Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Report Examines Custody of Mentally Ill
AP story at PsycPORT - "Thousands of children with severe mental illnesses are placed into state systems designed for abused or delinquent children in order to get treatment for their illnesses, congressional auditors reported Monday. Most of the children are teen boys, often with multiple problems. Many show behavior that threatens the safety of themselves and others. Tese children need treatment, but neither the child welfare system, which cares for abused and neglected kids who have to be removed from their parents, nor the justice system, which handles delinquents, was designed to treat them."