Module 1: Overview of the Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Treatment Systems

1. The Juvenile Justice System

This section provides an overview of the responsibilities of and referral to the juvenile justice system. An exercise is included to highlight the main points related to this system that are relevant for mental health and substance abuse treatment providers.

1A. Responsibilities of the Juvenile Justice System

The juvenile justice system has multiple responsibilities. These include holding youth accountable for their delinquent behavior, punishing youth for breaking the law, keeping youth incarcerated so they cannot engage in further delinquent behavior, deterring youth from engaging in future delinquent behavior, and allowing youth the opportunity to repair any damage they have done to individuals or an individual's property. The hope is that the above strategies will help keep the public safe and youth will decrease or completely stop engaging in delinquent behavior. An important goal of the juvenile justice system is to help youth learn a new way of thinking about their delinquent behavior and develop skills that will help them participate in more prosocial activities.

1B. Referral to the Juvenile Justice System

There is no one way in which youth are processed through the juvenile justice system. Different states (and even localities within states) have their own decision-making strategies and offer a variety of programs and services to youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

Youth are referred to the juvenile justice system because they have been charged with a criminal offense. Law enforcement makes the majority of referrals, but parents, probation officers, teachers, and victims also can make referrals. There are two distinct classes of youth who are referred to the juvenile justice system:

1. "Juvenile offender" or "juvenile delinquent" is a youth who has been charged with behavior that would be against the law if it were committed by an adult (e.g., robbery, theft, assault, disorderly conduct, etc.).
   
   
2. "Status offender" is a youth who has been charged with a behavior that is declared by statute to be a crime for children but would not be a crime for adults if they engaged in the behavior (e.g., running away from home, truancy, not responding to parental discipline).