Intersection between Mental Health and the Juvenile Justice System

Prepared by Development Services Group, Inc., under cooperative agreement number 2013–JF–FX–K002. Intersection between Mental Health and the Juvenile Justice System Mental health disorders are prevalent among youths in the juvenile justice system. A meta-analysis by Vincent and colleagues (2008) suggested that at some juvenile justice contact points, as many as 70 percent of youths have a diagnosable mental health problem. This is consistent with other studies that point to the overrepresentation of youths with mental/behavioral health disorders within the juvenile justice system (Shufelt and Cocozza 2006; Meservey and Skowyra 2015; Teplin et al. 2015). However, prevalence varies depending on the stage in the justice system at which youths are assessed. In a nationwide study, the prevalence of diagnosed disorders increased the further that youths were processed in the juvenile justice system (Wasserman et al. 2010).