Mental Health Issues in California’s Juvenile System
PRESS RELEASE
Mental Health Issues in California’s Juvenile System
______________________________________________________________________________
Berkeley, California Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice
August 16, 2012
At the moment California is unable to meet the needs of juvenile’s with mental health issues in the criminal justice system. While California does have a significant amount of resources to help the youth, it does stop the growth in mentally ill children in the justice system that is growing at an alarming rate. Youth diagnosed with mental illness have been steadily increasing in the juvenile justice system for nearly a decade, as have the numbers of youth receiving treatment (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2005).
It is argued that one of the main issues as to why the needs are not being met is because of the tensions in the juvenile justice system itself. Delinquent behavior must be responded to only when competing mandates and priorities. The main focus of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation for the youth, in performing this it must be taken in account that while holding juveniles for their behavior the community must also be protected.
It is already a challenge for probation staff and doctors to make sure that all points are taken into accountability, but when a youth has mental issues it’s a totally different situation. There is a special need on how systems of care respond to the mental health population of the juvenile system. The care system has an impact on every person that has a part on keeping it together and that plays the part of the main components. Probation, mental health service providers, the courts, community based programs and collaboration bring the puzzle together. Plainly said, a case should be made for universal health definitions, screening and assessment; outcomes based programs, and collaboration. It is known that different juvenile justice systems use different
Mental Health Issues in California’s Juvenile System
______________________________________________________________________________
Berkeley, California Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice
August 16, 2012
At the moment California is unable to meet the needs of juvenile’s with mental health issues in the criminal justice system. While California does have a significant amount of resources to help the youth, it does stop the growth in mentally ill children in the justice system that is growing at an alarming rate. Youth diagnosed with mental illness have been steadily increasing in the juvenile justice system for nearly a decade, as have the numbers of youth receiving treatment (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 2005).
It is argued that one of the main issues as to why the needs are not being met is because of the tensions in the juvenile justice system itself. Delinquent behavior must be responded to only when competing mandates and priorities. The main focus of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation for the youth, in performing this it must be taken in account that while holding juveniles for their behavior the community must also be protected.
It is already a challenge for probation staff and doctors to make sure that all points are taken into accountability, but when a youth has mental issues it’s a totally different situation. There is a special need on how systems of care respond to the mental health population of the juvenile system. The care system has an impact on every person that has a part on keeping it together and that plays the part of the main components. Probation, mental health service providers, the courts, community based programs and collaboration bring the puzzle together. Plainly said, a case should be made for universal health definitions, screening and assessment; outcomes based programs, and collaboration. It is known that different juvenile justice systems use different
References: 1. WWW.LAW.BERKELEY.EDU 2.