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Citation |
Heretick DML, Russell JA. J. Juv. Justice 2013; 3(1): 1-14. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2013, In Public Domain (U.S. Department of Justice OJJDP), Publisher CSR) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
As many as 70% of youth who enter the juvenile justice system are diagnosed with mental disorders. In 2009 alone, 1.54 million juveniles were arrested. Recidivism rates for these youth can be as high as 52%. Juvenile Mental Health Courts (JMHCs) in conjunction with Intensive Supervised Probation (ISP) is one initiative that addresses the special needs of these juveniles; however, there is limited outcome research with meaningful data comparing juveniles with and without access to JMHCs. This study employed a retrospective observational design to compare the recidivism outcomes of 81 youths (ages 10 to 17) who entered a JMHC in Colorado between 2005 and 2011 with recidivism outcomes for juveniles who entered a JMHC in California during the same time period. This study also compared the outcomes of juveniles in Colorado who were adjudicated and assigned to other forms of probation and diversion, and juveniles in the same state who were diagnosed with a mental disorder and assigned to intensive supervised probation, but who do not have access to a JMHC. Youth in the experimental group (i.e., those with access to the JMHC) showed significantly decreased recidivism rates during and following their probationary period than those in the comparison groups. Average time to reoffending for youth who completed JMHC successfully exceeded 1 year, with a significant reduction in violent/aggressive and property offenses. This article examines outcomes and includes recommendations for the future evaluation of JMHCs. Language: en |