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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Daniele Gerard, Senior Staff Attorney at Children's Rights, on Mental Health and Youth in State Systems
8:21:36
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Daniele Gerard from Children's Rights testified about the importance of mental health services for youth, particularly those involved in state systems like child welfare and juvenile justice. She highlighted the disproportionate impact of mental health issues on incarcerated youth and urged the council to support community mental health services instead of criminalizing mental health.
- 70% of incarcerated youth have diagnosed mental health conditions, compared to 18-22% of all children.
- Black, brown, LGBTQ+, and disabled youth face the most significant mental health challenges.
- The organization recommends reallocating the proposed Rikers Island budget to support community mental health services.
Daniele Gerard
8:21:36
Thank you.
8:21:37
My name's Danielle Gerard.
8:21:38
I'm a senior staff attorney at Children's Rights.
8:21:42
Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify, chairs Lee and Schulman.
8:21:46
We're a national organization that advocates on behalf of youth in state systems here in the city on behalf of young adults on Rikers.
8:21:52
We know mental health is an issue near and dear to chair Lee.
8:21:56
In June 2024, we submitted a public comment to the board of correction regarding a law banning solitary confinement, includes a great deal of research regarding youth brain development and the criminalization of mental health.
8:22:08
We would like to highlight one of the points we make in that comment and some of the accompanying data.
8:22:12
Mental health is integral to overall health and well-being, especially for adolescents, shaping their development and influencing their responses to stress and social interactions and supporting healthy decision making.
8:22:24
The lack of investment in community mental health services results in police and agents of other punitive systems responding to children and youth experiencing psychiatric distress rather than trained behavioral health personnel.
8:22:37
As a result, youth with mental health conditions are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated than those without mental health conditions.
8:22:44
Nationwide data show that seventy percent of incarcerated young people present with a diagnosed mental health condition compared to eighteen to twenty two percent of all children once involved in the child welfare or juvenile legal systems.
8:22:56
Youth who are black or brown, LGBTQ plus, and or living with a disability disproportionately face the most profound mental health challenges.
8:23:05
Young people themselves describe the child welfare and juvenile legal systems as traumatic, and youth who experience these systems often have poor mental health outcomes.
8:23:13
The criminalization of mental health is a direct result of the lack of investment in community mental health services.
8:23:20
We urge the council to stand firm in supporting our communities, especially when it comes to the health and well-being of all our children and youth incarcerated or not.
8:23:29
We refer you to our written testimony for ways to reallocate the mayor's proposed budget for Rikers Island to work toward achieving this goal.
8:23:37
Thank you for this opportunity to testify.