NCJ Number
198058
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adoldscent Psychiatry Volume: 41 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 1462-1469
Date Published
December 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article presents a study about the association between youth’s involvement with the juvenile justice system and Medicaid mental health capitation.
Abstract
The authors explain that the institution of the managed care system may disrupt the amount and type of mental health treatment received by youths, which may lead, in turn, to an increase in juvenile justice involvement among these youth. In order to study this possibility, the authors evaluated whether a shift to capitated managed mental health care in Colorado affected the likelihood of entry into the juvenile justice system for a statewide population of Medicaid-eligible youth. The authors examined computerized administrative data for 13,365 youths, aged 10- to 17-years from the State Mental Health Services agency and the State Division of Youth Corrections. The study design was a pre/post, quasi-experimental design, including a nonequivalent control group. Results of chi-square and t-test analyses revealed that the implementation of capitation was not related to a reduction in juvenile justice contact. Conversely, the authors note that the implementation of capitation did not increase the risk of juvenile justice contact for youths, which may be expected due to possible cost-cutting efforts by health providers. The main limitation of this research was its use of administrative data. Future research should evaluate the nature of services provided under capitated managed care in areas where there has been a marked decline in juvenile justice contact.