Washington, D.C. — As part of his continued work to keep kids safe, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s bipartisan investigation has found that kids with special needs in dozens of facilities nationwide are getting locked up instead of getting mental health care.
Today, Sen. Ossoff and Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) released the first report from their bipartisan investigation into the incarceration of children with special needs in juvenile detention facilities around the country, uncovering that kids with special needs were locked up and incarcerated instead of getting the mental health care they need in their communities.
In Spring 2024, Sen. Ossoff and Rep. Kiggans surveyed facilities about what circumstances lead to the prolonged detention of children with mental health conditions and children who have not been charged with offenses.
In survey responses, 75 facilities across 25 states reported incarcerating children who could be eligible for release to mental health care programs outside the facility but who remained incarcerated because the care they needed was not yet available.
More than half of these facilities reported incarcerating children in these circumstances for at least one month, and some reported incarcerating children in these circumstances for up to a year.
“No child in America should be locked up instead of getting the mental health care they need and deserve. The results of our bipartisan investigation shock the conscience and demand action, and I will continue working in the Senate to expose the mistreatment of America’s children,” Sen. Ossoff said.
“The findings from this first report on the incarceration of children with mental health conditions is deeply jarring. As a nurse practitioner and a mother, it is incredibly troubling to learn that these children are not receiving the care and attention they need. I am grateful for Senator Ossoff’s partnership in leading this investigation and for his commitment to shining a light on these injustices. Children need counseling and treatment to help them address their struggles and grow into healthy, functioning members of society,” Congresswoman Kiggans said.
Among the bipartisan report’s findings:
- 75 facilities across 25 states reported incarcerating children who could be eligible for release to mental health care programs outside the facility but who remained incarcerated because the care they needed was not yet available.
- 20 facilities across 13 states reported incarcerating children without charges or children whose charges would not “ordinarily lead to placement in a juvenile justice facility,” many of them due to the children’s need for mental health care.
- 12 facilities across nine states reported incarcerating children who had “never been charged with delinquent offenses that would ordinarily lead to placement in a juvenile justice facility” because the children needed mental health care that was not yet available outside the facility.
- 6 responding facilities across 6 different states reported incarcerating children whose charges had been dropped or who had already served their full sentences because they needed offsite mental health care that was not yet available.
According to experts in pediatric care, incarcerated children have high rates of physical, mental health and developmental needs that may be undiagnosed or under-addressed in custodial facilities. Incarcerated children also face limited access to evidence-based medical care and a lack of educational opportunities, and experts have warned thatincarcerating children can cause adverse lifelong medical and mental health outcomes, including higher rates of depression, and suicide.
“I have seen firsthand hundreds of cases of children with mental health issues locked up in detention facilities due to limitations in community-based options,” said Wayne Bear, CEO for the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS). “When community-based services are unwilling or unable to provide appropriate care for these youth, children can be locked up in juvenile detention facilities for prolonged periods of time. We know from research that once a child is detained, the likelihood of further long-term commitment within the justice system increases significantly.”
“While representing young people in Georgia, I have witnessed firsthand how devastating the lack of appropriate mental healthcare can be for young people and their families. Over the course of my career, I have encountered dozens of children with mental health conditions who remain in juvenile detention facilities for longer than their sentences require due to a lack of available mental health services outside the facility,” said Randee Waldman, Clinical Professor of Law at Emory Law School in Atlanta, GA. “We cannot continue to allow the juvenile justice system to fill the gaps left by an underfunded mental health system. Young people deserve care, not cells. And until we commit to building a continuum of mental health services that meets their needs, we will continue to fail them.”
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff and Rep. Kiggans’ bipartisan report: Prolonged Incarceration of Children Due to Mental Health Care Shortages.
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