ATLANTA — Jon Ossoff on Thursday released the first findings from a bipartisan investigation concluding that children with special needs are being incarcerated in juvenile detention facilities nationwide instead of receiving needed mental health care.
Ossoff, joined by Jen Kiggans, unveiled the report during a virtual press conference, calling the findings a “national crisis.” The investigation found dozens of facilities across the country are holding children who could otherwise be released if appropriate mental health services were available in their communities.
“It’s well understood by experts in pediatric care that incarcerated children have high rates of mental, physical, and developmental health needs that go undiagnosed and unmet while they’re locked up,” Ossoff said. “It’s well understood that incarcerating children causes lifelong trauma — lifelong trauma — and we’re talking about children with special needs who are locked up for extended periods of time instead of getting the mental health care that they need.”
According to the report, 75 facilities across 25 states reported incarcerating children who were eligible for release to outside mental health programs but remained detained because appropriate care was not available.
The investigation also found that 20 facilities across 13 states reported incarcerating children without charges or for offenses that would not ordinarily result in placement in a juvenile justice facility. In many cases, detention was tied to the children’s mental health needs.
Twelve facilities in nine states reported holding children who had never been charged with delinquent offenses that would typically lead to juvenile detention because mental health services were unavailable outside the facility.
Additionally, six facilities in six states reported incarcerating children whose charges had been dropped or who had already completed their sentences because offsite mental health care was not available.
“This should shock America’s conscience — children with special needs locked up for extended periods of time instead of getting the mental health care that they need,” Ossoff said. “Children with special needs who are behind bars, not because of anything they’ve done, but simply because the care they need is not available in the community and in our society.”
Ossoff was joined at the press conference by Georgia mother Amandy Figures, whose son struggles with mental illness, and Dr. Rebecca Fix, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The bipartisan investigation is part of Ossoff’s ongoing work focused on child safety and oversight of juvenile detention facilities, according to the release.
