The juvenile justice system as originally conceived was based on the idea that young people who came into conflict with the law should be given the opportunity for reflection and reform. The earliest places of juvenile confinement were intended to rehabilitate young people, and help them
The juvenile justice system as originally conceived was based on the idea that young people who came into conflict with the law should be given the opportunity for reflection and reform. The earliest places of juvenile confinement were intended to rehabilitate young people, and help them become productive members of society.
Over time, particularly in the 1990s, juvenile justice came to focus more on retribution and punishment. Kids were placed out of home for longer periods in increasingly restrictive settings, and catch phrases like: “Do an adult crime, serve adult time” became the norm among policymakers who wanted to be responsive to communities fearful of these new young so-called “superpredators.”
What the public discourse at that time — and hence public policy — failed to appreciate was the likelihood that young people in the juvenile justice system are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it. Many of them, we came to learn, have had multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), or have experienced significant trauma.
More than half who come into contact with the system have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Within that group, approximately 60 percent will have a co-occurring substance use disorder. It is now no longer up for debate whether we should treat young people with mental illness, trauma or behavioral health issues as though they are simply unwilling to conform to socially and legally prescribed norms. What is up for debate is how to appropriately address youth with these issues who may also have committed a delinquent offense.
The National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) is dedicated to answering this question and has sought to provide information and technical assistance to the field for 15-plus years. According to its publication “Better Solutions for Youth with Mental Health in the Juvenile Justice System,” the goal for youth who come into contact with the system should be threefold.
First, when “safe and appropriate,” we should keep young people with mental health needs out of the realm of juvenile justice altogether. While there is an effort around the country to recalibrate juvenile justice so that it is not purely about punishment and incapacitation, we aren’t there yet.
Most juvenile detention facilities and out-of-home placem