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Unaddressed Mental Health Needs
CJJ believes that children require effective and culturally sensitive assessment, diagnosis and treatment, not incarceration, if they suffer with mental health needs.
CJJ advocates for non-institutional, community and family-connected services and supports for children with mental illnesses. The juvenile court system is largely ineffective at identifying – much less treating – mental health problems. Yet, fifty to seventy-five percent of kids in juvenile detention facilities have diagnosable mental illnesses.
To the extent that court professionals serve children with mental health needs, they must use culturally sensitive and comprehensive assessments, and, whenever viable, engage in family-centered and community-based interventions to recognize and treat childhood mental illnesses.
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