The Juvenile Justice System: A Case Study

The juvenile justice system was originally set up to be a rehabilitative and preventative approach, and to assess the needs and rights of children…the ultimate goal of the juvenile justice system was to divert youth from formal punitive processing of the adult justice system (Underwood and Washington, 2016). Mental illness in the juvenile justice system has become a complicated process when determining how to proceed in each step of the process. It may not be the only way into the juvenile justice system, but mental health problems are seen as a significant risk factor in youth who are entering the system (Desai, Falzer, Chapman, & Borum, 2012). Mental illness can affect the whole process from before it even starts because of family and community
These children are being put into the system and through the process, and sometimes are not recognized with a mental illness until later on. If and when a juvenile is adjudicated and sent to a detention center, there is still not the support or resources in many places to help juveniles with mental illness. Another goal that should be part of the juvenile justice system could be working with juveniles who have mental illness, and find the likeliness of recidivism. The juvenile justice system is challenged when it comes to youth with mental illness, and do not have the best resources to help these children get the help that they need. The problem with this is that about 65% of incarcerated juveniles and 60% of detained juveniles meet the criteria for a mental disorder (Hoeve, McReynolds, Wasserman, & McMillian,
States don’t always have the funds to get people the help that they need, but if the purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate and prevent further crime, they need to find a way for these programs to be accessible. Sending a juvenile to a detention facility can be a poor choice if they have existing mental health disorder because it can heighten trauma and emotions (Hammond, 2007). Facilities need an efficient way to identify youth with mental disorders, as well as understanding the prevalence of mental health problems in their populations, by type and severity (Cauffman, 2004). Looking at mental health by populations, type and severity, relates back to community violence, and where youth’s development of mental illness started. If every juvenile justice intake center and detention program documented and archived screening and assessment results, they could provide data needed for planning and development that are specific to the communities that these youths come from (Underwood and Washington, 2016). If given better information and resources, agencies can start to identify, implement, and evaluate programs and services to reduce mental health related behavior problems and improve rehabilitative efforts by taking down the barriers to treatment (Cauffman,