Published On: September 1, 2008
Categories Competence to stand trial, Mental health needs
This article offers a vehicle for discussion of California juvenile incompetence to stand trial. It begins with an overview of the California juvenile justice system and a profile of youth in juvenile justice, briefly reviews the incompetency laws applying to adults, and then describes existing legal provisions to address juvenile incompetence. It also describes the context in which this work was undertaken. It then presents the findings of the first-ever statewide survey of California probation departments on youth who are incompetent or potentially incompetent to stand trial in juvenile delinquency proceedings. It closes with suggested policy actions to address the issues encountered in serving this population
Download Resource