Youth entering an emergency shelter care facility: Prior involvement in juvenile justice and mental health systems

Two hundred and ninety five youth between 11 and 17 years of age who entere d an emergency shelter care facility reported on their prior involvement wi th mental health and criminal justice systems. More than a quarter indicate d a prior arrest, 10.5% reported a hospital admission, and 43.1% said they had received counseling. An overall logistic regression model revealed that youth who had received counseling prior to entry were almost 3 times more likely to be released to an adult who was not a relative or friend than you th who had not received counseling. Implications for the coordination of se rvices from multiple sectors are discussed.