Content Details
ED465247 - The Impact of External Environment on Service-Related Decisions of Juvenile Courts
- Category
- Executive Agency Publications
- Collection
- Education Reports from ERIC
- SuDoc Class Number
- ED 1.615:
- Date Issued
- January 1, 2001
- Author
- Breda, Carolyn S
- Source Institution
- University of South Florida, Tampa. Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health
- Sponsoring Agency
- National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.; National Inst. of Mental Health (DHHS), Bethesda, MD
- Publication Type
- Reports - Research - - Speeches/Meeting Papers
- Subject
- Adolescent Behavior, Adolescents, Agency Cooperation, Antisocial Behavior, Behavior Disorders, Community Health Services, Environmental Influences, Integrated Services, Juvenile Courts, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health Clinics, Mental Health Programs, Referral, Social Services
- Abstract
- This report describes outcomes of a survey that investigated the external environment of juvenile courts and whether this environment relates to the treatment of young offenders or custody decisions. In 1997, a statewide survey was administered to all courts with juvenile jurisdiction in a Mid-Southern state. This research was based on 71 courts from whom a completed survey was obtained from the judge. Together, these courts handled over 33,000 youth during 1997 who were referred to them for either a status or delinquency offense. Three measures of service-related decisions were assessed, based on courts offender population only: (1) courts rate of referral to mental health services; (2) courts rate of referral to substance abuse services; and (3) courts custody rate. Results found on average that courts referred about 3 percent of offenders to mental health services and about 4 percent to substance abuse services. Their rate of custody was about 8 percent. Regarding 'interagency relations, courts had nearly weekly, but less than daily contact overall with other child-serving agencies in their communities. Mental health referral rates were higher for courts located in urban areas having more service resources and for courts that maintained more frequent contact with other child-serving agencies.