NCJ Number
79701
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1981) Pages: 487-496
Date Published
1981
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The assumption that most youths who commit violent acts are severely mentally disordered and, therefore, require intensive psychiatric services is examined in light of the experiences of a specialized program established within New York State that diverted juveniles adjudicated for a violent crime into a mental health setting.
Abstract
The initial estimates for the number of youths appropriate for this program were quite high. Nonetheless, it was found that during its first thirty-three months of operation, the program received an average of only 4.8 referrals per month, accepted as appropriate candidates less than 40 percent of those referred, and, as a result, made use of only slightly more than half of its beds. This low utilization rate, while associated with a number of factors, appears to be best accounted for by the very limited number of juveniles who met the admission criteria of violence and mental illness given to the careful definitions of these terms and the comprehensive screening procedures employed by the program. It is suggested, on the basis of this study, that while the placement of violent juveniles in mental health programs may be an appropriate and effective means of dealing with serious delinquency for a small number of youths, the time has come for an end to the assumption that all violent juveniles are mentally ill and that psychiatric care can serve as a panacea for violent behavior. (Author abstract)