Improving Services for Mentally Ill Juvenile Offenders

Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Cauffman, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine

Because the first days and weeks in an institutional setting are a critical period in which mental health problems can arise or be exacerbated, strategies that promote a smooth transition into institutional placement may allow for more effective treatment and more positive outcomes. To address such issues, we are interviewing 275 youths within 48 hours of their arrival to the California Youth Authority, with four weekly follow-ups and two subsequent monthly follow- ups. At each interview, we assess mental health symptoms, as well as environmental, behavioral, and attitudinal measures. An improved understanding of the ways that mental health, treatment programs, and service perceptions interact and evolve in the initial months of confinement will provide valuable guidance for the design of improved programs and methods for easing youths through this transition and addressing their evolving mental health needs.