July 2004

Incarceration of Youth Who Are Waiting for Community Mental Health Services in the United States

The U.S. Surgeon General has found that debilitating mental disorders affect one in five U.S. youth, but access to effective treatment is often limited. This report documents a serious consequence of the health system's failure to ensure effective mental health care: the inappropriate incarceration of youth who are waiting for community mental health services to become available. Without access to treatment, some youth with serious mental disorders are placed in detention without any criminal charges pending against them. In other cases, such youth who have been charged with crimes but are able to be released must remain incarcerated for extended periods because no inpatient bed, residential placement, or outpatient appointment is available. This misuse of detention centers as holding areas for mental health treatment is unfair to youth, undermines their health, disrupts the function of detention centers, and is costly to society.