Juvenile justice system under scrutiny

Students in juvenile detention facilities must be provided a broad array of educational and rehabilitative services, under provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to a federal District Court ruling in Connecticut this fall [Smith v. Wheaton, 29 IDELR 200 (D.Conn. 1998)].

The court refused to specify which services must be provided. Instead it indicated the state must determine each child's individual needs. The decision has national ramifications, as the services to be provided were broadly defined, with the goal of successfully returning the child to his or her community. Most of these youth qualify for special education services because of behavior and emotional problems.

The decision comes at a time when state detention facilities are under increasing scrutiny for their deteriorating, overcrowded and often abusive conditions. Two recent high-profile events illustrate some of these problems. The first occurred at the same detention center involved in the IDEA lawsuit, in the same week as the court's decision.

Connecticut: tragedy spurs action

This past fall, a 15-year-old girl was found dead, hanging from the ceiling in her room at the overcrowded Connecticut facility that had been housing about 50 more youth than the facility could accommodate. In Connecticut, youth correction is managed by the overburdened agency that is also responsible for child protection, the Department of Children and Families (DCF). The young girl's death added to the protective services agency's already dismal record of caring for children: Since 1995, nine children had died from abuse in cases known to or under investigation by DCF.

Ironically, placing Connecticut's facilities under DCF control was consistent with the original ideals of juvenile justice, reflecting the belief that juveniles need protection and rehabilitation, not punishment. But the agency's own report of the girl's death indicated woefully inadequate protection: Two weeks before her death she had attempted suicide, yet she was neither hospitalized nor evaluated, nor even seen by a counselor until two days after the attempt.

This tragedy brought long-overdue action for incarcerated youth, and the governor has given a "blank check" to DCF to upgrade facilities. Plans are under way for a new facility, for hiring more staff and, in the wake of the Smith decision, to provide appropriate educational and mental health services for residents.

Louisiana: federal intervention

The U.S. Justice Department filed suit in December against the state of Louisiana for failing to provide adequate care in the state's juvenile correctional facilities, alleging that youth are at substantial risk of harm from staff abuse, from the use of excessive force and from other juveniles. In addition, the state has failed to provide adequate medical, mental health, educational and rehabilitation services, the suit claims.

Since 1995, the Justice Department has addressed similar issues in Kentucky, Georgia and Puerto Rico, where agreements were reached with federal authorities assuring protection of juveniles from abuse and the provision of adequate services.

Psychologists' roles

One hundred years ago, the juvenile court was founded in Chicago because of a growing recognition that youth needed to be treated differently than adults when they broke the law: "Society's role was not to ascertain whether the child was 'guilty' or 'innocent,' but 'what is he, how has he become what he is, and what had best be done in his interest and in the interest of the state to save him from a downward career,'" [Justice Fortas, In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1966)].

In the latter half of this century, we have seen this vision eroded. Youth are increasingly transferred to adult court, juvenile facilities have deteriorated to dangerous, overcrowded and damaging conditions, and mental health services have all but disappeared in most facilities, along with adequate health care and educational opportunities.

Psychologists have knowledge directly relevant to the concerns for how a juvenile has "become what he is" and how he or she can be helped. We must urge state and federal legislators to fund services and improvements for juvenile facilities, enlighten leaders about the developmentally different needs of youth compared to adults, and advocate for promising interventions (such as multisystemic therapy) that have been shown to reduce recidivism. We must actively educate our political leaders, state officials and courts about the necessity of interventions to reduce and to prevent criminal behavior among our youth. Finally, we need to provide training to our graduate students to perform all of these activities, as well as to deliver services to this severely neglected population.

"Judicial notebook" is an effort by the Courtwatch Committee of APA's Div. 9, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, to encourage involvement by psychologists in judicial decision-making.



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