About Us  |  Our Team  |  News  |  Media

Anchorage , AK – Anchorage is one of ten communities in the nation selected today to receive a $100,000 grant from Reclaiming Futures, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The funds, which will be allocated to United Way of Anchorage as the granting agency for Anchorage Reclaiming Futures, are intended to provide more effective drug and alcohol treatment for local teenagers in the juvenile justice system.

“It's no secret that teens with drug or alcohol problems are more likely to end up in trouble with the law," says Elaine Dahlgren, president and CEO of Volunteers of America, Alaska , the lead agency for the grant. “This funding will allow us to continue to develop our cutting-edge treatment techniques that can help our young people overcome the cycle of substance abuse and crime."

The award will be used to expand culturally relevant, integrated treatment services to local teens. This will be accomplished through supporting local providers' efforts to expand residential treatment options, creating ways for local providers to regularly share best practices across agency boundaries and seeking additional funds to increase the delivery of culturally competent services to Alaska 's youth.

The grant is the latest national investment in a five-year initiative that brings together local courts, businesses, civic groups, schools and others to improve drug and alcohol treatment, expand and coordinate social services and find jobs, volunteer work and other opportunities for teens in trouble with the law. In 2002, Reclaiming Futures awarded Anchorage $1.25 million to reinvent the way the community responds to teenagers involved with drugs, alcohol and crime.

Treatment for Youth in the System

As many as four out of five of the two million young people who enter the justice system nationally each year have an alcohol or drug problem. "Unfortunately, most don't receive treatment and many of the services that do exist are ineffective," says Laura Burney Nissen, Ph.D., director of Reclaiming Futures, which awarded the $100,000 grants to Anchorage and nine other communities. "Today's grant gives Anchorage the opportunity to test promising practices that could make a positive difference in the lives of these teens. Treatment experts around the country are watching this experiment with great interest."

“Substance abuse treatment is one of the smartest public safety investments we can make," says Maureen McGlone , project director for Anchorage Reclaiming Futures. "Research shows that treating alcohol and drug abuse reduces crime, saves money and builds safer communities."

“This grant is about reinventing a system to ensure teenage offenders with substance abuse problems have the best opportunity possible to get the help and support they need,” said Michele Brown, president of United Way of Anchorage.

Each year, the Division of Juvenile Justice in Alaska processes more than 3,200 youth through its Juvenile Intake Services. In 2001, more than 69 percent of female teens and 43 percent of male teens arrested tested positive for marijuana use. The substance abuse problem in Anchorage is apparent in the schools as well. Seventy-five percent of all expulsions in the Anchorage School District 's middle and high schools are drug and alcohol related.

About Reclaiming Futures

Reclaiming Futures is a new approach to helping teenagers caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. A five-year, $21 million initiative launched by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Reclaiming Futures promotes new opportunities and standards of care in juvenile justice for young people with drug and alcohol problems. For more information, visit www.reclaimingf u turesanc.org .

United Way of Anchorage invests in the community to strengthen families, help kids succeed, promote safety, health, wellness and self-sufficiency and to meet basic human needs. For more information, visit www.unitedwayofanchorage.org .

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton , J.J., is the largest philanthropy organization in the nation devoted exclusively to health and health care. To learn about its mission and work, see www.rwjf.org .