Child and adolescent behavioral health in the juvenile legal system: Inside the walls and beyond.

Ogbaa, Adanne; Keating, Evyn; Lowenhaupt, Elizabeth

Jason, a 15‐year‐old adolescent, was recently adjudicated and placed at the Rhode Island Training School (RITS), the state's only secure carceral facility for detained and adjudicated youth. Like many of the youth entering the facility, Jason arrived at the RITS with a complex history of trauma, substance use, and behavioral issues. As a child, his father was incarcerated and his mother struggled with substance use, leaving Jason without a consistent caregiver. His early life was marked by frequent moves between foster homes, unstable housing, and exposure to violence. This instability in his childhood led to feelings of anger and frustration, which often manifested in school through defiant behavior, truancy, and eventually, physical altercations that led to his involvement with the juvenile legal system.

RHODE Island; JUVENILE offenders; WOUNDS & injuries; SUBSTANCE abuse; JUVENILE delinquency; POST-traumatic stress disorder; PSYCHOTHERAPY; CORRECTIONAL institutions; INTERPROFESSIONAL relations; MEDICAL care; REHABILITATION of people with mental illness; ANXIETY; RECIDIVISM; GROUP psychotherapy; TEENAGERS' conduct of life; HEALTH behavior; ADVERSE childhood experiences; MENTAL depression; HEALTH care teams; ADOLESCENCE; CHILDREN

Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 2024, Vol 40, Issue 12, p1

1058-1073

Academic Journal

10.1002/cbl.30830