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Juvenile Crime and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment: A Study of Foster Care Children in Urban Areas of Colorado

NCJ Number
204657
Author(s)
Sara Markowitz; Alison Evans Cuellar; Anne M. Libby
Date Published
December 2002
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effectiveness of mental health and substance abuse treatment on the reduction of youth crime.
Abstract
According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) crime statistics, adolescents aged 13 to 19 years account for 25.8 percent of all arrests, yet they make up only 10 percent of the population. Previous studies of youth crime have indicated that mental health problems and substance abuse are prevalent among adolescents who commit crimes. As such, the increased availability of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs may lead, ultimately, to a decrease in youth crime. The current study examined whether the provision of mental health and substance abuse treatment to 9,333 youth in the Colorado State foster care program had the effect of delaying or preventing these at-risk urban youth from engaging in criminal behavior. Arrest data, along with substance abuse and mental health treatment data revealed that a high proportion of youth in the Colorado State child welfare system are detained, and those in the welfare system who are male, Black or Hispanic, and older are more likely to be detained earlier than other youth. These findings are consistent with FBI arrest data and with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The results also revealed that treatment, specifically individual-level treatment, can decrease the probability of exiting the child welfare system into detention. These findings have implications for public policy aimed at reducing youth crime. Tables, references