STUDY FINDS MENTALLY ILL TEENS HELD IN JUVENILE HALLS AWAITING HELP.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

ill teens in California juvenile halls wait an average of two months for treatment, sometimes without ever being charged with a crime, a report released Monday says.

The confidential survey of 43 of California's 49 juvenile detention centers found that in an average day, more than 250 young people suffering illnesses ranging from depression to schizophrenia sit behind bars waiting for community mental health services.

Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, who commissioned the report, labeled the delay ``inappropriate'' and other mental health advocates described them as illegal.

Suicide attempts and aggressive attacks are rampant among incarcerated mentally ill teens, and it costs the state an extra $10.6 million annually to house them until they are granted treatment.

``The misuse of detention centers as holding areas for mental health treatment is a major problem in California,'' Waxman said in the report. ``It is unfair to youth, undermines their health, disrupts the function of detention centers and is costly to society.''

The survey found that two-thirds of the nation's juvenile detention centers incarcerated teens with mental health disorders even when no criminal charges were pending.

The California results comes as the state works to implement Proposition 63, which established a 1 percent annual tax on income over $1 million to create a statewide mental health fund.

According to the survey, four unidentified juvenile halls in California acknowledged holding children - many under the age of 12 and in one case as young as 8 - without being charged.

``We have become the repository of last resort for all acting out, behaviorally challenged, developmentally disabled (youth) when others don't know how to handle them,'' one administrator wrote.

Sue Burrell, staff attorney for the Youth Law Center in San Francisco, called the practice of holding mentally ill children without charges shocking.

``That's just flat out against the law and speaks to how horrible the situation is,'' she said.

But Dr. William Arroyo, medical director for children's services with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, said Waxman's study doesn't take into account sweeping improvements at both the state and county levels over the past few years.

He noted much of the $120 million statewide Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act has gone toward improving mental health services, particularly in Los Angeles County, which a few years ago created a mental health court to focus specifically on youth with diagnosed problems.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com