Evidence-Based Practices in Forensic Mental Health Programs and Services: An Annotated Bibliography

Section I - Background, Purposes, Method and Organization
Section III - Areas Highlighted
   

Section II - Definitions of FMHPS in Ontario

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In Ontario, according to the Forensic Mental Health Services Expert Advisory Panel (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2002), a forensic patient is a person with a serious mental disorder who is involved in the criminal justice system under the Mental Disorder Provisions (Part XX.1) of the Criminal Code of Canada (CCC). These individuals are either facing charges before a court and the question of mental disorder has been raised (an assessment or treatment order has been made), or they have been before a court and have been found: 

1. Not Criminally Responsible on Account of their Mental Disorder (NCR);
2. Unfit to Stand Trial. 

Canada adheres to the legal principle that persons cannot be held accountable or punished for a crime when their serious mental disorder rendered them incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of their actions or of knowing that it was wrong (Section 16(1); CCC), or if they are incapable of mounting a legal defence at trial (Section 672.31; CCC). The definition distinguishes forensic patients from:

1. people facing criminal charges who are diverted to appropriate mental health care in the community;
2. people with a mental disorder who receive a criminal sentence at trial and who serve a term of probation or incarceration;
3. people with a mental disorder who are brought to hospital by the police after a disturbance or altercation and are detained in hospital under the (civil) Mental Health Act;
4. people involved with the law who suffer from a personality disorder and/or substance abuse disorder but who do not have a serious mental disorder. 

Forensic Mental Health Programs and Services (FMHPS) are defined as those dedicated mental health programs and services that are provided to forensic patients. This definition of FMHPS is consistent with the way such services are defined in Ontario, funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), and provided by designated facilities and regional forensic programs in Ontario.
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