Youth in juvenile justice facilities may experience symptoms of mental health disorders and trauma at a higher rate than their normative peers. As a result, juvenile justice facilities have become de facto mental health agencies, resulting in an increased need to provide interventions that can meet the various needs of their residents. Embedding…

The transition from high school to adulthood is challenging for many students, but particularly for students who hold membership in marginalized populations. College and career readiness (CCR) supports can help students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and those who have had…

The incidence of co-occurring language and behavior problems has been described and explored for more than 25 years. As many as 62% to 95% of students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) have undetected language impairments (LI). Without recognizing language and behavioral challenges, serious learning consequences may result. Solely…

Students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) are among the most marginalized group of students in our schools. In essence, students with EBD are often denied their civil right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) which is a social justice issue. Teachers who become social justice allies are more likely to create a…

The primary purpose of this article is to provide juvenile corrections (JC) education leaders with considerations related to arranging for and implementing professional development (PD) opportunities for JC teachers. Additionally, this information can be used by JC teachers who want to be better informed about PD expectations and requirements. The…

In this article, Mark Freado and Howard Bath present the case of an 11 year boy who had been arrested and charged with the murder of his two-year-old cousin. Because of the severity of the criminal charge against this boy, and despite his age, a transfer hearing was set to determine whether he would be tried as a juvenile or an adult. Such…

Many youth involved with the juvenile justice system have education-related disabilities and are eligible for special education and related services under the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In most cases, the rates of disabilities in the court-involved youth population are much greater than those in the general youth…

Special educators frequently teach students with a variety of diagnostic labels, including autism and oppositional defiant disorder. Some of these diagnoses point to the presence of challenging behaviors that might be viewed as threatening and disruptive. Teachers working with these students must make daily choices in how they approach such…

Disproportionately high rates of Conduct Disorder are diagnosed in African American and Latino youth of color. Diagnostic bias contributes to overdiagnosis of Conduct Disorder in these adolescents of color. Following a diagnosis of Conduct Disorder, adolescents of color face poorer outcomes than their White counterparts. These negative outcomes…

Students who display the most challenging behaviors are more likely to be excluded from the general education learning environment and placed in more restrictive environments such as residential or juvenile justice (JJ) settings. Historically, the approaches used to address the needs of these students have been rooted in reactionary and punitive…

Youth with emotional and behavioral (E/BD) and other disorders, who in many cases have not received needed interventions and supports in school, are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. This article considers how parents of youth with E/BDs can become more involved in the process when their child is referred to juvenile court, thereby…

Helping regular education students transition from high school to the post-secondary world can be a daunting task. Assisting students with special needs do this can be quite intimidating. According to the Harris Poll 2000, 20% of the general population was unemployed, while 71% of adults with disabilities were unemployed (Miller, Lombard, &…

This report focuses on the critical needs and problems facing juvenile justice efforts nationwide, highlighting eight significant challenges: (1) reducing overreliance on incarceration for non-dangerous youthful offenders; (2) developing a continuum of community-based sanctions and interventions for delinquent but non-dangerous youth; (3)…

This collection of papers presented at a 1996 conference on children's mental health focuses on the juvenile justice system. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Delinquency and Mental Illness: The Intersection of Problems and Systems" (Carolyn S. Breda); (2) "Assessing the Mental Health of Adolescents in the Mental Health and…

This monograph, one of a series on disabled youth and the juvenile justice system, discusses the crucial role of advocacy for these youth, stressing the importance of understanding the connection between disabilities and problematic behavior. It describes the multiple barriers that often hamper youth with cognitive and other disabilities from…