This Guide is designed to inform mental health providers about the complex challenges that youths and their families face when they become involved in the juvenile justice system. This is an essential but often overlooked knowledge base because many youth who receive mental health treatment are either involved in the juvenile justice system or at risk for juvenile justice involvement.

The purpose of this resource is to give mental health providers practical guidance about the juvenile legal system, as well as a trauma informed approach to working with youth and families who are faced with the challenges of navigating that system. This resource also highlights the intersection between mental health and juvenile legal system involvement, including the need for shared resources and interdisciplinary training and communication among professionals. It further provides community-based mental health professionals, as well as those working within the juvenile legal system, with foundational information about both the system and youths’ experiences within the system, so that they might better support, serve, and advocate for their clients.