Simply locking teens up won't solve the problem. And while communities need to hold teens accountable for their actions, they must provide drug and alcohol treatment and community support.

We know treatment works. Yet many teens in our nation's juvenile justice system — some experts estimate the figure is as high as 80 percent — receive no treatment for drug and alcohol abuse at all.

To be effective, treatment programs must work in a coordinated fashion and use evidence-based practices. They also must involve families, address cultural, age and gender issues, and coordinate with judges, probation programs, and schools.

Recent studies show effective drug and alcohol treatment requires a “network” of community support for the young person’s success in the community. Teens with substance-abuse issues who receive care through a network fare much better than those not receiving it.