Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Federal Agencies Could Play a Stronger Role in Helping States Reduce the Number of Children Placed Solely to Obtain Mental Health Services

HHS addressed this recommendation through its work with the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an interagency working group of which HHS is a member. The Council aims to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs and activities. Beginning in March 2004, the Council began discussing how to respond to our recommendations at its quarterly meetings. They decided to convene an interagency working group comprised of representatives from several agencies, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Family and Youth Services Bureau, DOJ and Education, for the purpose of addressing the recommendations. With HHS as the lead agency, the working group met in October 2004. They discussed the feasibility of tracking children to identify the extent and outcome of their placements. Agency representatives identified how they collected information and concluded that their data collection systems were so disparate that it would be infeasible to track such information.

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an interagency working group led by DOJ, addressed this recommendation. Beginning in March 2004, the Council discussed how to respond to the recommendations in our report at its quarterly meetings. They decided to convene an interagency working group comprised of representatives from several agencies, such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Family and Youth Services Bureau, and DOJ, for the purpose of addressing our recommendation. The working group met in October 2004 and discussed the feasibility of tracking children to identify the extent and outcome of their placements. Agency representatives identified how their agencies collected information and concluded that their data collection systems were so disparate that it would be infeasible to track this information.

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an interagency working group established to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs and activities, initiated a response to this recommendation. The Council includes several federal agencies, including the Department of Education. In March 2004, the Council discussed how to respond to GAO's recommendations. They developed an interagency working group with designated representatives from the federal agencies, including the Departments of Education, Justice and many HHS components (e.g., the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ACF) to discuss our recommendations. The interagency group began meeting in October 2004. They discussed the issue of parents relinquishing custody of their children who are in need of mental health services and the causes of misunderstandings in inappropriate placements. They identified actions to mitigate this problem, such as including state-level agencies in the interagency plan, asking states to consider their information-sharing, technical assistance, and program-related goals in relation to this issue, and asking practitioner members to communicate their concerns and suggestions about this issue directly to HHS. They also agreed on the need to take action to increase the amount of mental health services for children to prevent inappropriate placements or, if already in the system, to ensure that they receive treatment and exit the system as soon as possible.

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an interagency working group established to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs and activities, initiated a response to this recommendation. The Council includes several federal agencies, including HHS. In March 2004, the Council discussed how to respond to GAO's recommendations. They developed an interagency working group with designated representatives from the federal agencies, including the Departments of Education, Justice and many HHS components (e.g., the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ACF) to discuss our recommendations. HHS took the lead and convened a meeting of the interagency working group in October 2004. They discussed the issue of parents relinquishing custody of their children who are in need of mental health services and the causes of misunderstandings in inappropriate placements. They identified actions to mitigate this problem, such as including state-level agencies in the interagency plan, asking states to consider their information-sharing, technical assistance, and program-related goals in relation to this issue, and asking practitioner members to communicate their concerns and suggestions about this issue directly to HHS. They also agreed on the need to take action to increase the amount of mental health services for children to prevent inappropriate placements or, if already in the system, to ensure that they receive treatment and exit the system as soon as possible.

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an interagency working group established to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs and activities, initiated a response to this recommendation. The Council includes several federal agencies, including DOJ. In March 2004, the Council discussed how to respond to GAO's recommendations. They developed an interagency working group with designated representatives from the federal agencies, including the Departments of Education, Justice and many HHS components (e.g., the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, ACF) to discuss our recommendations. The interagency group began meeting in October 2004. They discussed the issue of parents relinquishing custody of their children who are in need of mental health services and the causes of misunderstandings in inappropriate placements. They identified actions to mitigate this problem, such as including state-level agencies in the interagency plan, asking states to consider their information-sharing, technical assistance, and program-related goals in relation to this issue, and asking practitioner members to communicate their concerns and suggestions about this issue directly to HHS. They also agreed on the need for efforts to increase the amount of mental health services for children to prevent inappropriate placements or, if already in the system, to ensure that they receive treatment and exit the system as soon as possible.

The Departments of Education, HHS, and DOJ have helped to review state and local child mental health programs and have disseminated the results in various ways. These agencies, along with representatives from several other federal agencies and practitioner members, comprise the Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which worked to address this recommendation. This included holding a series of regional conferences where state, local, and other practitioners shared promising practices on preventing the inappropriate placement of mentally ill children in the juvenile justice and welfare systems. The Council also produced "Community Guide," an on-line guide to successful programs, tools and resources that states and localities can use to treat mental health and other disorders in youth. In 2006, HHS's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention developed the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP) to catalogue and rate mental health prevention and treatment programs, which was posted on-line. The site rates state, local and other mental health treatment programs and catalogues them as Model Programs, Effective Programs and Promising Programs. In this way, the results of programs that are proven to be effective can be disseminated widely to states and localities. NREPP also serves as a vehicle for previously unrecognized, yet innovative, high-quality community-based programs.

Working through the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, HHS led an effort to address this recommendation, resulting in a series of regional conferences where participants--including state and local practitioners--shared promising practices on mental health programs for youth. The Council also produced "Community Guide," an on-line guide to successful programs, tools and resources that states and localities can use to treat mental health and other disorders in youth. In 2006, HHS's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention developed the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP) to disseminate best practices and posted it on-line. The site rates state, local and other mental health treatment programs and catalogues them as Model Programs, Effective Programs and Promising Programs. The programs have been reviewed and rated by independent reviewers. The purpose of the registry is to speed the transfer of scientific knowledge to the field and make it readily and widely available. NREPP also serves as a vehicle for previously unrecognized, yet innovative, high-quality community-based programs.

DOJ worked with the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to address this recommendation. In Congressional testimony, DOJ noted that the Council was addressing our recommendation and they were planning a series of regional conferences. At the conferences, state, local and other practitioners shared promising practices on preventing the inappropriate placement of mentally ill children in the juvenile justice and welfare systems, leading to a series of regional conferences where participants--including state and local practitioners--shared promising practices on mental health programs for youth. In Congressional testimony, the Director of the Office of Juvenile Justice, DOJ, cited our report and described a series of planned regional conferences to allow opportunities for state, local, and other practitioners to share promising practices for preventing the inappropriate placement of children with mental illness in the juvenile justice and welfare systems. The Council also produced "Community Guide," an on-line guide to successful programs, tools and resources that states and localities can use to treat mental health and other disorders in youth. DOJ developed and posted an on-line guide, "Screening and Assessing Mental Health Disorders Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: A Resource Guide for Practitioners" on its web site in 2004. States and localities can also access HHS' new National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP), which rates state, local and other mental health treatment programs. This widely accessible registry will speed the transfer of scientific knowledge to the field. In addition, OJJDP funded research to identify promising practices and programs for providing mental health services to youth in contact with the juvenile justice system, targeted to state and county administrators. Based on the data, they developed a comprehensive model for providing a broad range of mental health services to these youth, which is described in: "Blueprint for Change: A Comprehensive Model for the Identification and Treatment of Youth with Mental Health Needs in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System." Issued in 2006, this publication was made available on-line and through its clearinghouse. OJJDP continues to use its JUSTJUV listserve and clearinghouse to disseminate information to states and communities.