Mental Health Needs Of Juvenile Offenders

To properly evaluate the effectiveness, outcomes, and cost of the Therapeutic Detention Center for Juveniles program it will be necessary to conduct a mixed methods research approach that includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Fifty percent of juveniles who have been ordered by the court to this program will be randomly selected to be enrolled into a 5-year study. Juveniles diagnosed with a mental illness based off DSM-5 criteria who have been court ordered to the Therapeutic Detention Center will be eligible for the study. Consent should be obtained by both the juvenile and their parent/guardian for enrollment.

The authors utilized children who are in the juvenile justice system and the vast majority of the children were faced with abuse and neglect. This shows that aiding the the ending and treatment of child abuse would help to decrease the number of children in the juvenile justice system. It is obvious that most juvenile offenders go on to become a member of the criminal justice system, so early treatments could help prevent that from happening. These children could learn ways to deal with the trauma they faced besides going down the criminal path. If the children do have a developmental disability, early treatment could help them from falling behind in school which could also result in them not dropping out and ending up on the streets. If a child has PTSD or another emotional disorder, early help could prevent the child from using illegal drugs and ending up in the wrong circle. Increasing a child normalcy is key when discussing the best interest of the

A difficult challenge to the juvenile justice system and child welfare system is working with adolescents with comorbid difficulties, causing these adolescents to becoming at risk for incarceration and involvement with the juvenile and adult justice system. The juvenile justice system appears to be having a challenging time in determining how to respond and treat adolescents with mental health and substance use. "Many

Most of us grow up being taught to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Social workers, especially, are exhorted by their code of ethics to challenge injustice “particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people” (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). So why are as many of 70% of those in local and state juvenile justice systems dealing with their illness in correctional facilities (National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 2016; Shufelt & Cocozza, 2006)? These are the national numbers. So what about in our own state of Virginia? The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) conducted a study of juveniles in detention homes in 2002 and that found that more than 40% of males and almost 60% of females needed mental health services. As many as 7% of the males and 15% of the females needed this assistance urgently (Juvenile Offending, n.d.). Even more disturbing is the fact that nationally up to two out of three of that 70% was actually a dual diagnosis of more than one mental illness, often including a substance abuse disorder. One in five of those same juveniles were so severely disabled by their illness that they were unable to function as a young person and were seriously in danger of not developing into a functional adult (Hammond, 2007). Juveniles are considered more difficult to treat for mental illness due to developmental issues (Hammond, 2007) and rapidly changing biological and mental makeup.

Juvenile institutions and programs have changed over time. There are also juvenile programs that necessarily do not punish juvenile’s delinquents but instead help modify their behavior to avoid recidivism. Certain treatments and methods regarding how to deal with these dangerous young offenders were fixed and improved to make these institutions and programs more effective in changing the lives of these young

The results showed prevalence of substance abuse disorder at young adulthood in approximately 1/3 of males. Participants with severe incarceration history were shown likely to have Mood Disorders. Approximately ¼ of females had psychiatric disorders and 11% of females had Anxiety Disorder when studied at the baseline interview. Hence, Harrison’s study proved that psychiatric disorders exist within juveniles and the experience of incarceration influences mental disorders in youth. The youth may start experiencing suicidal ideation or may not receive substantial health or psychological care during the incarceration period. In short, experience during incarceration creates isolation from community and peers, lack of familial support, constant negative environment, and juveniles associate with other criminals on a daily basis. Mental disorders are perpetual in nature and result in difficulty for juveniles to adjust after a period of incarceration, have difficulty finding employment or access to educational

The first alternative is the Mental Health Juvenile Justice program. This program began in Chicago, Illinois in the year of 2000. Its main emphasis is juveniles with the signs of severe mental illness (APA, Tsui, J. C. 2014) pp. 650). Its budget consists of two million dollars and sponsor by the Department of Human Service. Their plan is when a juvenile is diagnosed with the psychotic disorder, an administrative personal with a specific health proposal that is custom for that juvenile (APA, Tsui, J. C. 2014) pp.

Juvenile justice settings, especially in Texas, were not designed as sites for comprehensive psychological and psychiatric treatment of adolescents’ mental disorders. On national, state, and local levels there has been a major increase in the interest of mental health needs within the juvenile justice system. Evidence-based research and data has become more available with societies interest into this matter. A continuous struggle with Texas policymakers and officials is identifying and properly treating mentally ill juveniles and keeping them out of the justice system. Acknowledging established data and comparing it to current Texas mandates helps seek recommendations for improvement within all levels and jurisdictions of the Texas juvenile justice system.

Adolescence is a critical time of development. During this period there are significant changes in brain development, emotions, cognition, behavior, and personal relationships. It is during this time that most major mental health disorders appear, many of which carry over into adulthood. Behavior patterns such as substance abuse also often develop during this time and may continue throughout adulthood. Many adolescents struggling with mental health issues begin to exhibit symptoms such as acting out at home or in school, showing a decreased interest in activities that they previously enjoyed, or bringing home poor grades. Others ultimately are charged with offenses ranging from status

At national, state, and local levels, there is increasing recognition of the importance of identifying and responding to the mental health needs of youths in the juvenile justice system, as policymakers and practitioners struggle to find ways to address causes and correlates of juvenile crime and delinquency. The proposed guidelines for mental health assessment provide explicit information about how, why, and when to obtain mental health information on justice youths at each important juncture in processing.

The United States has the highest rate of adult incarceration among the developed countries, with 2.2 million in jails and prisons. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that more than half of all prisons and jail inmates have a mental health problem compared to 11 percent of the general population, yet only one of three prison inmates and one in six jail inmates receive any form of mental health treatment. Those with mental disorders have been increasingly incarcerated during the past three decades. The treatment of severally mentally ill offenders has become an increasingly important and urgent issue because

There are numerous critics of the juvenile justice system, and while most of their denunciations remain the same as those of the justice system at large, an ample portion of their criticisms revolve around the claim that incarcerating young people not only doesn’t work in deterring or rehabilitating them, but makes them worse and leads to adult misconduct. A report noted that youth sent to juvenile prison were 37 times more likely to be arrested as adults (Szalavitz, 2009). Another major problem some cite with the juvenile justice system is that most delinquent offends have some form of mental illness, and that while studies have shown that mental health treatment would be a better alternative, they are simply ignored or incarcerated

In this day and age, there seems to be an increase of mental health disorders among youth. One reason to explain this theory is substance abuse among youth, which is shown to take a heavy toll in their personal life. When these youth become institutionalized, their mental disorder becomes at a higher level due to the environment and improper treatment. The institutions that are meant to serve their clients (juveniles) need rehabilitation. The high percentage of mental health disorders in the Juvenile Justice System need different types of levels of care in mental health with specific individual treatments.

When a juvenile commits a crime, it is not considered a crime, however it is considered juvenile delinquency. A massive problem throughout the US is juvenile delinquent acts. Juveniles acting out in a delinquent manner can be caused by many things. However, there is not just one reason why a juvenile may commit these acts. Instead there are many reasons that could lead up to delinquency. In this essay, I will be discussing a few theories as well as ways juveniles may receive treatment.

In the 1990’s juvenile crime spiked nationally to its peak and caused all around debate. The main argument was whether the juvenile system should be lock the kids up and be done with them or give them a second chance and go through rehabilitation. The problem with the juvenile system is who ends up there. Studies show that majority of