GAIN Short Screener IDs Needs of Adolescents in Washington, No Matter Which Door They Come In
In January 2007, the state of Washington mandated use of a 15-item, past-year version of the GAIN Short Screener (GAIN-SS) for all adolescents and adults seen by the Department of Social and Health Services in the state’s chemical dependency, mental health, child-welfare and justice programs. Adolescent Substance Abuse: GAIN-Related Publications Using Practice-Based Evidence
One of the great advantages of using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) to assess individuals for substance abuse and mental health issues is the amount of high-quality data it collects that can be used to improve services and tailor treatment -- in this case, for adolescents.
Before the GAIN, there wasn't a lot of reliable data available about adolescent needs. Now there is. By June 30, 2009 there were over 1,127 state, county, agencies and grantees (including 271 from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment [CSAT]) using the GAIN. This includes 271 CSAT grantees that have pooled their data and made it available for secondary analysis by local evaluators, researchers and students to help move the field forward with "practice-based evidence". Close to 50 different scientists from over three dozen agencies are using the data.
Roundup: Too Much Candy for Kids Leads to Violent Adults; Prescription Drug Deaths Outnumber Car Crash Fatalities in Some States; and More
Startling news from the Centers for Disease Control that in 16 states, the number of people who die from prescription drug overdoses outnumbers the number who die in car accidents.- Simple Explanation Department: Reseachers in Britain have used longitudinal data to show that children who eat too much candy are more likely to be violent later in life. For further reading: the American Journal of Preventive Medicine had a special 2008 issue on youth violence prevention.
Roundup: Video Testimony on Life without Parole; SAMHSA Public Health Alert; NJ Supreme Court Rules on Juvenile Right to Counsel; and More
Concerned about the kids in the juvenile justice system? Then check out the video above of a 29-year-old woman given life without parole at 16 for killing her pimp. I found it on this blog, without a lot of information about where or when the video was made. But man oh man, it's sure moving.
Other stories:
Roundup: Hospitals May Be Required to Deal with Addictions; Teens Say Easier to Get Pot than Cigarettes; and More
- A potential game-changer in the field of adolescent (and adult) substance abuse: hospitals may soon be required to screen and provide brief intervention for addictions in order to be accredited.
- According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NASDUH), adolescent misuse of prescription drugs has dropped, but even so, teens say it's easier to get marijuana than cigarettes. And just in time for back-to-school, SAMHSA released its Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) report on referrals of schoolchildren to alcohol and drug abuse treatment.
Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Funding - Two Resources from SAMHSA
Two important newly-available tools to help you unravel adolescent substance abuse treatment funding are out from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):
ONDCP Policy Analyst Addresses Reclaiming Futures Judges
Tackling adolescent substance abuse isn’t getting any easier, what with shrinking budgets for treatment and support services and trends like the rise in prescription drug abuse. So I was pleased to have the opportunity to see Charlotte Sisson (shown at left), Policy Analyst for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), give an informal address to a group of Reclaiming Futures judges over lunch at a judicial training in Greensboro, NC on August 28th.
Daring to be Different: Peer-to-Peer Youth and Family Recovery Support
Just last Tuesday I met with a tired and distraught single mother over a cup of coffee to offer recovery support following the sentencing of her adolescent son to 6 years in prison.Roundup: Meth Now Easier to Make; 1 in 5 Teens Share Prescription Drugs; and More
- Something to think about the next time you drug test a youth: one in five teens share prescription drugs (and so do 40% of adults).
- Making methamphetamine is now easier, thanks to the growing popularity of an alternate, "shake and bake" method. It's easier for addicts to make in small batches and requires only a small amount of pseudophedrine to manufacture -- well under the mandatory limits set in place several years ago to halt meth's spread.
Roundup: Calls for Juvenile Justice Reform to Stop New York Abuses; ADHD Drug Abuse Up 76%
- The so-called "Missouri Model" of juvenile justice reform received more coverage on CNN.
- Meanwhile, Louisiana, which has been attempting for several years to reform its own juvenile justice system by importing the Missouri Model, is seeing mixed results.
- The New York Times reported that four youth prisons in New York routinely broke kids' bones, "shattered" their teeth, and gave them concussions in attempts to discipline them.
