Mental health services and the adjudication of special education students

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in involvement with the juvenile justice system between special education students receiving mental health services and those not receiving these services for decreasing the likelihood of involvement with the juvenile justice system. A total of 5114 special education students were divided into two groups, those receiving mental health counseling services (n = 45) and those not receiving mental health counseling services (n = 459), based on archival data collected from the local school district and the local comprehensive mental health facility. Involvement with the juvenile justice system was based on archival data collected from the county juvenile court. Statistical analyses included the computation of chi-square tests and phi correlation coefficients. Results revealed a statistically significant difference in involvement in the juvenile justice system. Among the 45 students who received mental health counseling, 5 were involved with the juvenile justice system and 40 were not. Among the 459 who did not receive mental health counseling, 10 were involved with the juvenile justice system and 449 were not. Special education students receiving mental health counseling services were more likely to be involved with the juvenile justice system than those students not receiving such services. The results of this study suggest that those special education students with the most severe emotional and/or behavioral difficulties are the ones most likely to be referred for external mental health counseling services. The results of this study further suggest that these same students are the ones least likely to benefit from mental health counseling services. Consequently, these appear to be the special education students most likely to be involved with the juvenile justice system.