Student team urges school‑based screening and outreach on acquired brain injury to reduce juvenile justice involvement

A University of Oregon team presenting on acquired brain injury (ABI) told Lane County commissioners on June 11 that routine screening and earlier, school‑based awareness could reduce behavioral problems that contribute to juvenile justice involvement.

Presenters — who included Sarah Quastemari and teammates — summarized ABI as any injury to the brain (traumatic brain injury, stroke, oxygen deprivation and similar events) that can impair cognition and behavior. They explained how criminal law evaluates both the physical act (actus reus) and the mental state (mens rea), and argued that ABI can change a young person’s ability to form intent and regulate behavior, increasing the likelihood of justice engagement.

Why it matters: presenters said juveniles who are justice‑involved are more likely than peers to have a history of ABI. Current diagnostic practice relies heavily on interviews and self‑report, which miss many cases because TBIs are often “invisible” and caregivers or youth may not recognize symptoms. Presenters told the board they reviewed justice‑system screening practices, collaborated with Lane County Youth Justice Services on a pilot screening tool and performed a policy analysis of school concussion practices.

Key recommendations were: 1) implement school‑based awareness and training for educators to recognize ABI signs; 2) conduct community outreach (multilingual where appropriate) to teach families and caregivers how to recognize possible ABI and how to seek evaluation; 3) strengthen evidence‑based partnerships with research centers (for example, University of Oregon’s Center on Brain Injury Research and Training) to develop screening tools and data systems; and 4) expand routine, low‑cost screening such as the Brain Injury Screening Tool (BIST) for broader school use while considering more advanced imaging where resources permit.

Presenters emphasized prevention and early detection. “Screenings need to be moved beyond the justice system,” the team said in their findings, noting that intake screening occurs after problems escalate. They urged routine wellness checks in schools and better documentation to support targeted interventions. The team said Lane County juvenile services and a University of Oregon partner are already building a screening database but noted it is still being developed.

Commissioners and staff asked that the county consider how school systems and public health units could adopt low‑cost screening and education. No county policy or vote was taken at the presentation; presenters described their recommendations as prevention and service coordination measures that would require cross‑agency collaboration and resourcing.