jeffrey a. butts john jay college of criminal justice city university of new york
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MENTAL HEALTH , SUBSTANCE ABUSE & BRAIN DEVELOPMENT IN JUVENILE OFFENDERS : EFFECTIVE NEW PROGRAMS, AND WHAT THE DATA SHOW. Jeffrey A. Butts John Jay College of Criminal Justice City University of New York Presented to the symposium: Kids Behind Bars New York, NY April 23, 2012. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Research and Evaluation Center
Jeffrey A. ButtsJohn Jay College of Criminal JusticeCity University of New York
Presented to the symposium: Kids Behind BarsNew York, NYApril 23, 2012
MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE &BRAIN DEVELOPMENT IN JUVENILE OFFENDERS: EFFECTIVE NEW PROGRAMS, AND WHAT THE DATA SHOW
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Lessons from Brain Research Adolescence is dominated by peer
interactions, novelty seeking, and elevated consumption behavior, which can be adaptive despite the associated risks
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Lessons from Brain Research Adolescents have poor self-control
in emotionally charged situations, are easily influenced by peers and don’t think through consequences of some actions
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Lessons from Brain Research Research suggests adolescence is
characterized by rapid growth in brain areas governing pleasure-seeking and emotional reactivity – with much slower development in areas that support self-control and judgment
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Lessons from Brain Research Newest research suggests that
adversity and stress “down regulate” the brain systems that allow for adaptive behavior and “up regulate” the emotional systems that can hijack rational regions important for guiding choices and actions
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Adolescence is not a mental health
disorder
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Arrest?
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National Conference of State Legislatures,Juvenile Justice Guidebook for Legislators, November 2011
Factually Wrong
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Cause or Correlation ? The deeper we look into the juvenile justice
process, the more we find past trauma, drug abuse, and mental health problems…
Is this because these are the causes of juvenile crime?
Or is the justice system less likely to divert youth with these problems because of their service needs, thus more likely to charge, adjudicate, place, etc.?
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Prevalence of ProblemsSocial and Economic
Disadvantages
Offenders with Problems
Mental Health, Drugs, Trauma
Justice System Contact
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Cause or Co-Occurrence?
Implications for practice and policy…