The goal of this initiative is to create a model for the delivery of mental health and substance abuse services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system. This model will incorporate current theory and best practices in the areas of screening, assessment, service provision, and quality assurance. The model will address the needs of youth at every level of the juvenile justice system, including arrest, intake, adjudication, community-based treatment, detention, secure corrections, probation, and aftercare. In order to develop the most comprehensive model possible, based on the most current information in the fields of juvenile justice and mental health, the grantee will complete five discrete but inter-related tasks: 1)a literature review to identify and evaluate both research and theoretical publications related to the mental health needs of youth in the juvenile justice system; 2)site visits to localities that are focusing their efforts on meeting the needs of mentally disordered youth in the juvenile justice system; 3)a survey of mental health needs and services for juvenile justice system involved youth in the under-studied areas of the south, southwest, and rural northwest; 4)development of a detailed, comprehensive service delivery model based on the information obtained in tasks 1-3; and 5)convening a panel of relevant subject matter experts to review, evaluate and refine the model developed in task 4.
The final service delivery model will be designed with the ultimate goal of reintegrating youthful offenders into the community. Successful reintegration will require that youth who leave the juvenile justice system continue to receive any necessary services (e.g., mental health, special education, vocational training). Therefore, the model will need to address the design of linkages between the juvenile justice system and essential aftercare components. An important aspect of these linkages is how sensitive information can be transferred in a manner that fosters continuity of care and maintains community safety, while simultaneously maintaining the youth's right to confidentiality. In addition, meeting the goal of effective reintegration will require high levels of family involvement. Family support - or its absence - contributes strongly to a youth's success or failure once he or she returns from incarceration. Pending sufficient appropriations, the model developed under this initiative will subsequently be used in a demonstration and evaluation project that will replicate and evaluate the model at several sites.
CA/NCF
