Out of Detention: How to Stop the School-to-Prison Pipeline
A single instance of incarceration in a young person’s life increases the risk of future imprisonment, at a cost to taxpayers of $240.99 per day. Living in jail worsens the mental, emotional, and behavioral problems with which these children and adolescents must struggle. And mental disorders and youth incarceration already share an alarmingly strong link. As James Barrett, a psychologist at the Cambridge Health Alliance and in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry, said in an interview with the HPR, a “massive overlap” exists between the two groups. While just 20 percent of all American youth live with one or more mental disorders, that proportion jumps to 70 percent for the juvenile justice population."
A small percentage of incarcerated youth are unsurprisingly diagnosed with a conduct disorder, a term that describes a young person who harms or is threateningly aggressive toward others. Yet even excluding conduct disorders, 61 percent of males and 70 percent of females involved in the juvenile justice system struggle with mental disorders at the start of detention, including anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. The rate of psychosis, a severely distressing and debilitating condition, is 10 times that of the general population.
Furthermore, the majority of these youth are not dangerous. Just 23.5 percent of those in the juvenile justice system are imprisoned for truly violent offenses. Many face legal penalties for far less distressing behavior that is consistent with fighting a psychiatric illness, such as truancy or other minor school infractions. Youth as young as eight end up in the juvenile justice system after struggling with undiagnosed mental disorders."
http://uwire.com/2015/03/02/out-of-detention-how-to-stop-the-school-to-prison-pipeline/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Most of these minors’ mental illnesses could have been mitigated through earlier treatment, particularly in schools; however, in-school support is often inadequate or absent. As Alison Barkoff, the Director of Advocacy at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, told the HPR, “The best ways to divert kids with mental health needs from getting into juvenile justice in the first place [are] finding ways to support them in their communities, in their families, [and] in their schools.”
I think I'll go cry for a bit....
In keeping with the zero-tolerance policies many schools have adopted for breaking even minor rules, other students who live with mental disorders such as emotional disturbances are expelled and sent into the juvenile justice system.
Why aren't these expulsions legally considered "cruel and unusual punishment"?
