This project will allow youth involved with Juvenile Court to have psychological evaluations to help the court provided the best outcomes for the youth.

Carroll County Juvenile Court is putting an emphasis on mental health.  In order to provide the best approach to helping a child it is important to understand the child’s mental health needs.  A psychological evaluation and/or a competency evaluation will allow the court to provide the appropriate services for that child. Once the evaluation is complete the court can know specifically what the best treatment should be.  The court has expanded the use of psychological evaluations to the children in need of services (CHINS) program. Previously they were only being used for delinquent cases. Expanding the use of psychological evaluations to CHINS cases as well as the increase in delinquent cases needing a psychological evaluation has added an increased burden to Juvenile Court’s budget.   Once the psychological evaluation and /or competency evaluation has been completed the recommended services need to be put in place. The implementation of services is often hindered by the parent’s ability to pay for services. For example: if the child’s insurance has lapsed or services are not covered by insurance or insurance will only allow a certain amount of time and the provider feels more time is needed.  The court has seen an increase in cases where a psychological evaluation and/or competency evaluation would be appropriate, but funding for the evaluations is limited.  After the evaluation the cost of counseling prohibits some families from receiving the services needed.  Funding would be used to pay for psychological evaluations and/or competency evaluations and counseling services. 

In many ways psychological testing and assessments are similar to medical tests.  If a patient has physical symptoms, a primary care provider may order tests to understand what’s causing those symptoms.  Psychological evaluations serve the same purpose to arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment.  A psychological evaluation consists of testing and assessments.  It is the foundation of how psychologists better understand a person and their behavior.  It encompasses a whole body of research-backed tests and procedures of assessing a specific aspect of a person’s psychological makeup.  The recommendations from the evaluations enable the court to provide appropriate services to the child, eliminating a trial and error approach to finding the correct resources.  Competency evaluations will be performed when the court feels the child may not be able to understand the court proceedings. If the child is determined to be incompetent a case manager will be assigned to work with the child and family to provide services.  

The CHINS program seeks to transform the process of using traditional Juvenile Court methods for juvenile status offenders and low level delinquent offenders who have behavioral disorders, mental health issues and family of origin problems.  CHINS provides case management, educational and prevention services to the child and family.  CHINS also provides comprehensive treatment planning for the child as weekly collaborative meetings allow all aspects of a juvenile’s case to be examined.  Education, prevention programs and  access to mental health treatment allow youth to learn coping skills and explore family dynamics that decrease a child’s chance of reoffending and assist them in being pro-social and living a productive crime free life style. Including a psychological evaluation as part of the planning process for some cases will enable the CHINS program to pinpoint the correct treatment plan.   All of the programs offered to the child and families are community based programs.  The County is fortunate to have Willowbrooke Behavioral Health Hospital in our community, as well as other mental health providers who will be conducting the psychological evaluations and providing the counseling services.