Disorders Involved in the Juvenile Justice System

• NCJ Number: 244063
• Journal: Focal Point Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 2006 Pages: 24-27
• Author(s): Richard Shepler; Dr. Helen K. Cleminshaw; Patrick Kanary
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the development and evaluation of a new community-based treatment model designed for youth with co-occurring disorders who are involved in the juvenile justice system.

Abstract

Called the Integrated Co-Occurring Treatment (ICT) model (Cleminshaw, Shepler, & Newman, 2005), it is based on six major components. One component is a system of care service philosophy. A second component is a home-based service delivery model. A third component is an integrated contextual treatment that addresses both mental health and substance abuse disorders. A fourth component is a comprehensive service array matched to need. A fifth component is stage-wise treatment and motivational interviewing strategies that focus on adolescent development; and a sixth component is a risk-reduction and resilience-building framework. These components are based on the following principles: assessment and treatment integration, treatment salience, resource preservation and enhancement, treatment persistence, family competence, cross-system collaboration, treatment receptivity, interactive determination and contextual functioning, harm reduction, and shared responsibility for change. The main goals of ICT are harm and risk reduction, reasonable functioning in major life domains, symptom reduction, relapse prevention, and ongoing recovery and resilience. The model has been field-tested in the community with a group of youth with co-occurring disorders who were involved in the juvenile justice system. Results indicated that the ICT youth responded more favorably. The recidivism rate for the youth who received usual services was 72 percent; it was only 25 percent for the ICT youth. In a separate analysis of the youth receiving ICT, functional and behavioral improvements were also noted; however, these promising results must be interpreted with caution, since a true experimental design was not used, and the number of youth studied was relatively small. 1 figure, 1 table, and 12 references