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Federal Agencies Work Toward Reducing Opioid Impact on Youth

 

Meeting of participants at the Coordinating Council on JJDP
Betty-Ann Bryce, Department of Agriculture (far right), speaks about the impact of drug addiction on rural American communities during a panel discussion at the March 14 meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on the impact of the opioid crisis on youth. Listening are fellow panelists (left to right): Ramon Bonzon, Public Health Advisor, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Tara Kunkel, senior drug policy analyst, Bureau of Justice Assistance; and Kellie Blue, associate administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. PHOTO CREDIT: (U.S. Department of Justice photo by Paul Adams)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The anecdotal evidence is staggering:  Children as young as 12 raising their siblings because their parents are lost in addiction; kids who learn to count by separating pills for drug-addicted parents; juveniles adjusting to life with sober foster parents after spending years learning to cope with parents who were always high.

These were just a few examples provided by the Department...