Mental health and treatment services in juvenile correctional facilities

Twenty percent of children/adolescents in the general populations have mental health disorders. Youth in the juvenile justice system have up to 4 times that rate. This study documents the rates of designated mental health treatment needs in the juvenile correctional population of Virginia and discusses related issues. Blind-coded data were analyzed on 6,204 youth admitted to the Reception and Diagnostic Center from 1998-2003 representing 95-99% of admissions. An increase in documented history of psychotropic medication among committed youth was found, increasing from 24.3% in 1993 to 50.3% in 2003. Differences were found among youth by race and ethnicity in a number of areas. Black males and Hispanic males were least likely to have prior psychiatric hospitalizations. Documented suicide attempts were found in 16.4% of white females, 11.2% of Black females, 9.6% of white males; 2.7% of black males, and 3.6 of Hispanic males. Designated mental health treatment needs were reported in over 50% of youth overall. The role of the correctional facility in providing mental health treatment needs more consideration.