Federal Youth Court Program

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Youth Court E-update

Date: June 2004 - (Download PDF Version)

Topic: Working With Respondents With Mental Health Issues

Question: Is anyone using Mental Health assessments in Teen Court or Youth Court >programs (i.e., Ones done on your own and not through Juvenile Justice)? My thought is if we are able to assess certain problems on the front end, what a help this would be in the long term. If anyone foresees problem issues with this please advise? Or if some programs are already in this arena-"HELP"!

Responses from Coordinators:

Andrew Placito
NY State Division of Crim. Just. Svcs.
4 Tower Place
Albany, NY 12203-3702
Phone: (518) 457-8425
Fax: (518) 485-2728
placito@dcjs.state.ny.us

There are some youth courts in New York State that have an agreement with a local mental health provider who will provide this service without cost to the court, defendant or family. The number of visits varies by court. I concur with Patti Donohue, that this is best left to a professional. The court may also wish to have such a professional sit on their board.

Palm Beach County Youth Court
Wilma Roy
Palm Beach County School District
3400 Belvedere Rd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Phone: (561) 682-0032
Fax: (561) 682-0037
royw@palmbeach.k12.fl.us

We used an independent doctor for a mental health evaluation a few years ago. However, the information we received was not useful so we stopped. The evaluation was also expensive.

Mat-Su Youth Court
Lisa Albert-Konecky
Program Coordinator
City of Wasilla
290 E. Herning Ave
Wasilla, AK 99654
Phone: (907) 373-9045
Fax: (907) 373-9075
msyc@ci.wasilla.ak.us

Our youth court program has a sentencing option that has the defendant go to our "Juvenile Assessment Center" and get assessed in several different areas, including mental health, family issues, substance abuse, educational needs, etc. This "one-stop shop" is a way for teens to get referrals in any area they might need it. Our court is not allowed to order any treatment, however, the assessment is offered as an option, if the defendant chooses the assessment, then Community Work Service hours are suspended(between 5-10 hours) for the 2 to 3 hour assessment. The parent and teen both fill out a survey and are talked with by a clinician. The JAC assessment is sometimes offered when staff meets with the family before they go to the youth court hearing, if serious issues are found needing to be addressed.

Willcox Youth Court
Sally White
Coordinator
Willcox Against Substance Abuse
City Magistrate Court
480 North Bisbee Avenue
Willcox, AZ 85643
Phone: (520) 384-4777
Fax: (520) 384-1141
wasa@qwest.net

Willcox Youth Court has never used Mental Health assessments per se in trial, however, our screening process does allow us to refer youth to a counselor prior to coming to Youth Court; any assessments or recommendations to the court are made at the counselor's discretion.

Zanta Cruz County Peer Court
Jo Ann Allen
Coordinator
809-H Bay Avenue
Capitola, CA 95010
Phone: (831) 479-5325
Fax: (831) 476-5294
joallen@santacruz.k12.ca.us

We don't provide mental health assessment. However, we do employee a LCSW that provides substance abuse assessments, which have some mental health types of questions. You need to make sure that the family signs releases and that they understand why you are doing the assessment. The only way the assessment helps, is if the family is willing to address the issues surfaced through the process and you have partners, i.e., probation, counselors, school districts, etc. that are willing to provide services or support to the juvenile in addressing the identified issues.

We have a substance abuse focused Teen Court for low level offenders. The crime may be minor, but the substance abuse or other psycho/social issues may be major and can be identified through the assessment. If the juvenile re-offends for another minor substance abuse offense (which they will often do without treatment) we can provide our assessment results to probation and they have agreed to address the issue in their Juvenile Drug Court, which handles higher level offenders rather than treat the second offense as another minor offense with no treatment component. We hope this intervention will prevent some of our substance abusing teens from falling through the cracks in accessing treatment services.

Placer County Peer Court
Karen Green
Peer Court Coordinator
671 Newcastle Road., Suite 7
Newcastle, CA 95658
Phone: (916) 663-9227
Fax: (916) 663-2965
placerpeercourt@aol.com

All of the agencies in our county are use the outcome screening form and it goes to a central "evaluator" so we can see how our kids are doing.

Tamara Walker
Richmond YouthWORKS
330 25th Street
Richmond, CA 94804
Phone: (510) 965-9201 ext.
Fax: (510) 235-4384
RchYouth@aol.com

We are using mental health assessment for Teen Court but we are using it for our after school program. We are using the Maysi 2 test.

Dublin-Laurens County Teen Court
Will Smith
Executive Director
100 South Church StreetP.O. Box 4476
Dublin, GA 31040-4476
Phone: (478) 277-1404
Fax: (478) 277-1413
wtsmith@nlamerica.com

Unfortunately we use the Juvenile Justice system when working with mental health.

New Orleans Teen Court
Lorri Fentress
Executive Director
1450 Poydrus, Suite 210
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 593-1818
Fax: (504) 593-1824
lorrif@hotmail.com

Sorry, we don't use them now but we really should as we have now partnered with the Special Olympics here as a community service cite.

Montgomery County Teen Court
Georgine DeBord
Teen Court Coordinator
Montgomery County State's Attorney
50 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (240) 777-7344
Fax: (240) 777-7413
Georgine.Debord@MontgomeryCountyMd.gov

In Montgomery County, all of our participants agree to an assessment through the Substance Abuse Center. These assessments are done prior to their Teen Court appearance and any recommendations from them must be completed as part of the total diversion package.

Lansing Teen Court
Michael Botke
Director
217 South Capitol Avenue - 230
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: (517) 371-2823
Fax: (517) 371-2836
teencourtlansing@cooley.edu

We have mutual agreements with 3 community based Mental Health organizations that take direct referrals for our program. If any Substance Abuse and or Mental Health issues surface during our intake procedures we provide an immediate referral. In addition our Peer Jurors have the option during the hearing phase to order an Assessment for Personal/Family Counseling services. We are particularly concerned with any red flags indicating Substance Abuse issues and do not hesitate to require an immediate commitment to an assessment.

Christian/Taney Teen Court
Darlene Rea
Coordinator
38th Judicial Circuit
PO Box 482
Forsyth, MO 65653
Phone: (417) 546-3411
Fax: (417) 546-2110
Darlene_Rea@osca.state.mo.us

As a juvenile officer I address this issue; however, most Teen Court cases are not referred where mental health is an issue. If it becomes an issue, I deal with it as I am made aware.

Asheboro/Randolph Teen Court Program
Judy Ebanks
Program Administrator
1520 North Fayetteville Street
Asheboro, NC 27203
Phone: (336) 683-8229
Fax: (336) 683-8217
jdebanks@co.randolph.nc.us

We started our Teen Court in 1998 and attempted to use our Mental Health services as part of our requirements. At that time, Mental Health stated it was not “court ordered” and payments were an issue. The way I prefer now and it seems to work is that I speak with parents during intake if there seems to be problems within the family, anger management, drug issues, etc. The parents and the youth have been more responsive and willing to get the help they need.

Patricia Donohue
Criminal Justice Program Representative
NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
4 Tower Place, 3rd Floor
Albany, NY 12203
Phone: (518) 457-8426
Fax: (518) 485-2728
Pdonohue@DCJS.state.ny.us

Having spent nearly the past 20 years working in various capacities within the juvenile justice system in New York, including the Colonie Youth Court, I have some serious concerns about non-mental health untrained personnel administering mental health assessments to youth. Such assessments, to be administered with a relatively accurate outcome and without further harming the client, should be administered only by someone with a strong mental health background who has received training specific to that assessment instrument. That being said, if a YC wishes a client to receive such an assessment, I would suggest researching their local mental health community for a agency/resource where assessments are provided routinely by trained professionals.

Cattaraugus County Youth Court
Laurie Peterson
Program Coordinator
Cattaraugus County Youth Bureau
100 Main Street, Suite1
Salamanca, NY 14779
Phone: (716) 945-5392 ext. 6205
Fax: (716) 945-1296
laurpe@sal.cattco.org

We don't do mental health assessments during Youth Court intakes. Usually, if Probation feels there are underlying mental health issues, they keep the referral in other diversion programs where evaluations can be ordered. We have ordered respondents to Anger Management Counseling and Drug/Alcohol Evaluations when the offense warrants it. However, neither I nor others on the Youth Bureau Staff have the expertise or qualifications to do mental health assessments.

Franklin County Teen Court
Manuel Martinez
Program Coordinator
373 South High Street, 4th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6316
Phone: (614) 462-3130
Fax: (614) 462-5388
Manuel_Martinez@fccourts.org

Teen court is working with a global assessment tool which assesses the needs of the families other then the offense that Youth has committed. The Global Risk Assessment Device is a assessment plan that the Ohio State University College of Human Ecology has developed for Juvenile court. Directly dealing with mental health can be tricky but the assessment helps us direct to the appropriate referral.

College Station Teen Court
Peggy Calliham
Coordinator
PO Box 9960
College Station, TX 77842
Phone: (409) 764-3499
Fax: (409) 764-3894
pcalliham@ci.college-station.tx.us

I am not but it has certainly occurred to me that at least asking parents if they have had their physician assess their child for depresssion or other issues would be a real help. Sometimes these kids are just DEPRESSED and no one has recognized it or tried to get some help, which is really easy.

Hedwig Village Teen Court
Lisa Reed
Coordinator
955 Piney Point Road
Houston, TX 77024
Phone: (713) 465-6009
Fax: (713) 465-6807
admin@thecityofhedwigvillage.com

We don't do assessments I would be interested in how that is done. We offer resources for kids that are having difficulty perhaps with anger issues, alcohol, drug, etc. We don't recommend we just offer resources. Sometimes the moms are not aware of the info and/or resources out there available to them through the state. They seem most appreciative.

Wichita County Teen Court
Myra Weeks
Coordinator
Wichita County Courthouse
900 7th Street, Room 212
Wichita Falls, TX 76301-2482
Phone: (940) 716-8575
Fax: (940) 766-8177
Myra.Weeks@co.wichita.tx.us

I would like to know and see the form they use. My concern is getting into areas we are not equipped to work with or getting involved beyond what is workable with the numbers we have in our courts.

Carbon Youth Court
Liz Ferguson
Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator
Four Corners Community Behavioral Health, Inc.
P. O. Box 867
Price, UT 84501
Phone: (435) 637-7200
Fax: (435) 637-2377
lferguson@fourcorners.ws

We don’t do the assessments in youth court, but if we feel, or if parents have made mention that there could be some underlying mental health issues we do recommend a MH assessment.

Northwest Youth Services/Whatcom Co Teen Court
Cathy Beaty
Northwest Youth Services
1020 N. State Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: (360) 734-9862 ext. 130
Fax: (360) 734-4720
cathybnwys@hotmail.com

We offer a Teen Screen which is a program designed by Columbia University. The purpose is to identify any youth who may be at risk for depression/suicide or suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness - and to assist in linking them to needed services. We are a non-profit offering many programs for youth, so the Teen Screen is offered to all the youth who come through our door not limited to just Teen Court. It is strictly voluntary.

Lee County Teen Court
Evelyn Kirbach
20th Judicial Court Administrator's Office - Florida
1039 SE 9th Place, #361
Cape Coral, FL 33990
Phone: (941) 458-7084
Fax: (941) 458-7083
ekirbach@ca.cjis20.org

In Lee County, We have Southwest Florida Addiction Services that offer a family counseling program. SWFAS - Also - if the family agrees and the Teen Court Judge recommends - they juvenile can be sent to private counseling.

Walton County Teen Court
Jennifer Lee Parker
3686 US Highway 331 South
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435
Phone: (850) 892-8045
Fax: (850) 892-8039
jparker@copecenter.org

Walton County's Teen Court is actually run through a mental health clinic. When I meet with a juvenile for the first time, I do an assessment of risk and protective factors. In the assessment, it asks if the juvenile has any learning or mental disorders. If a juvenile answers yes or if I suspect that there are mental issues present, I usually make a referral to one of our LMHC. However, it may not be that easy to do because of insurance and finances. I incorporate peer mentors into Teen Court as well. The mentors are the same age and gender as the respondent and are usually very helpful in explaining the Teen Court process (before, during and after Teen Court). A lot of times it is easier for teens to learn from one another than from and adult, hence the name "Teen Court."

Volusia County Teen Court
Shirley Santillana
Court Administration
101 N. Alabama Avenue, Suite B253
Deland, FL 32724
Phone: (386) 822-5703
Fax: (386) 740-5141
ssantillana@circuit7.org

We send them to counseling and pay. We count some of that as their community service hours.

Kauai Teen Court
Pat Hunter-Williams
2959 Umi Street
Lihue, HI 96766
Phone: (808) 245-2873
Fax: (808) 245-6957
teencourt@haleopio.org
www.haleopio.org

According to HIPPA, health information is highly protected and specific authorizations must be obtained to release such information. There would be no legal way of knowing a juvenile's mental status without these specific releases, which would have to include the need to know, purpose of use of the disclosure, to Teen Court. At our initial Intake Meeting with respondents and with parent(s)/legal guardian(s), Kaua'i Teen Court asks if there are any requests from families. If there is no specific request, the process proceeds uniformly with all respondents. At Intake, observation of the respondents may provide information on those who need more structure, those unable to read or write well or quickly, and the Kaua’I Teen Court Manager would provide for accommodations by providing a specific role, which might include a script, for the respondent’s participation, may read the materials aloud, may give more time to fill out information, etc. Usually youth with diagnoses are receiving services, including medication. The organization that operates Kaua'i Teen Court (Hale ‘Opio Kaua’i, Inc.) has extensive experience working with youth and has policies and procedures on behavior management, professional ethics, safety in the workplace, etc. that apply to all staff and consumers.

Elizabeth McGonigal
Wauconda Township Teen Court
NICASA
31979 North Fish Lake Road
Round Lake, IL 60073
Phone: (847) 546-6450
Fax: (847) 546-6760
emcgonigal@nicasa.org

Any offenders coming through our courts that present with problems with mental health, family, behavioral, substance abuse, etc. are referred directly to our youth counselor for assessment. They are then referred to appropriate services, either with our organization or another agency.

Elkhart County Teen Court
Deborah Fulk
330 W. Lexington Avenue
Suite 202
Elkhart, IN 46516
Phone: (574) 294-3549 Ext.115
debf@eysb.org

We have several counselors in our county that work with teenagers as well as three centers. We give the parents the information on the counselors and centers. We do not enforce the counseling suggestion on the part of our jury, but make a recommendation that counseling is a positive thing to move towards. It seems that most of the parents and youth do follow through with the counseling recommendations. I believe a lot of the time, parents do not know where to go along with financial concerns.

Kentucky Teen Court Program
Karen Blackwell
c/o AOC
100 Millcreek Park
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: (502) 573-2350
Fax: (502) 573-0363
karenblackwell@mail.aoc.state.ky.us
www.kycourts.net

In 2003, we held our Kentucky Teen Court Conference and concentrated specifically on mental health related issues. In addition, at our trainings ,we have a wide array of literature available to coordinators concerning different aspects of mental health such as bulimia, bipolar disorder, ADD, etc. I think it is important for participants in Teen Court to understand that a sentence needs to fit the defendants needs. Counseling, Mental Health Assessments, close monitoring are just a few viable options.

New Orleans Teen Court
Lorri Fentress
210 Baronne Street, Suite 1240
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 593-1818
Fax: (504) 593-1824
lorrif@hotmail.com

The New Orleans Teen Court program receives referrals from the Juvenile Court judges who screen our participants for their ability to participate in our program. This method does not eliminate youth who are in need of mental health care. However, our program is ill-equipped and under-staffed in terms of offering Mental Health resources. Although we do have two staffers we do not counsel. Many of the participants are going to agencies for mental health care. We promote these arrangements and sometimes offer community service hours for their work at these agencies if the teens are unlikely to complete service hours at another site based on their mental health issues. How may we also incorporate a session into our program that would help them?

Lansing Teen Court
Michael Botke
217 South Capitol Avenue - 230
Lansing, MI 48933
Phone: (517) 371-2823
Fax: (517) 371-2836
teencourtlansing@cooley.edu

We have a great relationship with local adolescent counseling agencies who are licensed to work with mental health issues. In addition, we work with local school districts to address special needs. In addition, we have Respondent Advocates who act in the capacity of guiding respondents through their involvement with Teen Court and address special needs.

Christian/Taney Teen Court
Darlene Rea
38th Judicial Circuit
PO Box 482
Forsyth, MO 65653
Phone: (417) 546-3411
Fax: (417) 546-2110
Darlene_Rea@osca.state.mo.us

We don't deal directly with mental health issues. If it is determined a juvenile needs counseling for any reason, the jury will usually state it in their verdict: anger management, drug/alcohol, etc.

Cabarrus County Teen Court
Cynthia Seaforth
Cabarrus County Mediation Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 1222
77 Union Street, South
Concord, NC 28026-1222
Phone: (704) 786-1820
Fax: (704) 721-3311
ccmctcp@ctc.net

I do not get a lot youth with mental health issues, but when I do most of them come from the Department of Juvenile Justice and the mental health issues have been addressed. When I do receive one that has not come through DJJ as a referral, I usually talk with the intake counselor and refer the family in need.

Orleans County Youth Court
Tricia Croce
Orleans County Probation
13925 Rte. 31, Suite 200
Albion, NY 14411
Phone: (585) 590-4106
Fax: (585) 590-4103
croce@eznet.net

Orleans County Youth Court- If our kids feel a respondent might have mental health issues (anger management, depression, unable to communicate with family members, dealing with a death, sex abuse, etc.) they will recommend as part of their disposition that a mental health evaluation be conducted and counseling if deemed appropriate. The professional can then best determine if counseling is truly needed and what type.

Harlem Youth Court
Keith Hickman
Center for Court Innovation
170 East 121st Street
New York, NY 10035
Phone: (212) 360-4100
Fax: (212) 397-0985
khickman@courts.state.ny.us
www.courtinnovation.org

The Harlem Youth Court fortunately has mental health and case management services available to youth for referral. All of the youth appearing in youth court receive a screening and assessment to flag for particular issues so that the appropriate referral for support can be made. Youth Court is a gateway to other services that we offer at the Harlem Community Justice Center.

I think the best answer to this question is to partner with a mental health or family services agency in the community, and establish a strong referral network for the family and the youth. A lot of mental health agencies are very open to receiving client referrals and have sliding scale fees or accept Medicaid.

Jefferson County Youth Court
Michele Carlton
The Resolution Center of Jefferson and Lewis Counties
200 Washington Street, Suite 207
Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315) 785-0333
Fax: (315) 785-0322
youthcrt@imcnet.net
www.jefflewismediation.org

We have an organization that assists parents and children who have disabilities come to our training and teach the future youth court members about the different disabilities we may see. I have a child with a mental disability and this subject is near and dear to my heart. I tell the kids about my child at the beginning of training. I also request that they do not use the word "retarded" around me and that I think it is very disrespectful. The kids are given information on ADD, ODD, and the like. I also ascertain before court, if the offender has any disabilities. If the child has a mental disability, the members are requested to use words appropriate for a 7 year old. You could very well have a 6 foot, 15 year old in front of you that is mentally 7 or 8.

Wichita County Teen Court
Myra Weeks
Wichita County Courthouse
900 7th Street, Room 212
Wichita Falls, TX 76301-2482
Phone: (940) 716-8575
Fax: (940) 766-8177
Myra.Weeks@co.wichita.tx.us

Our judge is good about giving credit for time spent inpatient at a clinic. If their issues are not necessarily appropriate for Teen Court juries we also have the option to refer them to a counseling program. The judge will require a written statement from the counselor that includes the level of cooperation and how much time is left with the therapy. Lastly, we have had juries return a verdict that has counseling included. In that case, I leave it as an option. They can participate in the counseling or return to pay the ticket. If it is someone with a huge number of hours I will give hour for hour credit for counseling sessions.

Northwest Youth Services/Whatcom Co Teen Court
Cathy Beaty
Northwest Youth Services
1020 N. State Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: (360) 734-9862 Ext.130
Fax: (360) 734-4720
cathybnwys@hotmail.com
www.northwestyouthservices.org

Because we are an agency that serves youth and families we have programs in place such as counseling to whom we refer kids. They routinely conduct Teen Screen which helps identify mental health issues. They are then referred for proper treatment.

University Place Youth Court
Ann Francis
c/o Community Prosecutor, University Place
3631 74th Avenue W, Suite A
University Place, WA 98466
Phone: (253) 798-7836
Fax: (253) 798-4867
AFRANCI@co.pierce.wa.us

Our court handles this on a case-by case basis. If we know ahead of time that there is a mental health concern, we try to assess whether or not the respondent can fully participate in the program with the desired results, for example, can they maintain confidentiality as required? Or, is the respondent experiencing a condition that is untreated, or that may prevent him/her from understanding the consequences of their actions?

We have an intake interview with each respondent and their parents at least one week prior to their appearance at hearing. In the interview, we go over some questionnaires that have been completed by the respondent, and a separate one that is completed by the parents. Often, working with the respondent and parents, we can determine whether or not an individual would benefit from Youth Court. If we have any doubts, then the case is considered beyond our scope and either goes back to Diversion or the PA.

Monongalia County Teen Court
Christopher (C.W.) Mullins
235 High Street, Room 311
Morgantown, WV 26505
Phone: (304) 292-1236
Monteencourt@hotmail.com
www.wvteencourt.cjb.net

We have an agency here called Morgantown Area Youth Services Project (MAYSP) that provides counseling for anyone under the age of 18 for free. This has been a VERY valuable resource to use for kids who are dealing with depression, substance abuse, peer pressure, alcohol issues, and every other type of crisis I'm sure we've all seen. I feel fortunate to have such a valuable resource that will help out the kids. We also have some counselors who offer their services at a reduced rate for some of the local agencies that deal with juveniles.

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