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Academy endorses juvenile justice bill

Each year, more than a million children and adolescents come into contact with the U.S. justice system. Many of those children suffer from mental illness, severe developmental problems and substance abuse addiction. In an effort to address these and other health care needs of incarcerated youth, Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) has introduced the Mental Health Juvenile Justice Act (S. 464), which the Academy has endorsed. This legislation outlines a comprehensive federal strategy to provide assistance to children with mental illness in the juvenile justice system. The bill would authorize $50 million annually for five years to implement a new plan that would include:

• training state judges, probation officers and others on the need for appropriate identification and treatment of mental health disorders and substance abuse, and on the use of community-based alternatives to placement in juvenile correctional facilities;