Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice, * Thomas Grisso, Gina Vincent and Daniel Seagrave (eds), * New York, The Guildford Press, 2005, pp. 397, ISBN 1 59385 132 4 (hbk), 35

Abstract

A recently published report commissioned by the Youth Justice Board (Harrington et al., 2005) recommended that ‘there should be prioritisation at both national and local level for mental health screening’ (p. 17). With 31 per cent of the young people interviewed for the research identified as having a mental health difficulty, the need for reliable and effective mental health screening and assessment in the Youth Justice system is self-evident. Grisso et al.’s book is therefore a timely addition to the literature in this area. Based on the North American context, the book outlines the rationale for the introduction of comprehensively evaluated mental health screening and assessment tools for young people in contact with the youth offending services. It then both explains and evaluates a number of these tools already being utilized by practitioners. The authors refer to the current situation in the USA that could equally be applied to the UK: a rising concern with young people’s mental health, and, in particular, a growth in concern about the number of young people in contact with youth offending services who have mental health problems.