NCJ Number
146461
Journal
State Legislative Report Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1993) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the work of the National Coalition for the Mentally Ill in Criminal Justice on mentally disordered juvenile offenders.
Abstract
As the rates of juvenile crime continue to increase, State policymakers would do well to consider the prevalence of mental disorders among delinquent youths and provide policy directives on how State systems should respond. Most experts believe the prevalence of behavioral, emotional, personality, and psychophysiological disorders among juvenile offenders is higher than in the general population, perhaps even reaching 60 percent. A key to responding effectively to mentally disordered juveniles is timely identification and appropriate treatment, a process that can be hindered by the youth's involvement in the juvenile justice system. Service-delivery approaches which may be available to deal with these offenders include agency-centered, collaborative, individualized care, and family-centered treatment. Some of the fiscal considerations associated with the issue of providing treatment to mentally disordered juvenile offenders are outlined here. The best balance of justice and treatment for this population would include coordination at system and case levels, consideration of the level of restrictiveness needed, a range of services, flexible funding, advocacy, and evaluation.