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Juvenile Justice & Mental Health

The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has a long history of activity in the area of juvenile justice and mental health. This page contains a summary of key policy issues and resources in the area.

While the Foundation is not actively engaged in juvenile justice-related activities at this time, Foundation staff continue to serve as a resource to policymakers and advocates working on these critical issues.

The Hogg family viewed mental health as a vital component of overall health and well-being, especially for young adolescents. Untreated mental health problems can affect all areas of youth's lives, including decision-making, self-image, and life choices.

In a report published by the Children's Defense Fund in 1982, "Unclaimed Children," Jane Knitzer discussed the mental health needs of juvenile offenders and identified them as forgotten children. She pointed out that these neglected children do not receive adequate attention. Since that time, more attention has been given to this population, but the high number of mentally ill juvenile offenders remains one of the most difficult issues faced by the juvenile justice field.

Increase in Juvenile Justice Population
In 2001, the Criminal Justice Policy Council reported to the 77th Texas State Legislature that the juvenile correctional population would increase by 18.6 percent by 2005. This increase will most likely be reflected by an increase in the number of youths with serious mental health problems. The additional burden of an increase in juveniles referred to an already overloaded system will mean that even fewer children will receive mental health assistance.

The majority of children who are referred to juvenile probation facilities have committed misdemeanor crimes. Although their crimes are minor, they may have serious mental health problems. In 2001 the Texas State Legislature mandated the use of a mental health screening instrument. The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC) decided to use the MAYSI-2 (Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, Second Version). The Commission reported that after screening less than half of the referrals they received for 2001, over one-third of the youth scored at the caution cutoff on multiple mental health screening instruments. The more serious juvenile offenders who were committed to the Texas Youth Commission possessed the highest rate of multiple mental health needs (TJPC, Mental Health and Juvenile Justice in Texas, February 2003).

It is estimated that at least one out of every five youth in the juvenile justice system has serious mental health problems. County and state officials are faced with limited resources and programs to help these children and a state budget shortfall in the next legislative session. Many counties are trying to find unique and cost effective ways to respond to this growing problem.

What Can Be Done?
State and federal officials have recently begun to recognize the critical issue of mental health problems in the lives of youth in the juvenile justice system. Both state and federal officials are studying various methods of rehabilitation and prevention. Programs must show consideration for youth from all cultures and backgrounds; programs that are effective in the Panhandle may not work in South Texas or in East Texas.

During the 77th Legislative Session, The Texas Legislature appropriated $35 million for an initiative on mental health services. The initiative entitled "The Enhanced Mental Health Services Initiative," increased funding of the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMI), a department within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The funding was directed at providing mental health services for adult and juvenile offenders on probation and for offenders released on parole from the Texas Youth Commission. The goal was to provide specialized supervision, case management, and treatment services for mentally ill offenders to succeed in the community. This program has been implemented in selected sites and has shown some positive results. The need is greater than the resources available, however, and in some instances not all of the parolees in need of services have been able to access those services in a timely manner.

Conclusion
Without the necessary treatment, juvenile offenders with mental health needs are more likely to re-offend and return to the juvenile justice system. Some children are caught in a vicious cycle of needing mental health services, entering the juvenile justice system and receiving assistance, then being released without access to the necessary community mental health services for continued treatment. According to a 1999 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 79.0% of mentally ill offenders sentenced to jail had prior offenses, compared to 71.6% of non-mentally ill offenders. During this same period, 56.6% of mentally ill offenders on probation had prior offenses, compared to 45.9% of non-mentally ill offenders.

A 2004 U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Minority Staff Report entitled, Incarceration of Youth Who Are Waiting for Community Mental Health Services in the United States, (PDF) stated that in a survey of more than 500 juvenile detention facilities, the practice of holding juvenile offenders until community mental health services are available is widespread and a serious national problem. The report found that two-thirds of juvenile detention facilities house youth who are waiting for community mental health treatment and spend an estimated $100 million each year to house them. Over a six-month period, nearly 15,000 incarcerated youth waited for community mental health services and two-thirds of juvenile detention facilities reported that some of these youth have attempted suicide or attacked others.

For many of these children the solutions are complex. Often the youth are involved in several social agencies that seldom work together to provide services. The unnecessary detention of youth who are in need of mental health services is dangerous for both the youth and the overworked staff.

There is a need to provide more prevention programs that include counseling components to help address the mental health needs of youth. Many studies have shown the effectiveness of various treatment programs with extensive counseling components for the youth with mental illness who are involved in the juvenile justice system. In addition, solutions must be found for the many children with mental illness who find themselves in the juvenile justice system due to lack of available community mental health services.

Suggested Resources

Incarceration of Youth Who are Waiting for Mental Health Services in the United States (PDF)
National Center Mental Health Juvenile Justice
Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention
Texas Youth Commission
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Disability Issues Committee