Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Systems: Responding to the Needs of Youth with Mental Health Conditions and Delinquency

Abstract

Little was known about youths' capacities related to competence to stand trial until a major national study, conducted by faculty at CMHSR and widely publicized nationally, recently discovered that the risk of incompetence to stand trial was significantly greater for youths under 15 years of age than for young adults.1 Follow-up work is developing the first assessment tool designed for evaluating youths' competence to stand trial. During the past year, we developed and piloted the tool in conjunction with a number of senior juvenile court clinicians in Massachusetts' DMH-managed juvenile court clinics. It will be available for general use throughout the state's juvenile court clinics in about a year. As that point approaches, it will be important for the Forensic Division of DMH to establish policy regarding the use of the tool. In addition, DMH may wish to engage in collaborative efforts with the Massachusetts Trial Court to educate juvenile court judges and attorneys regarding the issues and assessments of juveniles' competence to stand trial. This responsibility would seem to fall to DMH not only because of its management of the juvenile court clinics, but also because youths with mental disorders constitute the largest group of youths for whom the issue is raised.