Consulting Engagements
- Mental health program design, restructuring, and policy development
- Suicide prevention program review and implementation
- Staffing models, screening protocols, and continuity-of-care workflows
- Use-of-force, restraint, and restrictive-housing mental health protocols
- Quality improvement, mortality review, and root-cause analysis
- Training for clinical, custody, and leadership staff
Recommendations are practical, evidence-informed, and tailored to facility size, mission, and resources. The goal is workable improvement — not paper compliance.
Dr. Patterson’s consulting work draws on direct operational experience as Director of Behavioral Health at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, multi-year service as a mental health expert to the federal Special Master in Coleman v. Newsom (the federal class action governing mental health care in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation), and his co-authored chapter on leadership, training, and educational opportunities in the Oxford Textbook of Correctional Psychiatry. As a Certified Correctional Health Professional – Mental Health (CCHP-MH), he grounds consulting work in nationally recognized correctional health standards, including NCCHC and APA guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you work with small jails, large systems, or both?
Both. Engagements have ranged from single-facility county jails to multi-facility state systems, with recommendations scaled to the agency’s size, mission, and resources.
Can consulting work be conducted under attorney-client privilege?
Yes. Many engagements are structured through agency counsel or outside counsel so that consultative work product is protected. The structure is set up at the outset of the engagement.
What does a typical engagement look like?
Most engagements begin with a focused scoping call, followed by document review, on-site visits or virtual interviews as appropriate, and a written work product or briefing. Ongoing advisory retainers are also available.
Do you provide expert testimony in addition to consulting?
Consulting and expert work are kept separate to avoid role conflicts. Dr. Patterson will discuss the appropriate posture for your matter at the outset.
Monitoring
• Court-appointed and party-retained monitor roles
• Compliance assessments under settlement agreements and consent decrees
• Pre-litigation system reviews and gap analyses
• On-site facility tours, clinical chart reviews, and stakeholder interviews
• Evaluation of suicide prevention, crisis services, segregation practices, and continuity of care
• Periodic reporting to courts, parties, and oversight bodies
Findings are organized around clearly defined standards and metrics, with sourcing transparent enough that agencies, monitors, and parties can replicate or challenge the analysis. Reports balance candor about deficiencies with constructive, achievable paths to compliance.
From 2022 through 2025, Dr. Patterson served as a mental health expert to the federal Special Master in Coleman v. Newsom, the federal class action governing mental health care across the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). That work included on-site evaluation and policy review across CDCR’s full continuum of mental health services — inpatient hospital, crisis management, residential, outpatient, and case management levels of care — over multiple years. Because monitoring and oversight work is performed in a forensic capacity rather than as direct clinical treatment, engagements are not limited to the jurisdictions in which Dr. Patterson holds clinical licensure (District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who typically retains you for monitoring work?
Engagements have come from courts directly, from parties to litigation or settlement agreements, from monitor teams seeking subject-matter expertise, and from agency leadership pursuing voluntary review.
Will you serve as a neutral monitor agreed to by both parties?
Yes. Dr. Patterson regularly accepts neutral roles and structures the engagement so that access, communication, and reporting are transparent to all parties.
How long do monitoring engagements typically last?
Engagements range from one-time pre-litigation reviews to multi-year compliance monitoring under consent decrees or settlement agreements. Scope and duration are defined in the engagement agreement.
What standards do you apply?
Reviews draw on the facility’s own policies, applicable court orders or settlement provisions, and recognized professional standards including NCCHC, ACA, and APA guidance, with the operative standard for each finding stated explicitly.
Case Review Services
• Standard-of-care analysis in correctional mental health treatment
• Suicide and attempted-suicide reviews (screening, risk assessment, monitoring, response)
• Review of in-custody deaths, including overdose, withdrawal, and decompensation
• Analysis of segregation, restraint, and use-of-force involving individuals with mental illness
• Policy, training, and supervision adequacy
• Affidavits, written reports, deposition, and trial testimony
Reviews are based on records, applicable correctional and clinical standards (including NCCHC, ACA, and APA guidance where relevant), and the facility’s own policies. Opinions are tied to identifiable evidence, and areas of uncertainty are stated rather than glossed. Standard-of-care opinions are informed by Dr. Patterson’s direct operational experience leading a jail behavioral health program, multi-year monitoring of a major state correctional system, and clinical training in forensic inpatient and juvenile justice settings.
Dr. Patterson is licensed in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, and has reviewed cases in jurisdictions across the country. Because case review and expert testimony are forensic activities — not the provision of treatment — these engagements are routinely accepted in states where Dr. Patterson does not hold a clinical license.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you accept cases for plaintiffs and defendants?
Yes. Dr. Patterson is regularly retained by both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel, including government and institutional defendants, and applies the same analytic standards regardless of the retaining party.
What materials do you need to begin a review?
A typical review starts with the complaint or claim summary, available custodial and medical/mental health records, relevant facility policies, and any incident, mortality review, or investigative reports. Additional records are requested as the review progresses.
Will you provide a preliminary opinion before a full report?
Yes. Many engagements begin with a confidential preliminary review and oral consultation so counsel can make an informed decision about retention and direction before a written report is prepared.
How are fees structured?
Dr. Patterson works on an hourly basis with a retainer, with separate rates for review, report preparation, deposition, and trial testimony. A fee schedule is provided on request.
Are conflict checks required before sharing case details?
Yes. Please request a conflict check with the names of parties and counsel before forwarding any case materials.