Up to 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have mental health disorders, which severely impact one or more life functions for a significant percentage of these youth (Skowyra & Cocozza, 2007).

Due to the multiple traumatic events that these youth have experienced and the sense of hopelessness and isolation that ensues from the experience of confinement, suicide risk for these youth dramatically increases.

In 2013, the Youth in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention created this resource and have oulined 10 priorities and a number of strategies for professionals in both mental health and juvenile justice to decrease the occurance of juvenile suicide. 

To view this resource, please click on the link below.

Citation: National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: Youth in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System Task Force. (2013). Preventing juvenile suicide through improved collaboration: Strategies for mental health and juvenile justice agencies. Washington, DC: Author.

Links

• Preventing Juvenile Suicide through Improved Collaboration