FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 17, 2010
Contact: Sanya Andersen-Vie
(303) 864-5317
andersen-vie.sanya@kempe.org

JI-DEF PROGRAM RECEIVES AWARD TO AID DRUG ENDANGERED CHILDREN

DENVER — Colorado’s Justice Initiative for Drug Endangered Families (JI-DEF) will receive $1.2 million as part of an initiative to expand the national Reclaiming Futures model.

When a parent or caregiver engages in criminal activity and substance abuse, it can create a physically and psychologically harmful living environment for children. These children are at high risk of repeating the multi-generational cycle of substance use and crime. JI-DEF creates an aggressive approach to address drug endangered children, community safety, and substance recovery to promote successful outcomes related to decreased drug use, lower criminal recidivism, and multi-systemic cost effectiveness.

JI-DEF is a unique collaboration between: Denver Juvenile and District Courts; Denver District Attorney’s Office; Denver Police Department; Denver Department of Human Services; Denver Juvenile and District Probation; Denver Drug Endangered Children’s Alliance; The Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect; and community based service organizations. The partners work as team to span boundaries and employ a multidisciplinary method to support prevention, early intervention, substance recovery and offender accountability.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded JI-DEF $424,435 for a four-year period for operation of the juvenile drug court. Additionally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) awarded JI-DEF $198,915 per year for up to four years depending on performance and availability of funds for treatment.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is providing approximately $1 million in technical assistance to Denver and two other new sites to implement the Reclaiming Futures model, which will now be in 26 communities across the nation.

The Kempe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1976, provides the education, advocacy and fundraising support for the work of The Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Headquartered in Colorado, The Kempe Center is recognized as a world leader in child abuse treatment programs and for over forty years has been at the forefront in the fight against child abuse. For more information, visit www.kempe.org.

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