TY  - JOUR
AU  - Cuellar,Alison Evans
AU  - Markowitz,Sara
AU  - Libby,Anne M.
TI  - The Relationships between Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment and Juvenile Crime
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9952
PY  - 2003
Y2  - September 2003
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9952
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9952.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Alison Evans Cuellar
Department of Health Administration and Policy
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 1J3
Fairfax, VA 22030
Tel: 703/993-5048
E-Mail: aevanscu@gmu.edu

Sara Markowitz
Department of Economics
Emory University
1602 Fishburne Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30322
Tel: (404) 712-8167
E-Mail: sara.markowitz@emory.edu
AB  - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of mental health and substance abuse treatment in reducing crimes committed by juveniles. The observed high correlations between crime, substance abuse and poor mental health suggests that factors which reduce substance abuse and improve mental health may also be effective in reducing criminal activities. This paper uses detention data in conjunction with substance abuse and mental health treatment data for youth enrolled in the Colorado state foster care program. We analyze the impact of treatment in delaying or preventing this group of at-risk youth from engaging in criminal behavior. Results show a negative effect, i.e., longer duration before detention, for youth who receive treatment and for youth in areas with high treatment rates.
ER  -