Juvenile Probation Officers Call for New Response to Teen Drug and Alcohol Use and Dependency

• NCJ Number: 232281
• Author(s): Jeff Bidmon; Phyllis Yellow Eagle Cadue; Kit Ennis; William M. Heffrom; Linda Moffitt; Thach Nguyen; Richard Sarette; Eric Shafer; Sharoll Unger; Susan Waild; Mark Wirschem
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 46 pages
• Grant Number(s): 05681; 05682
• Sponsoring Agency: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Corporate Author: Reclaiming Futures
• Sale Source: Reclaiming Futures
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: A Reclaiming Futures National Fellowship Report

Annotation

Juvenile justice professionals share the lessons they have learned in implementing Reclaiming Futures, a 5-year, $21-million initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the purpose of improving treatment outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system who have drug and alcohol problems.

Abstract

In improving the delivery of alcohol and drug treatment to youth in the juvenile justice system, Reclaiming Futures is promoting more treatment for youth; better treatment and related services that address the specific needs of adolescents; and greater access to services beyond treatment, including prosocial community supports, such as mentors. The system reform is based on a six-phase model of service delivery. In the first phase, each youth who enters the juvenile justice system at any of the 10 Reclaiming Futures pilot sites is screened for drug and alcohol problems with a validated screening tool. For the second phase, an assessment tool is used to determine the severity of a youth's drug use and other problems. The third phase consists of service coordination. Once a youth is determined to have a drug abuse problem, a team of professionals ("service team") develops a plan to address the youth's drug use and other issues that threaten his/her ability to develop into a responsible member of the community. The fourth phase consists of prompt access to treatment, followed by the fifth phase, the promotion of treatment engagement. The sixth phase promotes community support by involving community members as mentors who teach youth skills and involve them in positive social activities. Based on the authors' experiences at the Reclaiming Futures sites over the past 5 years, they present 10 recommendations for implementation by juvenile justice practitioners in the course of institutionalizing the aforementioned six-point strategy. 7 references and appended Reclaiming Futures screening and assessment tools, Reclaiming Futures Juvenile Justice Fellowship Position Statement justice, and a listing of Reclaiming Futures Juvenile Justice Fellows