This study aimed to describe the social, behavioural and offence characteristics of all convicted perpetrators of homicide aged 17 and under; to examine their previous contact with mental health services, and to discuss strategies for homicide prevention. An eight-year (1996-2004) sample of 363 juvenile homicide perpetrators in England and Wales…

In the wake of a U.S. Justice Department investigation that found widespread use of excessive force by staff at upstate psychiatric care facilities for mentally ill children, this new edition of Child Welfare Watch identifies shortcomings in mental health services and explores possible solutions, including the expansion of alternatives to…

Objective: To determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among incarcerated male adolescents and to investigate the influence of psychopathology on allocation to either plain detention or detention with compulsory treatment. Method: A cross-sectional study of a representative sample (N = 204) of incarcerated boys aged 12 to 18, using the…

"SAMHSA News" is the national newsletter of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Published six times a year (bimonthly) by SAMHSA's Office of Communications, SAMHSA News contains information about the latest substance abuse and mental health treatment and prevention practices, recent statistics on mental health and…

The US juvenile justice system has gone through many changes since its inception in the late 1890s. Even with these changes and more than 100 years of empirical research, there is a paucity of literature published on juvenile delinquents with disabilities. The present article focuses on juvenile delinquents with disabilities, addressing…

The rate of youth with mental health needs is disproportionately high in juvenile justice. Wraparound planning involves families and providers in coordinating juvenile justice, mental health, and other services and supports. This study compares data from two groups of juvenile offenders with mental health problems: 106 youth in a juvenile justice…

No culture associates individual worth with a career like the United States. For juvenile offenders, in particular offenders with disabilities, this presents a significant challenge. In addition, the requirements that have been imposed on all education through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2001) make programming that is consistent with the…

This issue of "Focal Point" describes the need for, and provides examples of, new strategies for meeting the mental health needs of children and adolescents involved with the juvenile justice system. Articles in this issue discuss the particular need for correction in the way that the juvenile justice system interacts with youth who have mental…

The 11th Annual Building on Family Strengths Conference was held from May 6th through May 8th, 2004, in Portland, Oregon. Highlights included: (1) The revival of a pre-conference training session; this year featured "Understanding Research and Evaluation in Relation to Social Change," presented by Elaine Slaton and Shannon CrossBear of…

Abstracts of documents relating to the planning, management, and delivery of human services are provided in this journal. The journal is divided into four parts: abstracts, arranged in alphabetical order by title; an alphabetical list of authors; an alphabetical list of documents; and a subject index. Each document citation includes ordering…

To provide information on subjects of concern to those in planning, management, and delivery of human services, this journal presents 149 abstracts from literature in the human services field. The journal is divided into five parts: the abstracts themselves, arranged in alphabetical order by title, with bibliographic and availability information;…