The Role of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse
This report examines arrest outcomes among clients who receive medical coverage through the state's Medicaid Disabled or General Assistance Unemployable (GA-U) programs. These clients are known as "working age disabled" because they are non-elderly adults who have been formally assessed to qualify for DSHS medical coverage due to a short- or long-term disability. We find that arrests are concentrated among clients with indications of alcohol or other drug problems and that treatment significantly reduces the risk of arrest among these clients.
