Rosebud, SD - News Detail

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Gives Sinte Gleska University $249,155 to Help Troubled Youth

ROSEBUD, S.D. - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today awarded Sinte Gleska University a $249,155 grant to enact systems change to improve substance abuse treatment and other services for young people in trouble with the law.

"America's juvenile justice system faces a public health crisis," says Laura Burney Nissen, Ph.D., director of Reclaiming Futures, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "As many as four out of five of the two million young people who enter the justice system each year have an alcohol or drug problem. Even though research shows that treating alcohol and drug abuse reduces crime, saves money, and builds stronger communities, the vast majority of young offenders receives no treatment at all."

"We want to change this," says Nissen. "The grants we are awarding today will create plans for model programs on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and elsewhere in the United States to show how we can reinvent treatment, judicial and social services to meet this urgent need."

Sinte Gleska University's project, called Oyate Teca Owicakiya, (Helping Young People), proposes to serve about 75 young people and their families each year in the Rosebud Sioux Tribe's Children's Court beginning in 2003. The grant is one of 11 totaling $2.59 million awarded to communities nationwide to plan new treatment and other services for delinquent youth.

"The need for Oyate Teca Owicakiya is clear," says Steve Emery, director of the Sicangu Policy Institute at Sinte Gleska University. "We know that kids who abuse alcohol and drugs are more likely to behave violently, break the law, or end up in court. We also know that alcohol and drug abuse is a major health problem among juvenile offenders on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation."

According to a recent local study, 92 percent of Rosebud Sioux Tribe's juvenile cases were related to underage drinking.

"Kids with substance abuse problems on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation don't get the treatment and social services they need," says Emery. "Without it, many of them find themselves in trouble with the law again and again. "This grant will help our community break the costly cycle of substance abuse and delinquency," says Charlene LaPointe, director of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Youth Advocacy Program. "We need to reclaim, not throw away, the lives of these young people. We are thrilled to have the support of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help us accomplish this."

Sinte Gleska University was one of 280 applicants. Over the next five years, Oyate Teca Owicakiya proposes to improve treatment and social services for young offenders and their families, increase the capacity of local agencies and organizations, and develop an interagency management information system.

Beginning this month, juvenile court judges and officers, law enforcement officials, treatment professionals, and civic, youth and family leaders at the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and the 10 other communities nationally will spend a year planning their programs. In four following years, communities can apply for up to $250,000 annually to implement the plans.

Reclaiming Futures officials say judicial leadership will play a critical part in these efforts and up to two local judges in each community will participate in a two-year fellowship. Sherman Marshall, chief judge of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, will represent the Rosebud Sioux in the national fellows program.

Reclaiming Futures is a five-year $21 million initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based at the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. 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.

Rosebud, SD - News Detail

Rosebud receives $100,000 grant to improve drug and alcohol treatment for teens in trouble with the law

ROSEBUD, S.D. (April 26, 2004) – Rosebud 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, to provide more effective drug and alcohol treatment for local teenagers in the juvenile justice system.

"It's no surprise that teens with drug or alcohol problems are more likely to end up in trouble with the law," says Marlies White Hat, project director of Reclaiming Futures Oyate Teca Owicakiya, "Helping Young People," in the Lakota Language . "This funding will allow us to adopt cutting-edge treatment techniques that can help our young people overcome the cycle of substance abuse and crime."

Reclaiming Futures Oyate Teca Owicakiya will use the award to strengthen and improve treatment services offered through the Rosebud Sioux Tribe juvenile justice system, and provide for sustainability of these services. This will be accomplished through hiring a sustainability coordinator who will work on behalf of Sicangu Lakota youth to secure direct access to Medicaid and third party funding. They will develop Tribal Standards for Treatment and assist the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Youth Wellness Court to ensure the Tribal Standards are met.

The funds also provide for technical assistance to help the Youth Wellness Court adapt evidence-based strategies into a culturally and gender relevant Adolescent Treatment Model. This model will incorporate Lakota culture, spirituality and traditions as well as family therapy. At least 40 youth and families will be served by this program per year.

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 Rosebud $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 Rosebud and nine other communities. "Today's grant gives the Rosebud Sioux tribal court, treatment facilities, social service agencies schools and the community 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 Youth Wellness Court Judge Janel Sully of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court . "Research shows that treating alcohol and drug abuse reduces crime, saves money and builds safer communities."

The Rosebud Reservation spreads out over one million acres in south central South Dakota. The Sicangu Lakota youth living on the reservation face extreme economic and social hardships including alcohol and other drug abuse. According to a local study, more than 75 percent of Rosebud Sioux Tribe's juvenile cases were related to underage drinking. More than 131 youth offenders in Todd County were admitted to alcohol or other drug treatment programs in 2002.

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

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Rosebud, SD - News