Juvenile Justice & Adolescent Substance Abuse Issues - Who’s Tweeting About Them?
Hello, I’m person behind the Reclaiming Futures Twitter account. As you know, Twitter is a free service where people post very short updates and links.
- Exchange ideas about juvenile justice and substance abuse treatment.
- Many people post links, so use it like a search engine.
- Show support for others by following them.
- Demonstrate the good work of your organization.
Roundup: Marijuana "Gateway" Effect Less Important than Other Factors - and More
Adolescent Substance Abuse and Related Treatment News
- Is marijuana a "gateway" to other drug use? Not so much, according to new research, and "over-criminalizing" its use can contribute to young adults' use of other illicit drugs. According to the study, race and ethnicity are the best predictors of whether someone will use illicit drugs besides marijuana: non-Hispanic whites are more likely to use them than are (in order) Hispanics or African Americans. Furthermore, although marijuana use in one's teen years might lead to use of other drugs, youth apparently "age out" of that when they reach 21. Unemployment is a factor too, which suggests that, as one researcher concluded, "over-criminalizing youth marijuana use might create more serious problems if it interferes with later employment opportunities." (Hat tip to Robert Ackley.) Related reading: Jeff Butts on "The Enduring Gateway Myth."
- Teen use of alcohol and drugs can be significantly reduced with brief, school-based interventions by mental health therapists or even by teachers given minimal training, according to a new study from the U.K. Researchers evaluated their use of alcohol and drugs at six months post-intervention, so it's not clear if the effects would need to be repeated on a regular basis.
I Got Arrested! A Guide to the Juvenile Justice System
Want to help teens understand the juvenile justice system? Draw them a picture -- or rather, lots of them.
Case in point: I Got Arrested! Now What? It's a comic book/fold-out poster that describes New York's juvenile justice system by following the case of one youth named Chris. (Hat tip to @servicejunkie.)
Developed by the Center for Urban Pedagogy in collaboration with the Center for Court Innovation, the Youth Justice Board, and graphic novelist Danica Novgorodoff, it's visually interesting and thorough. (It also has a happy ending.)
You can download a PDF or purchase print copies for $6.00 through PayPal. I recommend reviewing it. You might be able to use it for your own juvenile court. You might have to create your own if you're not in New York, but it's a great model.
Substance Abuse Treatment: SAMHSA Offers Continuing Education Online
Adapted from a post by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network:
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is pleased to announce the availability of
fivesix new e-learning courses for substance abuse treatment professionals:
- Prescription Medication (Part 1): Misuse, Abuse, and Dependence;
- Prescription Medication (Part 2): Addressing Addiction;
- Organizational Development: Governance and the Board of Directors;
- Organizational Development: Marketing as Collaboration;
- Organizational Development: Using Financial Information as a Nonfinancial CEO; and
- Acamprosate: A New Medication for Alcohol Use Disorders
These courses provide an opportunity for professional growth as well as one continuing education unit per module for maintaining certification or licensure. Learn more.
These courses are a great development. Looking forward to SAMHSA adding more courses -- especially some that are specific to adolescent substance abuse treatment!
Roundup: Juvenile Justice Reform at a Crossroads
Juvenile Justice Reform in Jeopardy, or Headed for a Golden Age?
- The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) may be in trouble, if Congress reauthorizes it without increased funding for states to comply. That could mean that cash-strapped states may opt out, despite its long success and the high marks given to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for the training and technical assistance it provides to support the JJDPA. What would happen in your state, if the federal allocation was reduced or stayed the same?
Help Young People and Youth of Color Get Work and Stay in School
Want to help kids in the justice system? Just ask juvenile probation officers what the kids on their caseloads need to be successful. They'll give you a list -- but a surprisingly short one.
Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment: NIATx Third-Party Billing Guide
With parity legislation and the changes that health care reform will bring, agencies that treat adolescents will need to adapt their business practices.
Reform expands available funding for prevention, treatment and recovery support services. It also opens the door to third-party reimbursement.
NIATx developed the NIATx Third-party Billing Guide to help agencies create or improve a system for billing third-party payers. The guide includes step-by-step instructions to implement a billing system, improve collections, and strengthen the business practices essential to stability and growth.
Download a copy of the NIATx Third-party Billing Guide today!
Making the Case for Your Program: Social Return on Investment
Is your program for youth in juvenile court worth it?
Does it really make sense to spend all that money on treating a kid for his drug habit, or to provide 20 teens with job readiness skills?
Chances are, it does. Your program probably saves the community a lot of money in avoided costs -- but can you prove it? That's the tricky part.
Moms Want Justice: Meaningful Family Partnerships in Juvenile Justice Reform
Want to partner with families on juvenile justice reform?
Been there, done that, but still struggling?
Do yourself a favor and check out "An Advocate's Guide to Meaningful Family Partnerships: Tips from the Field," from the National Juvenile Justice Network.
Based on interviews with 26 advocacy organizations and in-depth interviews with eight juvenile justice advocacy groups (both family-led and non-family-led), the guide is a great primer / refresher on what works when partnering with families.
You'll find reminders about leveling the playing field so that professional advocates and family advocates can both contribute; the need to be frank about and work to address underrepresentation of people of color on the staff of advocacy organizations; and ways to help advocates celebrate their wins even when the legislative process falls short of their ultimate goals.
What's one of the biggest barriers to recruiting family members as advocates for juvenile justice reform? Often, they begin their journey as advocates because they care intensely about their own child, sibling, or relation; they're less interested in fighting for changes to the system on behalf of other people's children.
Here, the NJJN guide once again provides useful tips. None of the solutions are likely to surprise you, but they're often overlooked in my experience, especially when it comes to juvenile justice agencies seeking to give families voice.
In addition, you'll also find capsule examples of organizations that have achieved success with recruiting family members, building their expertise, and benefiting from the ability of family advocates to push reform from outside the system:
Supporting Teens in Treatment and Beyond: Our Community Summit and Lessons Learned
I’m sure you already know the Reclaiming Futures mantra for teens in the justice system who have alcohol and drug issues: “More treatment, better treatment, and beyond treatment!”
