Safeguard Children's Mental Health
Click here for research

• Children age 12 and under and adolescents with disabilities (e.g., autism, mental retardation, mental or emotional disorder) should not be prosecuted. Instead, they should be processed through a separate system where they will be assessed and receive appropriate supervision, intervention and treatment.
• Children age 12 and under and adolescents who have a disability (e.g., autism, mental retardation, mental or emotional disorder), should not be housed at a detention center.
• Children who have been found incompetent to proceed due to immaturity should not be processed through the delinquency system.
• Children who are incompetent to proceed should not be transferred to adult court.