Caring for Juveniles with Mental Disorders in Adult Corrections Facilities

This article first appeared in The International Review of Psychiatry. Wills, CD. Caring for Juveniles with Mental Disorders in Adult Corrections Facilities. Int Rev Psychiatry, 2017, 29:25-33.

Although juveniles have developmental, educational, healthcare, and rehabilitation needs that differ from adults, thousands of them have been confined in adult corrections facilities in the past 30 years. This manuscript will review how and why juveniles end up in adult corrections facilities, who they are, their rehabilitative needs, and how they differ from adults in corrections facilities and youths in the juvenile justice system. The importance of providing developmentally-informed mental health services to youths in adult corrections facilities is examined, along with barriers to traditional adolescent psychiatric practice. Recommendations for future directions in adolescent psychiatric care are presented.