Expert Calls for Suicide Screening in All Juvenile Detention Centers by Gary Gately
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All juvenile detention centers should carefully screen incoming detainees for suicidal thoughts and inclinations, says a prominent expert on suicide risk among youths in detention.
Psychologist Karen M. Abram, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, pointed to research showing incarcerated youth die of suicide at a rate two to three times higher than that of youths in the general population.
The Northwestern Juvenile Project looked at 1,829 youth between the ages of 10 and 18 detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago.