Mandatory Mental Health Screening for Justice-Involved Youth: A National Priority
| Author | Deneil D. Christian |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14732254211052334 |
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14732254211052334
Youth Justice
2023, Vol. 23(1) 49 –57
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/14732254211052334
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Mandatory Mental Health Screening
for Justice-Involved Youth: A
National Priority
Deneil D. Christian
Abstract
The prevalence of mental health disorders is higher among justice-involved youth than youth in the general
population. Despite mental health being a pressing contemporary issue in the juvenile justice system, fewer
than half of the states in the United States mandate the use of a mental health screening for youth in
the juvenile justice system. The need to utilize a mental health screening tool in all 50 states should be a
national priority. The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Version 2 (MAYSI-2) is the recommended
screening tool that should be adopted nationally. Currently, 21 of the 24 states that mandate the use of a
screening tool utilize MAYSI-2. Furthermore, it is recognized as having the most empirical evidence as an
instrument at the juvenile justice system’s entry and transitional points.
Keywords
justice-involved youth, juvenile justice, MAYSI-2, mental health, screening
Background of the Problem
There is a high rate of mental health disorders among youth entering the juvenile justice
system (Haney-Carona et al., 2019; Robst, 2017; Underwood and Washington, 2016;
Whitley and Rozel, 2016). However, there is a lack of mandated mental health assessment
and screening procedures during the intake process in all 50 states. Although such a high
rate of mental illness diagnoses among this youth demographic, only 24 states mandate
using a standardized screening tool during the juvenile intake process, either through state
statute or agency policy (Soulier and McBride, 2016). According to White (2015), the
juvenile justice system does a poor job of assessing youth’s mental health and treatment
needs.
The Illinois Juvenile Court of 1899 is credited with establishing the first juvenile court
system in the United States (Meng et al., 2013). The first juvenile court was in Cook
Corresponding author:
Deneil D. Christian, University of the Virgin Islands, 2 John Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, VI 00802, USA.
Email: deneil.christian@uvi.edu
1052334YJJ0010.1177/14732254211052334Youth JusticeChristian
research-article2021
Original Article
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