Caring For Youth With Behavioral Health Needs In The Juvenile Justice System

The Caring for Youth With Mental Health Needs in the Juvenile Justice System series discusses the need for specialized training for juvenile justice staff to effectively care for youth with behavioral health needs. By enhancing knowledge and skills through the Mental Health Training for Juvenile Justice, this series aims to improve the supervision and care of justice-involved youth, ensuring more effective and compassionate responses. 

Fact Sheets 

The series is composed of the following two fact sheets: 

Caring for Youth with Behavioral Health Needs in the Juvenile Justice System: Improving Knowledge and Skills of the Professionals Who Supervise Them (2020): This brief examines the implementation and outcomes of the Mental Health Training for Juvenile Justice curriculum. It highlights the prevalence of behavioral health conditions among justice-involved youth and the critical need for staff to be trained in adolescent development, behavioral health, and child trauma. The resource demonstrates significant knowledge gains and improved interactions with youth among participants of the the Mental Health Training for Juvenile Justice program. 

Caring for Youth with Mental Health Needs in the Juvenile Justice System: Improving Knowledge and Skills (2015): This resource reviews an 8-hour mental health training curriculum (later, the Mental Health Training for Juvenile Justice) designed to provide juvenile justice staff with essential information on adolescent mental health. It covers topics such as adolescent development, mental health and substance use disorders, child trauma, treatment, the role of families, and practical strategies for communication and engagement. Developed by the National Center for Youth Opportunity and Justice (NCYOJ), this curriculum blends didactic learning with interactive exercises and videos. 

Citation 

Feye, A., Keator, K. J., Phillippi, S., & Irons, A. (2019, September). Caring for youth with behavioral health needs in the juvenile justice system: Improving knowledge and skills of the professionals who supervise them. Delmar, NY: National Center for Youth Opportunity and Justice, Policy Research Associates. https://www.prainc.com/resource-library/

This resource was first shared in 2015.  

(PDF Documents)