1. Mn Juvenile Justice & Mental Health Initiative Mental Health Screen Best Practices From: Blueprint for Change

2. Mental Health Screen Best Practice Every youth who comes in contact with the juvenile justice system should be systematically screened for mental health needs to identify : –Conditions in need of immediate response (i.e., suicide risk) –Those youth who require further mental health assessment

3. Mental Health Screen Best Practice The mental health screening process should include two steps: –An emergency mental health screen –General mental health screen

4. Mental Health Screen Best Practice Access to immediate, emergency mental health services should be available for all youth who indicate a need based on the screen or observation of staff. A mental health assessment should be administered to any youth whose mental health screen indicates the need for further assessment.

5. Mental Health Screen Best Practice Instruments selected for identifying mental health needs should be standardized, scientifically sound, reliable, valid. Mental health screening and assessment should be performed in conjunction with risk assessments to balance public safety with the need for mental health treatment.

6. Severity of Mental Illness and Risk to Public Safety A guide to Dispositional Alternatives Low Risk---------------------------------------------------------High Risk A Continuum of Mental Health Need and Risk Levels Among the Juvenile Justice Population III High Severity Low Risk Diversion to treatment IV High Severity High Risk Security and Treatment I Low Risk Low Severity Diversion II High Risk Low Severity Corrections

7. Mental Health Screen Best Practice All mental health screens should be administered by trained staff. Policies controlling the use of pre-adjudication screening information may be necessary to ensure that information is used appropriately and doesnt jeopardize the legal interests of the youth as a defendant.

8. Mental Health Screen Best Practice All screening & assessment instruments should target both mental health and substance use needs in an integrated manner. Existing screening & assessment instruments may need to be adapted for critical groups of youth, i.e., youth of color and girls, pending further research.

9. Mental Health Screen Follow-up Responsibility for providing mental health services to justice involved youth should be shared between the juvenile justice and mental health systems, with lead responsibility varying depending on the youths point of contact with the system. For example, youth who are diverted to community-based treatment at probation intake, detention or juvenile court would most likely be diverted to a mental health provider while justice system might still have supervision and oversight.

10. Mental Health Screen Follow-up The recommended approach for detention centers is to systematically identify mental health needs among youth entering the detention system and have the capacity to link with community-based providers to provide treatment. Actual mental health service delivery falls to the mental health system Example: New York state operates mobile MH services to detention centers