Crisis at the Stand and on the Streets: Understanding the Intersections Between Substance Abuse and Criminalization in Competency Outcomes Amongst People Experiencing Homelessness

Level of Education of Students Involved

Both Undergraduate/Graduate

Faculty Sponsor

Holly Cross

College

College of Arts & Sciences (CAS)

Discipline(s)

Psychology

ORCID Identifier(s)

0009-0003-4781-2022

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-24-2025

Abstract

The criminalization of homelessness is a phenomenon that took root in the United States during the late 20th century, making people experiencing homelessness more likely to face legal issues. Because people experiencing homelessness are more likely to experience a myriad of mental health problems, they sit at the intersection of the criminalization of poverty and of mental illness. As such, when they make contact with the criminal justice system, they may have more involvement with competency to stand trial (CST) cases– an evaluation used to determine if a defendant is able to defend themselves and to comprehend the charges they face. This is one of the factors hypothesized to contribute toward the national competency crisis– where there are too few evaluators for the number of CST cases. This study aims to investigate the relationship between homelessness, CST referrals, and CST outcomes. Using the Odyssey Public System, this study had access to a population of over 4000 CST evaluations in one Midwestern state and sampled 139 of these evaluations for the current research question. Using mycase.in.gov, student research assistants coded additional data about the case (including specific charges, whether the defendant was homeless, and the outcome of CST in those cases). This presentation will review the background of this growing problem, identify how many CST evaluations involve homeless individuals, and examine the outcomes of those cases. The study anticipates that people experiencing homelessness will both be more likely to experience CST referrals and incompetent evaluations.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

The authors are involved in Dr. Holly Cross's Lab in Forensic Psychology. Together, they work on examining competency to stand trial (CST) patterns, outcomes, and interpretations.

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