Youth Detained with Mental Health Problems
General Youth Population with Mental Health Problems
Research suggests that about two-thirds [66%] of youth in detention or correctional settings have at least one diagnosable mental health problem, compared with an estimated 9 to 22 percent in the general youth population.
Intersection between Mental Health and the Juvenile Justice System, Literature Review: A Product of the Model Programs Guide, U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, (2017), p. 1.
In a study of youth leaving Los Angeles County placements and camps, it was found that 83% have been referred to child protective services at least once for maltreatment; that 39% had a substantiated finding of child maltreatment, and that 20% had been removed from their home for child abuse or neglect. Further, 70% of the referrals had begun when the young person was less than 10 years old, and a third occurred when the child was less than 5 years old.
Jacquelyn McCroskey, Denise Herz, and Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Crossover Youth: Los Angeles County Probation Youth With Previous Referrals To Child Protective Services, Children’s Data Network (2017), p.4.
In 2017, 89% of the youth committed to the California Division of Juvenile Facilities were youth of color, including 54% Latino, 32% Black, 1% Asian, and 2% “Other.”
Source: Population Overview as of December 31, 2017, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice
Nearly half (48%) of all students who enter residential juvenile justice facilities have an academic achievement level that is below the grade equivalent for their age.
Andrea J. Sedlak and Carol Bruce, Survey of Youth in Residential Placement: Youth Characteristics and Backgrounds, SYRP Report, Rockville, MD, in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. (2017), p. 22.
Girls in same-sex relationships are at least
8x
more likely to be arrested for statutory rape than their peers.
Source: Angela Irvine, Girls in same-sex relationships are at least 8 times more likely to be arrested for statutory rape than their male and straight peers, Infographic, Ceres Policy Research, Oakland, CA (2018).
[A] researcher surveyed youth just minutes after [their court] hearings, and most of them were confused and mistaken about what the judge had said. Overall, the youth surveyed recalled only a third of the conditions that were ordered.
Source: Washington Judicial Colloquies Project: A Guide for Improving Communication and Understanding in Juvenile Court, Teamchild and the Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network, Models for Change, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2012), p. 9.
The California state budget projects spending
$303,160
per youth for a year of confinement in the Division of Juvenile Facilities for fiscal year 2018-19.
Source: California Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Budget Subcommittee No. 5, Hearing on the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (Mar. 22, 2018), Agenda: Issue 2 – Juvenile Justice Reform, p. 10.