Thousands of American parents are turning their children over to social workers or the police because it is the only way for the children to receive treatment for mental illnesses, reports the General Accounting Office. More than 12,700 children were placed in the child welfare or criminal justice system in 2001, which was the first attempt by the government to assess the scope of the problem. The GAO report said 32 states, including the largest five, did not provide data on how many children with mental illness were sent to child welfare agencies to receive treatment. Data on the number who ended up in the criminal justice system were based on just 30 counties nationwide. The report states that adolescent boys with mental illnesses are more likely to "act out," and adolescent girls with similar conditions tended to "act in" and become withdrawn. The GAO report found that communities that were able to lower the incidence of mental illness and keep troubled children and families intact were those that focused on prevention and flexibility.
