No way to treat mental illness

A disturbing new report out of Washington concludes that thousands of children with serious mental disorders are being warehoused in juvenile detention facilities, often with no access to treatment. It would be comforting to dismiss the study as a national portrait with little particular relevance to Florida.

Comforting - and wrong.

The first-ever report, by the minority staff of the U.S. House Government Reform Committee, includes Florida not only among the 47 states that unnecessarily detain youths awaiting outside services but also among the more notorious 33 that do so even when the child has committed no offense. One despairing Florida administrator told the researchers:

"It appears that detention is used as a dumping ground for youth with mental health problems that no one else can control."

Dumping children in detention is as dangerous to youth and staff as it is costly to taxpayers. Most facilities report suicide attempts and attacks by these youth, met by personnel untrained and ill-equipped to handle such problems, much less provide care.

Such warehousing costs facilities more than $100-million a year. That's money that could and should be used to beef up the more appropriate placements and services currently starved for funding.

Yes, the report is as pertinent here as anywhere. It confirms a cruel irony long at work in the Sunshine State. Many parents, in desperation, relinquish custody to juvenile authorities to get their children needed mental-health treatment - only to see their child wait in confinement for help that comes sparingly, if at all.

[Last modified July 19, 2004, 01:00:30]