Mental Health Training Curriculum

for Juvenile Justice

Module 2: The Interface between the Juvenile Justiceand Mental Health Systems

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Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to describe the history and purpose of the juvenile

justice and mental health systems and how these impact the current situation;

the pathways into each system; the current relationship between the

systems; and local/state systems and how they

intersect.

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Juvenile Justice:A National Perspective

Brief History of the Juvenile Justice System

First juvenile court created in 1899 in Chicago

Gerald Gault (1967) - The Supreme Court required that minors receive the right to notification of the charges; to obtain legal counsel; to confront and cross-examine

witnesses; and against self-incrimination.

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Brief History of the Juvenile Justice System: OJJDP

1974 – Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

Created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

Created the Runaway Youth Program Removed status offenders from secure

detention Prohibited the placement of juveniles in

institutions where they would have regular contact with criminal adults

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Brief History of the Juvenile Justice System: BARJ

1990s – Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) A project funded by OJJDP using the

principles of accountability, community safety, and competency development

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Brief History of the Juvenile Justice System: Juvenile Superpredator Myth

A few researchers began warning about the rise of “juvenile superpredators” who were growing up in the inner cities.

This resulted in legislation trying juveniles as adults and giving less discretion to police officers and juvenile judges.

But, the superpredators never developed. 2-7

Brief History of the Juvenile Justice System: Shifting Pendulum

Roper v. Simmons (2005) Graham v. Florida (2010) Miller v. Alabama (2012) Youth may do terrible things, but

they are less culpable than adults.

Court cites research on adolescence and brain development.

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Goals and Responsibilitiesof the Juvenile Justice System

Rehabilitation

Public safety

Incarceration

Deterrence

Development of pro-social behavior and skills

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Pathways into the Juvenile Justice System

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Inside the Juvenile Justice System

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Juvenile Court Process

Arrest

Intake

Detention

Trial or Plea Bargain

Disposition

Mental Health Treatment System:

A National Perspective

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Significant Events in the Development of the

Children’s Mental Health Treatment System

1960s and ‘70s – Deinstitutionalization of mental health

1980s Federal government creates a community-based

children’s mental health infrastructure in all states Establishment of the Federation of Families

1999: Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General

2003: New Freedom Commission on Mental Health’s report

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Goals and Responsibilities of the Mental Health Treatment System

Promoting recovery Building strengths, resilience Providing available and

accessible individualized treatment services

Reducing symptoms Improving family relations, school

performance, and residential stability

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Pathways into the Mental Health System

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The Interface between the Two Systems

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Resulting Relationship between the Systems Mental health “is the number one emergent

issue as far as juvenile justice is concerned.”

(Coalition for Juvenile Justice, 2000) “In effect, our jails and prisons are now our

largest psychiatric facilities….” (Bell & Shem, 2002)

“As a shrinking public health care system limits access to services, many poor and racial or ethnic minority youth with serious disorders fall through the cracks into the juvenile justice system.”

(New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003)2-17

Result of the Relationship between the SystemsMental health services in the juvenile justice

system are often inadequate or unavailable. 25% of all juvenile detention centers

reported providing no or poor mental health treatment for youth.

(United States House of Representatives, 2004)

A series of investigations of juvenile detention and correctional facilities has documented inadequate clinical services, inappropriate use of medications, and lack of staff training.

(United States Department of Justice, 2005)

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Perceived Barriers to Treatment

Youth in detention who have mental health needs identified the following barriers to obtaining community-based treatment: the belief that the problem would just go

away uncertainty about where to access

services too difficult to access services

(Abram, et al., 2008)

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Yet, there exists empirically supported recognition that . . .

youth are better served in the community.

effective treatment is available.

 

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The Systemsfrom a Local Perspective

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Significant Changes in theLocal Juvenile Justice System

[Think of changes in the local system. Some of these changes may mirror the national changes, which is worth noting.

Some changes may be the product of legal action against the state.]

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Significant Changes in theLocal Mental Health System

[Think of changes in the local system. Some of these changes may mirror the national changes, which is worth noting.

Some changes may be the product of legal action against the state.]

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Local Response [Think of this as the nexus of the two

system slides on the local level and include examples of how the impact of the issues

raised on the local JJ and MH slides have been addressed and

unforeseen problems resulting from items mentioned on the local MH and JJ slides that need to be or have been addressed.]

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How have systems changed to work together more effectively?

Next Steps What additional interface between the

mental health and juvenile justice systems would you like to see developed?

How would that increase your job satisfaction?

How would that be better for youth involved in the juvenile justice system?

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