Juvenile Mental Health Courts: Eligibility and Accessibility

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Nowak, Charli
Area of Honors:
Human Development and Family Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Hannah Beth Mudrick, Thesis Supervisor
Gina Brelsford, Thesis Honors Advisor
Eileen Michelle Ahlin, Faculty Reader
Don Hummer, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
Juvenile Mental Health
Mental Health
Specialty Courts
Accessibility
Eligibility
Abstract:
Juvenile mental health is a growing topic of discussion in the United States. Mental health diagnoses are overrepresented in juveniles involved in the criminal court systems, affecting nearly 500,000 justice involved juveniles in the United States each year (Baker et al., 2023; Wakefield et al., 2023). Criminally involved youth are more likely to have experienced mental health related illnesses, abuse and neglect, removal from home, and trauma. Many juvenile criminal court systems individually developed and implemented juvenile mental health courts (JMHCs) in the early 2000s. Throughout JMHCs there is a lack of consistency in eligibility requirements and accessibility. Without consistency in the eligibility and accessibility of JMHCs, thousands of juvenile criminal offenders are deprived of the services that they need to avoid recidivism and address mental health disorders. Requirements and overall accessibility of juvenile mental health courts in California, Michigan, and Ohio were examined. Conducting a content analysis of JMHC programming materials across the United States offers a stronger understanding of eligibility and accessibility of JMHCs. JMHCs share similarities in their practice. There is an extreme need for cohesion across JMHC guidelines. JMHCs were present in only sixteen states, however, each state had varying practices and models of JMHCs. Increased cohesion across the country could improve access to, outcomes of, and implementation of JMHCs. Additionally, the current results offer suggestions for how current and future JMHCs can implement changes to increase eligibility and accessibility.