1 - An overview of child and adolescent mental health needs in the juvenile justice system

Summary

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

The following pages reflect the dedication of a diverse group of professionals to the needs of an oft neglected population. Youth who become involved with the justice system, by committing delinquent acts and/or status offenses, present with a myriad of issues. It has become increasingly evident that their mental health, educational, and social needs have all too often been inadequately assessed or addressed. Punitive measures and detention create a population of repeat offenders and fail to respond to the root causes of antisocial behavior. With the realization that most justice-involved youth silently suffer from mental health problems, professionals have begun to seriously study both the prevalence of these disorders, and how they might effectively be treated.

We are fortunate to have the contributions of Teplin and colleagues (Chapter 2), who are leaders in an epidemiological approach to psychiatric diagnoses in the juvenile justice population. Their chapter reviews the existing literature, and presents the results of their Northwestern Juvenile Project, which they designed to address limitations of previous research. Prevalence rates of youth in Cook County detention are presented. They indicate high rates of mental illness and of comorbidity, and point to the need to ensure that youth's right to care is met.