aecf-NoPlaceForKidsFullReport-2011

FIGURE 9TRAUMATIC PASTS OF CONFINED YOUTH: PERCENTAGE OF YOUTHIN JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES WHO HAVE EVER...ATTEMPTED SUICIDE30%“SEEN SOMEONE SEVERELY INJURED OR KILLED”70%“HAD SOMETHING VERY BAD OR TERRIBLE HAPPEN TO YOU”72%0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80Source: Online data analysis of the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement, U.S. Office of Juvenile Justiceand Delinquency Prevention.symptoms for anxiety, and half for depressionas well. 93 More than two-thirds reported serioussubstance abuse problems, and 59 percent saidthat they had been getting drunk or high severaltimes per week (or daily) in the months leadingup to their arrest. 94A number of other recent studies have also foundmental health problems at epidemic levels amongconfined youth. On average, the research findsthat about two-thirds of youth confined in juvenilefacilities suffer from one or more diagnosablemental health conditions—several times therate of youth in the general population. Aboutone of every five youth in custody has a mentalhealth disturbance that significantly impairs theircapacity to function. 95 Though these symptomscan sometimes be caused or exacerbated by theconfinement experience itself, there is little doubtthat juvenile justice youth suffer an unusuallyhigh prevalence of mental illness.Youth confined in juvenile justice facilities alsosuffer from learning disabilities at exceptionalrates 96 —and they exhibit extremely low levels ofacademic achievement and school success. Studiesfind that youth in correctional confinementscore four years below grade level on average.Most have been suspended from school, andmost have been left back at least one grade. 97Glaring Lack of Effective Support. Most of theyoung people involved in the deep end of ournation’s juvenile justice systems have significantemotional, cognitive, and intellectual deficits—needsoften rooted in severe trauma anddeprivation. They need serious help. Yet in mostcases, juvenile correctional facilities are unable toprovide it. Crucial gaps are commonplace.Mental Health Treatment. Among all youth incorrectional confinement nationwide, more thanhalf are held in facilities that do not conductmental health assessments for all residents. Whenassessments are performed, they are often donein a haphazard fashion or by untrained staff. TheSurvey of Youth in Residential Placement foundthat two of every five youth in a residential commitmentprogram had not received any mentalhealth counseling. Amazingly, youth with seriousmental health symptoms (anger, anxiety, suicidalfeelings, attention deficits—even hallucinations)were less likely than other youth to receive counseling.98 On the other hand, troubling reports24