Profile of Children Placed in Residential Psychiatric Program: Association With Delinquency, Involuntary Mental Health Commitment, and Reentry Into Care

This study examined characteristics and profiles of youth receiving services in 1 of Florida's Medicaid-funded residential mental health treatment programs-State Inpatient Psychiatric Program (SIPP)-between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2008 (N = 1,432). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify youth, and 3 classes were identified: Children With Multiple Needs, Children With No Caregivers, and Abused Children With Substantial Maltreatment History. The results of LCA showed that Children With Multiple Needs experienced the greatest risk for adverse outcomes. Compared with youth in the other 2 classes, these children were more likely to get readmitted to SIPP, more likely to become involved with the juvenile justice system, and more likely to experience involuntary mental health assessments. Implications of the findings are discussed.