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Voices from the Trenches
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Raymond Davilla is a judge for Santa Clara County Juvenile Court. Two years ago, the Santa Clara County Mental Health Department studied the population in the county's juvenile justice system and found that 78 percent suffered from severe traumatic experiences and 32 percent had serious suicidal thoughts. With Judge Davilla leading the effort, a coalition of judges, attorneys, probation officers, mental health experts and consultants created a specialized court to better address the needs of delinquent youth with mental illness. Called the Court of Individualized Treatment of Adolescents, it is the first of its kind in the country. In its first year of operation, it has screened more than 120 cases, a third of which were referred for treatment. Youth who participate in the one-year program have diagnosed brain disorders and typically suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder or severe depression. |
Davilla on lessons learned:
"What has been the best and most difficult part about the mental health court is the fact that it is real collaborative. The dispositional court charges [or sentencing] have to be worked out before a young person appears in court. So together [with the probation department and the offices of the public defender and district attorney], we fashion a disposition to get the child counseling, medication and schooling, along with accountability, which often is in the form of an electronic monitoring program bracelet. Then we operate as a united front with the child and his family. It took some discussion to get to a protocol and standards, but from day one it was a collaborative effort among the various departments and agencies. The prognosis for participating youth in the new court is very good, and we have lowered the recidivism rate [the percentage of youth who reoffend] to 7 percent [compared to the 25 percent recidivism rate for the general juvenile population].
"It's a different role I play [in the mental health court] than most other juvenile judges, but I like that. I have the time to be up close and personal with the youth. I had one girl on my caseload who had a relapse, reverting to drugs and cutting herself. But for the first time, she called her probation officer to talk it through, she told her parents, and then she showed up in court 10 days later and told me what happened. I told her I wasn't thrilled with what had happened, but she made some important first steps, turning to all these people in her life. These are small victories, and mental illness is a lifelong battle, and if we can get young people on track early on, get their parents on track early on, I think we can make an impact."
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