Sign-on Letter to Senator Wellstone in Support of the "Mental Health Juvenile Justice Act"

The Honorable Paul David Wellstone
U.S. Senate
136 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Wellstone:

The undersigned organizations are writing to express our strong support for the Mental Health Juvenile Justice Act, that you plan to introduce in the 106th Congress. The legislation outlines a comprehensive strategy for providing federal assistance to states and localities, to better serve youngsters in need of mental health services who come in contact with our nation's juvenile justice system.

As you are well aware, each year, more than one million youth come in contact with the juvenile justice system and more than 100,000 youths are placed in some type of correctional facility. Studies have found that the rate of mental disorders is two to three times higher among this population than among youth in the general population. According to a 1994 Department of Justice study, 73 percent of juveniles reported mental health problems, and 57 percent reported past treatment. In addition, over 60 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system may have substance abuse disorders. Moreover, they are disproportionately poor and youth of color.

Many youngsters with emotional disorders in the juvenile justice system have committed minor, non-violent offenses or status offenses. The incarceration of these youngsters is often the result of inadequate local mental health services for children and more punitive state laws about juvenile crime. As mental health and juvenile justice advocates, we believe that appropriate services can both prevent children from committing delinquent offenses and from reoffending - particularly when services are planned and integrated at the local level. Therefore, we strongly endorse the Mental Health Juvenile Justice Act, which offers promising programs, that will:

• Provide Funds to Train Juvenile Justice Personnel.
  Currently, juvenile justice system personnel lack routine training to deal with youth with mental health disorders, and whose risk factors make them candidates for non-secure alternative treatment programs in their community.
• Authorize a New Treatment and Diversion Block Grant Program.
  Despite studies showing enormous numbers of incarcerated children having psychiatric disorders, investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in a number of states have shown screening, assessment, and treatment for children's mental disorders to be grossly inadequate. States will be able to access the new block grant funds to develop and implement effective treatment and diversion programs for juveniles who come in contact with the justice system.
• Implement Multi-System Collaboration.
  Many juvenile offenders have multiple problems and are involved with several different child serving agencies and systems. Typically, these agencies and systems shift the care and costs for serving a child back and forth. The result is that the child and family never receive the services they need. States or localities will be able to implement new grant programs which address the service needs of youngsters to work collaboratively to ensure appropriate diversion from incarceration. Services will be integrated, with linkages between all agencies, and individualized to meet the unique needs of each child.
• Establishment of Interagency Research, Training and Technical Assistance Centers. Currently, there is a lack of resources available to states that need information, and technical assistance on the appropriate services for youth with mental health and substance abuse disorders. Four technical assistance centers will be established to provide direct technical assistance to states and communities, and provide information to local government officials on appropriate services for youth with mental health disorders who are involved with the juvenile justice system.
• Establishment of a Federal Coordinating Council.
  It is critical that programs are developed that appropriately address the complex needs of youth with mental health needs who encounter the juvenile justice system. The "Federal Coordinating Council on the Criminalization of Juveniles with Mental Disorders" will coordinate federal initiatives that focus on this issue, and report to Congress regarding current and proposed legislation to ensure the success and efficacy of interdepartmental collaborations.
• Allow States to Utilize Prison Construction Grant Funds for Treatment.
  Evidence from adult and juvenile populations suggests that substance abuse co-occurs with mental disorders with greater frequency in criminal justice settings than in the general population. Jail and prison staff often find themselves unprepared to deal with persons who suffer from these disorders. States that receive federal prison construction funds under the Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-In-Sentencing Grants program will use these funds to implement mental health screening and treatment of adult and juvenile offenders in their separate facilities.
• Amend the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
  Youngsters with serious emotional disturbances are particularly vulnerable and susceptible to abuse and neglect in state institutions. Federal courts will be provided with the authority to remedy abusive conditions in facilities under which juvenile offenders with mental disorders are being held. This provision will restore to federal courts the authority to remedy abusive conditions in juvenile justice facilities.

Senator Wellstone, your advocacy for people suffering from mental disorders is greatly admired and appreciated. We thank you for your continued support, and look forward to working with you to enact legislation that will provide critical assistance to youngsters in need of mental health services who come in contact with our nation's juvenile justice system.

Sincerely,

American Group of Psychotherapy Association
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association for Pastoral Counselors
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Friends Service Committee
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
Amnesty International, USA
Association for the Advancement of Psychology
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorders
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Defense Fund
Church of the Brethern, Washington office
Clinical Social Work Foundation
Corporation for the Advancement of Psychiatry
Covenant House International and Affiliates
Easter Seals
Executive Board of the Minorities in Law
Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker)
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
National Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children
National Center on Institutions and Alternatives
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National Education Association
National Foundation for Depressive Illness, Inc.
National Mental Health Association
National Network for Youth
National Parent Teachers Association
National Prison Project
National Prison Project of the ACLU
Office for Church in Society, United Church of Christ
The American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Inc.
Volunteers of America
Youth Law Center