(PS3-61) Feasibility of Mental Health Services for Justice-Involved Youth: A Qualitative Examination of Key Collaborator Perceptions

Abstract Text: Justice-involved youth experience disproportionately high rates of mental health (MH) disorders, yet the juvenile justice system remains inadequately equipped to meet their needs. Structural and systemic barriers—including high provider caseloads, limited access to specialized training, and disruptions in services—contribute to gaps in care. Logistical constraints experienced by families and difficulty engaging caregivers in treatment further impede MH service provision. These barriers leave many justice-involved youth without access to appropriate treatment, exacerbating their MH challenges and increasing their risk of recidivism. Understanding key collaborator perspectives may be critical for developing strategies to improve the feasibility and sustainability of MH services in juvenile justice settings.
This study employs a qualitative approach to examine how juvenile probation officers and caregivers of justice-involved youth perceive the accessibility, acceptability, and feasibility of MH services within the juvenile justice system. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 10 juvenile probation officers and 10 caregivers to discuss their perspectives on the role of juvenile justice personnel in supporting youth MH, perceived gaps in service delivery, and barriers that influence treatment engagement. Topics related to facilitators will also be explored, including the feasibility of delivering interventions of varying duration, session length, and session number, to determine what intervention characteristics are most influential within the juvenile justice context. Interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Rapid Qualitative Analysis (RQA). A structured summary template, informed by predefined thematic domains, will be iteratively refined and applied to generate transcript summaries. These summaries will then be synthesized into a matrix to identify emergent themes and subthemes, with frequencies of endorsement reported for each. Direct quotes from the interviews will also be presented to add depth and richness to the data.
Findings from this study may inform policy and practice recommendations to enhance the feasibility of implementing evidence-based MH services in juvenile justice settings by way of identifying key barriers and facilitators. Our work may contribute to expanding MH service provision for justice-involved youth, ultimately improving long-term youth outcomes and reducing recidivism in this population.