Juvenile Court Screening and Referral Project
Ensuring Access to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for Youth and Their Families in Juvenile Court
- Tennessee received a Mental Health/Criminal Justice Collaboration Grant from Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ)
- Grant Panel: Tennessee Department of Mental Health (TDMH), Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Governor's Office of Children's Care Coordination (GOCCC), Department of Children’s Services (DCS), Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY), Vanderbilt University Center of Excellence (VUCOE) and Tennessee Voices for Children (TVC)
- To train Juvenile Court Youth Service Officers and Probation Officers to complete a screening version of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) survey on all youth referred to juvenile court as unruly or delinquent in ten pilot counties: Bradley, Davidson, Dickson, Dyer, Knox, Marion, Madison, Macon, McNairy, Montgomery, Morgan, Obion, Hawkins, Knox, Lawrence, Putnam, Stewart and Washington (including Washington Co and Johnson City)
- Youth identified as having a need for mental health and substance abuse services are referred to locally available services by the Department of Children’s Services court liaisons.
- The Transfer Transformation Initiative grant (SAMHSA/NASMHPD) has allowed us to establish Family Service Providers in selected counties (McNairy, Madison, Dickson, and Macon) to help those youth identified as having a service need to navigate the mental health and substance abuse service delivery system.
- The goal of this Juvenile Court Screening and Referral Project is to establish a model for early screening and intervention of an underserved population with family supports to improve diversion from the juvenile justice system and strengthen families.
Click here to log into the Mental Health Screening Tool (Version 2.0)
Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) for Tennessee's Juvenile Justice Population