Mental health screening refers to the administration of a brief measure to children and adolescents entering a juvenile justice agency for the purposes of identifying individuals who have a mental health problem or behavioral health concern. Screening ensures that mental health treatment or interventions to prevent self-harm are given to juvenile offenders who are in need of these services. This topic is relevant to the field of criminal psychology because it reflects an application of clinical psychology to the juvenile justice system. This entry focuses on mental health screening among juvenile offenders and describes (a) the purposes of mental health screening in juvenile justice settings, (b) characteristics of effective mental health screening tools, (c) examples of screening tools, and (d) considerations for juvenile justice agencies ...

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