School-Based Efforts to Help At-Risk Youth

• In Event: Mental Health and Law Enforcement School Safety Partnerships

Abstract

Many youth in schools are involved with the juvenile court. They present a unique challenge and are at risk of behavioral problems that may further enmesh them in the juvenile justice system. They also are at risk of behavioral problems and mental health issues at school that may contribute to poor school performance and dropout. Confronting these challenges requires in part forging collaborations between schools and the juvenile justice system, ideally so that youth do not face conflicting requirements and so that interventions might be tailored to improve behavioral and mental health outcomes both during and outside of school hours. This paper discusses the logic of and preliminary lessons learned from an effort in Palm Beach County, Florida. Its goal is to forge just such a collaboration in an effort to implement a school-based delinquency intervention aimed at helping youth to succeed at school and in the community.

Authors

• George B. Pesta, Florida State University

• Daniel P. Mears, Florida State University