Within the past decade, reliance on the juvenile justice system to meet the needs of juvenile offenders with mental health concerns has increased. Due to this tendency, research has been conducted on the effectiveness of various intervention and treatment programs/approaches with varied success. Recent literature suggests that because of interrelated problems involved for youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health issues, a dynamic system of care that extends beyond mere treatment within the juvenile justice system is the most promising. The authors provide a brief overview of the extent to which delinquency and mental illness co-occur; why treatment for these individuals requires a system of care; intervention models; and the juvenile justice systems role in providing mental health services to delinquent youth. Current and future advancements and implications for practitioners are provided.

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On any given day, over 100,000 youth are held in custody in juvenile justice facilities across the country, either awaiting trial in detention centers or having been placed in residential facilities after being convicted of delinquencies. A growing body of research suggests that most of these youth meet criteria for at least one mental disorder, and that at least one out of every five have what is considered to be a serious mental disorder often coupled with a co-occurring substance use disorder. Essential to responding to a youth's mental, emotional, and substance use problem is the identification of their problem. Detecting potential mental health and substance use disorders among youth requires reliable and valid screening and assessment instruments, and information on how best to implement the available instruments. This Research and Program Brief is designed to provide clinicians and other professionals working with youth in the juvenile justice system with information about the most effective instruments to use to screen and assess for mental health and substance use disorders among youth at various points in the juvenile justice system. (Contains 10 references.) (GCP) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Purpose: This study analyzed treatment effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group counseling intervention on HIV transmission risk behavior, depression, anxiety, and alcohol use in HIV perinatally infected adolescents attending an HIV clinical care center in Uganda, Africa. Method: A total of 186 adolescents were randomly assigned to an experimental or control arm and assigned into groups of 11 -16 adolescents. The experimental groups received an 80-minute CBT based weekly intervention for 8 consecutive weeks, while the control groups received only standard group care. Data from self report assessments were analyzed at preand post-test using repeated measures of analysis of variance. The participants, analyzed by variable, included 115 for sexual behavior, 106 for depression, 88 for anxiety, and 115 for alcohol use. Results: The results from the study show a large significant difference (p = 0.006) between the experimental and control groups on the anxiety variable. There were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups on the variables of sexual behavior (p = 0.876), depression (p = 0.700), and alcohol use (p = 0.815). There was an indication of reduced levels of HIV sexual transmission risk behavior, depression, and alcohol use levels in the participants in both the experimental and control groups. Conclusions: Risky sexual behavior places HIV perinatally infected adolescents at risk of re-infection, sexually transmitted diseases, and transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. CBT group counseling intervention equipped the participating adolescents with appropriate life skills to deal with psychological distress and anxiety often seen in their lives and may be useful in routine medical care to reduce transmission risks and improve wellness and call for its incorporation into HIV preventive programs and counselor education.