Mental Health Services Are Vital Tools in Juvenile Justice

An extremely influential issue that needs to be addressed by juvenile justice authorities is mental health. Many adolescents that enter the system suffer from emotional and psychological disorders as a result of abuse, drug usage, and other unfortunate events. According to data from the 2003 Survey of Youth in Residential Placement, 71 percent of committed youths reported having more than one type of problem. The majority of committed youths indicated some degree of anger problem (81 percent), and most also expressed anxiety (61 percent) or depression (59 percent). In addition to these problems, one in six youths reported having hallucinations, one in four said they had suicidal feelings or ideas, and one in five said they attempted suicide at least once in their life (Sickmund, 2005). Similar surveys for adolescents in the general population result in much lower statistics.

Obviously there is a stronger prevalence of mental problems in juvenile offenders. Are these juveniles getting the treatment they need while they are committed in facilities? Many experts and advocates say that they absolutely are not getting what they need. Too many adolescents with moderate to serious disorders are just getting pushed through facilities and many departments responsible for juvenile offenders are only putting minimal effort into helping these kids. Recent research suggests the need for more intense collaboration between mental health professionals and the juvenile justice system to better address the placement and programming needs of these juveniles (Escarcega, 2004).