Jefferson Center for Mental Health - Juvenile Justice Programs

Other Juvenile Justice Services

Jefferson Center is the lead agency of JJBHAC Advisory Committee, a coalition of key stakeholders, including youth, parents and agency representatives, working together to address the system-wide issues surrounding youth with mental health issues. The coalition develops recommendations that guide efforts for systemic changes and strives to educate the community about issues related to youth involved in the juvenile justice system.We currently offer Juvenile Justice trainings, “Is Your Kid in Trouble? Everything You Wanted to Know About the Juvenile Justice System...But Didn’t Know What to Ask” twice a year. For information about the next training visit our website at www.jcmh.org.

The mission of the Juvenile Assessment Center (JCJAC) is to provide and maintain a single point of entry utilizing a centralized facility for individualized processing, assessing, screening, and referring of at-risk juveniles and juvenile offenders. JCJAC provides a wide range of services through a collaborative effort between Juvenile Assessment Center Staff, Jefferson Center, the1st Judicial District's Attorney's office, Jeffco Public Schools., Jefferson County Division of Human Services, local law enforcement and 1st Judicial Courts For more info call (303) 271-4567 or visit www.jeffcojac.org.

The Juvenile Mental Health Court is a multiagency collaborative that addresses the mental health needs of youth involved in the juvenile justice system in a coordinated manner, in order to link youth and their families with appropriate mental health services while preventing deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system. A Jefferson Center mental health “Navigator” provides assessment and consultation to the mental health court team, and intensive case management for the youth and family. The authority of the court is utilized to ensure that offenders with mental illness follow through with mental health treatment and supports, supports the engaging of both juveniles and their families in treatment and holds participants accountable for their actions. The program currently serves 10-12 adolescents and their families for an average of 8- 12 months.