What Works for Girls - Factors that Protect Against Delinquency
In December, I posted about an overview of the work of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency's (OJJDP) Girls Study Group.
Now, OJJDP has released the first of the Group's detailed reports on best practices with adolescent girls in the justice system.
Round-up: State Budget Gaps, Research on Alcohol and Kids, Vulnerable Populations in Juvenile Justice
Even though it was a holiday week, I ran across a number of interesting stories and resources.
- First, The Kaiser Family Foundation published a fascinating (and depressing) summary of projected budget shortfalls in all 50 states. This impact is already being felt in juvenile justice, as you can see in this article from Youth Today.
Washington State's Strategic Plan for Improving Adolescent Treatment
Does your state have a plan for improving treatment for teens with substance abuse problems?
Jim Vollendroff and I had the privilege to attend numerous meetings and contribute to the creation of a Washington State strategic plan on adolescent substance abuse treatment. (Jim is the Chemical Dependency Coordinator for King County, WA, and a Reclaiming Futures Treatment Fellow.) The Reclaiming Futures Model was our concrete framework to assure that the entire group focused on system areas that need to be addressed and/or changed.
Here's an introduction to the plan from David Jefferson, the former CSAT Grant Coordinator housed at the Washington State's Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA):
Resource Guide for the Justice System on Evidence-Based Approaches to Address Substance Abuse
Physicians and Lawyers for National Drug Policy (PLNDP) has partnered with the National Judicial College to create Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: a Public Health and Public Safety Priority, A Resource Guide for the Justice System on Evidence-Based Approaches. (Order free copies for yourself and your team; download the PDF; or access it on the web.)
What Have the Reclaiming Futures Fellowships Learned?
As the first, five-year pilot phase of Reclaiming Futures came to a close, each of the participating Fellowships published a report that contains highly valuable information for any community attempting to improve the way its system deals with youth caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. (Reclaiming Futures uses professional "Fellowships" of judges, probation officers, treatment professionals, community members, and local project directors to drive change in local communities. The Fellows from all participating communities gather several times a year to share what they're learning.)
These Fellowship reports are available on the Reclaiming Futures website, but at the Project Directors' conference last week, I was asked to repost them in one place. And why not? After all, they're not just useful for Reclaiming Futures communities, they're useful for any community that wishes to change the way it does business for teens in the justice system who need addiction treatment. So, here they all are --
Another Compendium of Evidence-Based Alcohol and Drug Treatment Practices
For those of you who liked our post listing resources for identifying evidence-based adolescent treatment models, here's another valuable resource.
It's a compendium of evidence-based treatment practices, compiled by the Southern Coast Addiction Technology Transfer Center (SCATTC) last February. (This guide contains both adult and juvenile practices - adolescent-related material begins on p. 42.)
Want Data on the Teen Treatment Gap in Your Area?
I've just spent a profitable hour nosing around the SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies website. There, you can find lots of useful comparative information on rates of teen alcohol and drug use. For example, if you want an authoritative estimate of the percentage of youth aged 12-17 who used marijuana or binge drank in the past month, this is the place.
Handy Reference List for Evidence-Based Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Models
- Curious about what works in teen drug treatment, or are you looking for a database of evidence-based adolescent substance abuse treatment programs?
- Want to learn more about the research behind a particular treatment model?
- Need a refresher on what's out there, or need a citation for a grant proposal?
Here's a handy list of five public registries of evidence-based treatment programs, including those targeting adolescent substance abuse:
- State of Oregon Addictions and Mental Health Division's List of Approved Practices
- SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs & Practices
- Community Guide from Helping America's Youth
- University of Washington’s EBP Database
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Model Programs Guide
I found this list in an excellent guide on adolescent treatment put together by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the State of North Carolina, with funding from SAMHSA and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). On page six of the guide, you'll find two more online resources on evidence-based practices: your bonus for checking it out!
Go here for help implementing your evidence-based practice; and if you know of other registries that track evidence-based adolescent substance abuse treatment models, please leave a comment!
