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The governor's Civil Rights Advisory Council wants to know if there's not something more to be done for children with mental health problems who run afoul of the law.

The council has planned three hearings on the topic, with the first to be held in Missoula on Thursday in Missoula.

“There's just a systemwide sense that we could be doing better,” said Murray Pierce, a Missoula Youth Court official who serves on the council. “It's an issue that's been understudied and an area where the consequences can be great for both the kids and the communities they live in.”

Nationwide, about 20 percent of children involved in state juvenile justice systems have some form of mental health disorders. Pierce said Montana is no different.

“What we're talking about is conduct disorders, learning disorders, ADHD, bipolar, post-traumatic stress and even fetal alcohol syndrome,” Pierce said. “Often, what you often wind up with in juvenile justice facilities is kids who are waiting for mental health treatment.”

Pierce said the justice systems struggles to give those kids the often very expensive treatment they need.

“What we're trying to do is get the experts together, along with people from our communities, to see if there's not some way we can provide a better service to these kids,” Pierce said. “There will always be funding issues in this sort of thing, but the feeling is that there are other things that we can do better.”

The idea is that by treating the underlying causes of juvenile crime, Montana can do a better job of taking care of both children with mental health issues and its communities.

Included as possible topics of discussion are: screening and assessment, diversion, the concerns of parents and guardians, re-entry to the community after treatment, community education and training.

The public is invited to attend. The hearing is set for 4-7 p.m. on Thursday at Missoula City Hall, 435 Ryman St. Two more meetings will follow, in Havre and Billings, and Pierce said the advisory council will eventually produce a white paper with recommendations about improving mental health care in the juvenile justice system.

Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or by e-mail at mmoore@missoulian.com.

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