Written in conjunction with the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates, the National Center for Youth Opportunity and Justice (NCYOJ) published Breaking the School to Prison Pipeline—The School-Based Diversion Initiative for Youth with Mental Disorders. This document provided an overview of research and programs working to prevent unnecessary contact with the juvenile justice system for youth at the time of publication.
The majority of youth in contact with the juvenile justice system have diagnosable mental or substance use disorders and meet criteria for both as well as trauma-related disorders. This publication focuses on youth with unmet mental health treatment needs, the School Responder Model, the sustainability and diffusion of school-based diversion, and lessons learned from school-based diversion efforts.
NCYOJ originally developed and maintained this resource. The NCYOJ was operated by Policy Research, Inc. and operated from 2001 to 2022 and was formerly known as the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice. The NCYOJ improved life opportunities for youth through systems and practice improvement initiatives.
This resource should be viewed as a reference document. It has not been updated since its publication. In addition, this document has not been made 508 compliant. If you would like a 508 compliant version of this document, please email communications@prainc.com.
This resource was first shared in 2016.
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