Children and young people with complex mental health needs are increasingly being cared for within specialist mental health care settings, either in the community or in in-patient facilities. With rapid social developments, it can be difficult for carers and practitioners to keep track of the law in this area. This book provides a guide to the law relating to mental health care for children and young people, their rights and entitlement to service, and discusses important issues in clinical and social care practice such as parental responsibility, Gillick competency and capacity, emergency intervention and detention, assessment of mental illness and confidentiality in practice. A chapter written by Mary Mitchell considers the diagnosis and management of complex mental illness in young people, and a concluding chapter discusses changes in the law. Jargon-free and accessibly written, this is an invaluable guide for professionals working in child and adolescent health and social care, social workers, youth workers, social welfare policy makers, medical professionals, teachers, educational professionals and students, as well as advocates for children and young people.

The legal aspects of child mental health have changed in recent years, yet many who deal professionally with disturbed children are ill informed about the rights and responsibilities of minors. Child Mental Health and the Law addresses the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date text that describes the evolution of child mental health law and the relevance of the law to the child mental health clinician.

Law and Mental Disorder: A Comprehensive and Practical Approach is an encyclopedic medico-legal overview of forensics issues. With 60 chapters, and over 50 contributors, the topics range from an introduction to the legal system for psychiatrists, to pharmacological treatments for sex offenders, to the pathways to conduct disorder amongst children. The book has been written for a professional audience of psychiatrists, resident psychiatrists, and related heath professionals as well as legal professionals (judges, lawyers), and justice system professionals.

"Mental health professionals increasingly look towards problem prevention at the earliest stage of personal development, yet intervention at that stage is extremely complicated. The difficulties of balancing the conflicting rights of the child (to self-determination), the parents (to raise children in privacy and in their own manner), and of the State (to step in when parents or children fail to meet some socially desirable standard) form the basis of this volume. Its description of the interaction between mental health and legal interests, and how they impinge upon children--areas of rapidly-growing concern to mental health workers--represents the state-of-the-art. Four key topics are tackled: the relationship between children and their families; the health care system; the juvenile justice system; and the educational system. The result is a comprehensive survey of current empirical research, professional practice, and legal policy. In addition, the authors have given provocative suggestions on which direction the field will take--and on which direction they think it should take."--Provided by the publisher

Intervention at an early stage of a child's development is extremely complicated. The problems of balancing the conflicting rights of the child, the parents, and the State form the basis of this volume. It describes the interaction between mental health and legal interests in the USA, and provides a comprehensive survey of current empirical research, professional practice, and legal policy.

A generation ago, the Joint Commission on the Mental Health of Children concluded that "there is not a single community in this country which provides an acceptable standard of services for its mentally ill children." Since then, many states have acknowledged the need to develop a system of care for such children, yet few adequate solutions have been implemented. Parents and other decision makers often face two unsatisfactory choices: coping as well as they can by themselves or turning the child over to someone else. This book surveys issues related to the care and civil commitment of children with emotional disturbance. The authors examine research on the residential treatment system for children and youths, then analyze the prevailing legal framework for the commitment of minors to such treatment. They systematically address the question of what child mental health policy should be and conclude by proposing a policy that emphasizes privacy, autonomy, and family integrity. No Place to Go is both a major scholarly statement on the treatment of children with emotional disturbance and a rallying cry for principled change. Gary B. Melton is the director of the Institute for Families in Society and a professor of neuropsychiatry and behavioral science, and adjunct professor of law, pediatrics, and psychology at the University of South Carolina. Phillip M. Lyons Jr. is an assistant professor at the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University. Willis J. Spaulding is an attorney in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Contributors to this volume present and discuss new data which suggest that major mental disorder substantially increases the risk of violent crime. These findings come at a crucial time, since those who suffer from mental disorders are increasingly living in the community, rather than in institutions. The book describes the magnitude and complexity of the problem and offers hope that humane, effective intervention can prevent violent crime being committed by the seriously mentally disordered.