Posts

Introduction to the Juvenile Mental Health Court

Hello Healthy Minds followers!

We wanted to start off our blogging journey by sharing a bit about one of the specialized services we provide. We’ll venture through numerous topics in the Healthy Minds Blog, addressing a variety of subjects related to education, child development, mental health, and disabilities. Today, we start with our work in the court system.

Unique in its design, the Juvenile Mental Health Court (JMHC) is composed of an interdisciplinary team including a judge, public defender(s) and defense attorney(s), probation officers, a psychiatric social worker, a consulting psychiatrist and psychologist, and an education specialist. This specialized court room is part of the Los Angeles County juvenile delinquency court system and serves youth with developmental delays and/or significant mental health needs. The team has specialized knowledge and expertise in mental health and works collaboratively to ensure the youth and their families have the support needed to increase positive outcomes and reduce recidivism. In other words, we help the youth get back on track so that they don’t continue to get in trouble with the law.

Read more