NCJ Number
245574
Date Published
August 2007
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This prospective cohort study examined recidivism, adaptive functioning, and mental health services for juvenile parolees in a mental health caseload who were released from juvenile correctional facilities of the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS).
Abstract
Of the 162 youth who completed the initial prerelease telephone interview and Voice DISC-IV, 40 percent were rearrested or absent from parole during the 6 months after release. Thirty-seven (62.7 percent) out of 60 youths interviewed 1 month after release reported receiving some type of mental health service in the community. Community mental health centers, home-based therapists/counselors, and primary care providers were among the most common service providers. At the 1-month interview, a significant percentage (32.3 percent) of the youths reported they had not received any mental health care. The reporting of internalizing symptoms at 1-month post-release (e.g., anxiety and depression) was predictive of rearrest/absence from parole during the 6-month post-release period. Nearly 20 percent of the full sample could not complete 1-month and 3-month post-release interviews due to absence from parole or rearrest. The study concludes that juvenile parolees with mental health concerns require substantial assistance and services because of their high rates of psychiatric disorders prior to release, their significant rates of rearrest within 6 months of release, their lack of health insurance, and their not receiving any mental health care in the community. Future research in other States using other methodologies should be conducted in order to study the relationship between services received and recidivism. 7 tables and 29 references