Juvenile_Offenders_with_Mental_Illnesses

What is a juvenile offender' A juvenile offender is somebody who is too young to be prosecuted as an adult. The appropriate age at which a juvenile can be prosecuted varies between states, but is usually around the age of seventeen or eighteen. This age can go down for certain serious offenses, such as homicide or sexual assault. When a juvenile is charged for a crime they are usually sent to juvenile court, to be rehabilitated rather than punished. The offender will be said to have committed a "delinquent act," as opposed to a "criminal offense." Many states have large juvenile prisons and treatment facilities. It is understood that some juvenile offenders are very dangerous, despite their age, and that incarceration can be appropriate. But what happens if these “delinquents” have a mental illness' Should these juveniles be charged as an adult in a court of law if they have a mental illness' The Institute of Medicine has estimated that about twelve percent of children in the United States, 7.5 million boys and girls under the age of eighteen have been said to have some type of brain disorder (Bender 101). Research suggests that up to seventy percent of the estimated daily average of more than ninety-thousand adjudicated youths cycling through local and state adult and juvenile justice placements or facilities have a mental health disorder. Seventy-five percent of young offenders have a substance abuse disorder and twenty percent suffer from a mental health disorder serious enough to impair their daily functioning (Hunsicker). Most people have accepted that any child can suffer from any mental illness; many people even believe that a child’s emotional and behavioral problems were the result of outside factors, such as bad parenting (Bender 101). “Early identification for juvenile mental illnesses consists of looking for substance abuse, medications, aggressive or violent behaviors, psychiatric hospitalization or treatment, and current mental status” (Hunsicker). The types of mental illnesses that juvenile offenders have are usually; depression, bipolar disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, and psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. Depression frequently occurs with conduct disorder, and many aggressive youngsters have depressive symptoms. Adolescents have a greater risk of developing mental illnesses if they have poor relationships with their parents, have poor peer relationships, or have been victims of abuse. Bipolar disorders appear more in the juvenile offender population. It is a serious chronic disorder that is characterized by extreme mood changes. This disorder is serious enough to lead to risky behaviors, damaged relationships, and suicidal tendencies if not treated. Generalized anxiety disorders are uncontrollable anxiety up to six months, or more. Research has said that, “your genes may be partly responsible for why generalized anxiety disorder develops and your environment is what could be the trigger that sets it off.” Psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are the most common “psychosis.” Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that alter the way a person acts, thinks, perceives reality, express emotions and relates to other people. People suffering from schizophrenia believe that other people have a capacity to read their mind, control their thought patterns or are scheming to harm them. For instance they might hear voices that nobody else hears. Unfortunately this is a life time disease that has no cure but can be controlled with the correct treatment. These are just a few out of the many illnesses that juvenile offenders tend to suffer from. Juvenile crimes are often serious but it is usually assumed that adolescents deserve and require special handling because they are in criminal behavior at this stage of life and will not necessarily be continued into adulthood. Therefore, rehabilitation has particular appeal for use with juveniles. Rehabilitation is the focus of correction programs for juveniles. “Under the presumptive certification law judges had little discretion in deciding whether certain teens were better served in juvenile court, where they can be more closely monitored and access treatment services” (Haynes). Within the juvenile court systems, mentally ill youths usually go unidentified. The majority of youngsters entering the justice system is usually there for minor offenses and most suffer from mental health problems that can and should be addressed. Juveniles being prosecuted as adults are growing primarily because states are adding more and more offenses to the list of crimes that are excluded from the juvenile court. About one-third of these cases are for non-violent offenses, such as burglary or drug charges. “Juvenile court operates under the presumption that offenders are immature, in three different senses of the word: their development is incomplete, their judgment is less than immature, and their character is still developing” (United States. Cog). `The law’s “requirement that a juvenile admit the charged criminal conduct, and thereby incriminate himself, in order to overcome the presumption of adult supervision is unconstitutional,” the court wrote in its unanimous ruling. Juveniles charged with serious crimes can still be sent to adult court using discretionary certification, which requires approval from a judge after prosecutors make their case based on factors such as the seriousness of the crime, the threat to public safety and the juvenile’s criminal history (Haynes). “Under the presumptive certification law judges had little discretion in deciding whether certain teens were better served in juvenile court, where they can be more closely monitored and access treatment services” (Haynes). As research as shown it really does not change the fact that if any juvenile has a mental illness or not. They still go through the same procedures and rehabilitation centers to get help and to prevent further criminal activity as an adult.