Each year, hundreds of thousands of young people with serious mental health and substance abuse problems wind up in the juvenile justice system. Very few of these children have committed serious or violent offenses.

Many more are nonviolent and "low level"offenders who have entered the juvenile justice system because of a failure to enact social policy and develop programs to identify children at risk and provide preventive services and supports for families.

If communities were equipped to deliver accessible, high-quality mental health services to children, many young people would have their problems addressed before their behavior results in juvenile court involvement.

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"Unfortunately, it takes an arrest for many families to gain access to services...." -A state mental health administrator