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MCGLONE JOINS ANCHORAGE RECLAIMING FUTURES AS PROJECT DIRECTOR

ANCHORAGE –Reclaiming Futures of Anchorage has hired Maureen McGlone to lead a five-year local effort to reengineer drug and alcohol treatment and other services for teenagers in juvenile court.

"I am very excited to have this opportunity to work with the community to reinvent how we help teenagers caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime," said McGlone who will become the Reclaiming Futures of Anchorage project director on August 1.

McGlone has more than 15 years in program development and direct experience working with at-risk youth and teenagers in the juvenile justice system. She most recently ran Alaska’s Stone Soup Group, a statewide collaboration that improves services for families who have children with special needs. She has also managed the Office of Ethics and Professional Review for the National Association of Social Workers in Washington, DC, and coordinated the Alaska Youth Initiative for the ARC of Anchorage.

McGlone holds a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services from Seattle University and earned her master’s degree in social work at Virginia Commonwealth University.

"We are thrilled to have someone of Maureen’s depth of experience and knowledge of Alaska joining this project," said Fred Jenkins of United Way of Anchorage, administrator of the Reclaiming Futures grant.

Anchorage is one of 10 places chosen in 2002 to participate in Reclaiming Futures, a national initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that brings communities together to help teens overcome drugs, alcohol and crime. Each community has received $1.25 million in grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment, create systems of care, and find mentors, volunteer work and other opportunities for teens in trouble with the law.

"There is an urgent need for this work," says McGlone. "We know that kids who abuse alcohol and drugs are more likely to behave violently, break the law, or end up in detention. We also know that alcohol and drug abuse is a major health problem among juvenile offenders in Anchorage."

An internal study in 1999 of residents at McLaughlin Youth Center, a state-operated facility in Anchorage for incarcerated youth, found early and widespread alcohol and illicit drug use. By age 12, 61 percent of the group had used alcohol and 65 percent had used marijuana.

Beginning this fall, Reclaiming Futures Anchorage will serve teenagers who have been arrested two or more times. Planned services include a common screening tool, sharing of information among partner agencies, development of a mentoring program, accountable case management, youth job training and opportunities and recreational activities. For information about Reclaiming Futures of Anchorage, visit www.reclaimingfutures.org.

Reclaiming Futures is a five-year, $21 million national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that promotes new opportunities and standards of care in juvenile justice. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was established as a national philanthropy in 1972 and today is the largest U.S. foundation devoted to health and health care. To learn about its mission and work, see www.rwjf.org.