Description and Assessment of a Crisis Consultation Program in a Youth Detention Centre

Child care staff in detention centres are frequently called upon to provide service to very disturbed & acting-out youth. A program of mental health consultation developed to assist detention staff in providing care to youths is described. At the beginning of the program there were about 350 admissions/yr. The most frequent reasons for consultation were depression (self-abuse, suicidal threats/ideation) & unmanageable aggressions. (13 ref)