Blog: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

When criminal justice systems reduce prison populations and reinvest a portion of the savings in evidence-based methods of reducing crime, not only are taxpayer dollars saved, but more efficient and effective programs can be fiscally prioritized.
For example, Kentucky is using a portion of the savings from reduced prison populations to fund drug treatment beds that aim to get more Kentucky offenders off drugs—for good. Recent data showed Kentucky policymakers that drug treatment can cut recidivism among otherwise addicted inmates by one-third, and the Kentucky Legislature jumped at the chance to save money and reduce crime in their state.
In Hawaii, crime victims will receive additional attention as some of the justice reinvestment savings are used to fund victim counselors and their support staff. This will permit their victims’ outreach efforts to expand from violent crime victims to violent and property crime victims, and for longer periods of time. Putting the focus on victims in this way not only makes the criminal justice system more responsive to community needs, but also what is necessary to make the harmed party whole after the criminal act.

To celebrate 10 years, Reclaiming Futures Anchorage recently hosted a reception to honor those who have worked together, improving the lives of young people in the justice system for the past decade.
They also served a delicious cake (pictured at right), which helped improve attendance! It was clear from the events that there is interest in a statewide effort to provide more treatment, better treatment and support beyond treatment for communities working to help teens overcome drugs, alcohol and crime. 
Both Fairbanks and Matanuska-Susitna County were very well-represented, but the events were also attended by a wide variety of leaders from around the state, including:

• Judicial representatives
• Treatment providers
• Community members 
• Funders
• Public health employees
• Attorneys
• Young people and parents 
• Division of Juvenile Justice staff and leadership
• Other youth-serving agency representatives

Juvenile Justice Reform

• [Video] Fresno Local Conservation Corps Re-Entry Program Highlighted by Local News (The Corps Network)
  Earlier this week several staff members from the Fresno Local Conservation Corps joined KSEE24 local news to talk about their re-entry program for formerly incarcerated youth.
• New Push to Help Juvenile Offenders (WCTV.TV)
  The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is pushing a proposed plan it says will help keep youthful offenders out of jail and revamp the juvenile justice system.
• Juvenile Justice: Mass. Formulating New Sentencing Policies (WBUR.org)
  In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles convicted of murder was unconstitutional. The court declared life without parole for juveniles was “cruel and unusual punishment,” thereby in violation of the 8th Amendment.
• Elementary-Schoolers' Arrests Alarm Justice Officials (Orlando Sentinel)
  Circuit Judge Alicia Latimore, one of three judges who handles juvenile-delinquency cases in Orange, was so concerned about the kids' arrests that she visited Cherokee's campus this fall. The arrests at Cherokee outnumber the arrests of students at Orange's 121 other public elementary schools combined.

A recent SAMHSA report indicates that adolescent cigarette use nationwide declined significantly over the past decade. However, smoking remains the nation’s leading cause of preventable death, responsible for an estimated 443,000 American deaths each year, with 50,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke. One in eleven adolescents in the U.S. report smoking in the past month. In addition, tobacco use takes an enormous toll among people with mental and substance use disorders:

• Almost half of tobacco deaths are people with mental and substance use disorders
• Forty-four percent of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. are smoked by people with mental and substance use disorders
• Tobacco dependence is the most prevalent drug abuse disorder among adults with mental illness
• Smoking tobacco causes more deaths among clients in substance abuse treatment than the alcohol or drug use that brings them to treatment

Beginning in 2009, a working group of public health experts across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) convened to develop a Department-wide strategic action plan for tobacco control to accelerate progress in ending the tobacco epidemic. As a result, in 2010, HHS unveiled a new comprehensive tobacco control strategy: Ending the Tobacco Epidemic: A Tobacco Control Strategic Action Plan for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 
Evan Elkin, Director, Department of Planning and Government Innovation at the Vera Institute of Justice, discusses the success and longevity of Nassau County Reclaiming Futures, despite the decimation of county and local budgets over the past three years in New York. 
The work goes on because the team pulls togther tightly and reinvents itself around the model. 

Did you miss some of our blog posts last month? Not to worry - here's a round-up of our most popular posts from October 2012.
10. [NEW REPORT] Community Solutions for Youth in Trouble
Over the past few years, Texas has shifted youth rehabilitation from large state-run facilities to smaller community programs. And they're seeing great results.
9. October is National Youth Justice Awareness Month
Last month, over 20 states are holding events to raise awareness about youth justice issues and the juvenile justice system.
8. 7 Core Principles to Change the Course of Youth Justice
A new article from the New York Law School Law Review examines problems with the juvenile justice system and offers solutions for a more productive youth justice system.
7. NC Teens, Police, Community Join Forces to Stop Bullying Epidemic 
Recognizing the need to address bullying in schools, young people in North Carolina partnered with police officers and community members to create a short movie against bullying.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Kids Count Report Demonstrates New Jersey’s Successes In Juvenile Justice (NTToday.net)
  Advocates for Children of New Jersey today released a special juvenile justice Kids Count report entitled, “Measuring Change in New Jersey’s Treatment of Young Offenders.” The report details the successful reforms in juvenile justice since the implementation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Justice Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) in New Jersey.
• Tough Times For Girls In Juvenile Justice System (NPR.org)
  [AUDIO STORY] The number of boys locked up for crimes has dropped over the past decade, but the number of young women detained in jails and residential centers has moved in the other direction. Experts say girls make up the fastest-growing segment of the juvenile justice system, with more than 300,000 arrests and criminal charges every year.
• Common Sense Discipline In Denver Schools (RightOnCrime.com)
  Between 2009 and 2011, enrollment in Denver schools rose six percent. But even with an increased number of students, expulsions dropped 44 percent, from 185 to 104. That’s because the school district has adopted alternatives to zero-tolerance, such as restorative justice and conflict resolution, which seek to defuse and resolve disciplinary issues before they rise to a level demanding expulsion.
• South Dakota Counties Export Effective Juvenile Justice (RightOnCrime.com)
  Minnehaha and Pennington County, in South Dakota, have dropped juvenile detention rates by one-third and one-half, respectively, in just two years. Now the rest of the state is hoping to follow their lead.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Youth Crime's Decline (NewsObserver.com)
  The new approach to juvenile crime hasn’t just worked. It has worked spectacularly. A report last Sunday by The News & Observer’s Thomasi McDonald said that the number of young people under 16 charged with violent crimes has dropped by nearly 37 percent. The arrests in that same age group for property crimes are down 40 percent.
• Georgia Considers Juvenile Justice Reforms (The Augusta Chronicle)
  After overhauling its adult criminal justice system to provide alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders and reduce skyrocketing prison costs, the state of Georgia is turning its attention to the juvenile justice system.
• DJJ Launches Roadmap to System Excellence (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice)
  The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) invited the people of Florida today to participate in a conversation about the Roadmap to System Excellence. The Roadmap builds on reforms already underway at DJJ and guides Florida on the path to becoming the national model for juvenile justice administration.
• Should 24-Year-Old Offenders be Considered Juveniles? (JJIE.org)
  When the National Partnership for Juvenile Services annual symposium opened in Las Vegas, Jason Bowser, a youth service director from Columbus, Ind., told an executive committee that one of the standing committees was focusing on the question of “What is a juvenile?”
• Counties Push to Bypass State Youth Lockups (Statesman.com)
  Counties in Texas might soon be allowed to incarcerate all their teenage lawbreakers locally rather than send them to state-run lockups that have been plagued by violence, high recidivism rates and gang activity in recent years, officials confirmed Wednesday.
• Juvenile Justice and the Campaign (TheCrimeReport.org)
  California's second largest county is coping with widespread gang violence and prescription drug abuse among youth. But as election day nears, juvenile justice remains a whisper in a monsoon of economic rhetoric.
• [Opinion] Adolescents in Grown-Up Jails (The New York Times)
  The practice of confining young people to adult jails and prisons is both counterproductive and inhumane. Adolescents who are locked up with adults are more likely to be raped, battered or driven to suicide than young people who are handled through the juvenile justice system. After the trauma of doing hard, adult time, young people often return home as damaged individuals who are more likely to commit violent crimes and end up back inside.
• Florida To Completely Privatize Juvenile Correctional Facilities (HuffingtonPost.com)
  In an effort to reduce costs, Florida's state-run residential programs for juveniles will soon be completely privatized. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice announced Monday that the state will relinquish control of the five remaining public youth residential centers by October 2013.
• Dog Trainer Teaches Empathy at Tehama Juvenile Hall (Redding.com)
  When dog trainer Gary Watts faces a group of kids detained in juvenile hall, he's focused on his mission. With a Labrador retriever named Abby in tow, he puts her through her paces and methodically demonstrates the fine points of canine obedience.

Consistent and substantial evidence exists that supports the relationship between substance abuse and criminal behaviors in youth.[1] Youthful offenders demonstrate elevated rates of substance abuse in comparison to non-offending youth. [2] Substance abuse often increases recidivism and reflects a deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system.[3] Drug and alcohol use also increases the likelihood that a youthful offender will have prolonged interaction with the juvenile justice system. [4] In addition, substance abuse produces antisocial behavior in youth.[5] Severe substance abuse is associated with increased rates of offending and more serious offenses.[6] Furthermore, the younger the child is at the onset of substance use usually reflects greater probabilities for severe and chronic offending.[7]
For example, in 2010, the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission found that twenty-five percent of all the juveniles referred were “frequent drug users.”[8] In 2009, forty-seven percent of children committed to the Texas Youth Commission were chemically dependent.[9] Less than half of these chemically dependent children received any type of substance abuse treatment. [10] The development of effective substance abuse treatment programs for juvenile offenders should be considered a “vital component” for overall rehabilitation efforts.[11]