Mental Health Screening and Assessment of Detained Youth

摘要

The effective rehabilitation of detained youth begins with optimal screening of their mental health needs as they enter the juvenile delinquency system. The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument Version 2 is the most used and empirically proven tool to screen juveniles. Juvenile facilities should consider the use of screening instruments like the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument Version 2 as close to intake as feasible. Mental health professionals working in these systems of care will then need adequate resources to assess the mental health needs according to a biopsychosocial model of these youth.