunities for further development.