Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Work Group

To coordinate Colorado efforts initiated to address the needs of youth who have mental health and/or co-occurring disorders and who are involved in the juvenile justice system, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Council merged its Mental Health Committee with the Juvenile Justice Subcommittee of the Task Force to address Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System. This committee called the Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Work Group has worked on many issues over the last three-years including Juvenile Competency Legislation, HB 05-1034 that was passed in 2005. Most recently they developed a comprehensive framework to address the needs of youth with mental health and co-occurring disorders which included an assessment of systems and needs.

Three approaches for gathering information for this Framework were used:

• Ten focus groups facilitated throughout the state;
• An online survey to allow for involvement by those individuals and communities not selected for the focus groups; and
• Research on best practices, Colorado models, and other states’ models for identification, diagnosis, and treatment of youth with mental illness and/or co-occurring disorders in the juvenile justice system.

Five of the focus groups consisted of system staff, providers, and other professionals in the juvenile justice and related systems. Another five focus groups were held with families and youth involved with the juvenile justice system. They included:

1. Youth committed to the Division of Youth Corrections;
2. Youth transitioning out of the juvenile justice system and into adulthood;
3. Families in a community support group whose youth have been involved with the juvenile justice system and have mental health needs;
4. Families statewide who participated via an anonymous conference call; and
5. Spanish speaking families and their youth who are involved with the juvenile justice system.

The focus group findings were supported by the findings from the statewide survey. A total of 330 respondents completed the survey and represented all regions of the state, rural and urban areas, and roles in the juvenile justice and related systems. Families, youth, providers, public agency staff at the local and state level, judicial staff, family advocates, and community members all responded to the survey.

From all of the information gathered, a Framework for System Improvement on Behalf of Youth with Mental Illness and Co-occurring Disorders in the Juvenile Justice System was created which included 26 recommendations to address mental health and juvenile justice issues. One was to assess opportunities to require or support increased cultural competency in the juvenile justice system to better meet the needs of youth with mental illness and co-occurring disorders. A second recommendation encouraged the increased use of family advocacy for youth with mental illness and co-occurring disorders. This recommendation was based on data from a survey of family members, advocates and youth in the justice system where respondents indicated that 86% “agreed” or “strongly agreed” with the statement “Families are overwhelmed by court requirements”. Many agency and provider respondents agreed with the family members by “agreeing” or “strongly agreeing” with the same statement 69% of the time.

The Framework, driven by statistics and youth and family stories laid the groundwork for a 2006 effort, where the Council partnered with the Division of Mental Health and the Office of the State Court Administrator to develop a statewide plan to improve the juvenile justice system, Colorado’s Juvenile Justice State Plan for Youth with Mental Health Issues and Co-Occurring Disorders (the Plan). The Center for Systems Integration (CSI) and the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health ~ Colorado Chapter (Federation), continued their role from the Framework to spearhead the Plan’s development including national research and statewide outreach to identify key parts of a successful and integrated juvenile justice system. The Task Force, in partnership with the Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Subcommittee (Subcommittee) provided oversight and guidance in the Plan’s development.

The end result of the time, resources, and energy that went into the Plan is a document that clearly demonstrates that both Colorado and its local communities prioritize meeting the needs of juveniles with mental health issues in the justice system. Colorado’s 22 judicial districts, however, are hampered in their efforts to improve youth, family, and community outcomes due to a lack of resources, knowledge, and time to design more effective systems. While some have unique and successful diversion programs with therapeutic designs, others lack any diversion at all. Though many communities have implemented specialty courts, many have not and some of those that have are unsure of their success due to a lack of evaluation expertise and resources. While evidence-based practices are a priority for most communities, some lack basic knowledge, such as which populations should be served by programs like Multisystemic Therapy or Therapeutic Foster Homes according to research. Overall, judicial district capacity for systemic improvement is limited not by its leaders’ enthusiasm and commitment, but by the lack of knowledge and resources to undertake meaningful improvements.

While the Framework revealed the pressing needs of youth with mental health issues and co-occurring disorders, the Plan reveals the pressing needs of Colorado’s local communities to receive increased support as they seek to reform their systems.

In 2007, based largely on the groundwork set by the Plan, Colorado was selected to become one of four new Models for Change- Juvenile Justice/Mental Health Action Network states through a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Through this grant Colorado is working on two fronts. The first is the systematic incorporation of a research-based mental health screening protocol within all juvenile justice agencies in Denver. This includes pilot-testing the MAYSI-2 within the Denver Juvenile Probation Department to collect information and data that will be used to develop a juvenile justice-system wide mental health screening protocol. This protocol, which will be used to train intake staff from a variety of juvenile justice agencies in Denver, will include procedures for the application of the MAYSI-2 as well as for communication and information-sharing across agencies.

The second front involves working to reduce the number of youth with mental needs who are referred by the schools to the juvenile justice system. Colorado will explore various approaches for reducing the number of school referrals to the juvenile justice system involving youth with mental health with a specific focus on addressing truancy.

Core Team Membership:

Susan Colling, Team Leader
Juvenile Programs Coordinator
Division of Probation Services
State Court Administrator's Office
CO Judicial Branch

Hon. Karen Ashby
Presiding Juvenile Court Judge
Denver Juveniel Court

Tom Dillingham, Executive Director
Federation of Families for Children's MH
CO Chapter

John Gomez, Director
Division of Youth Corrections
CO Dept. of Human Services

Margie Grimsley
Family Member and TA Coordinator at the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Helath
CO Chapter

Regina Huerter, Executive Director
Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission

Dr. Lyida Prado, Director
Child and Family Services
Mental Health Center of Denver

Charles H. Smith, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Behavioral Health Services
CO Dept. of Human Service

Jeanne Smith, Director
Division of Criminal Justice
CO Dept. of Public Safety

Meg Williams, Manager
Office of Adult and Juvenile Jusitce Assistance
Division of Criminal Justice
CO Dept. of Public Safety

For more information on this work group or for information about meetings, contact Anna Lopez at (303) 239-5705 or anna.lopez@cdps.state.co.us.