Does Your Youth Program Work? and More: a Roundup

• Does Your Youth Program Work?
  An OJJDP publication. Dates from 2000, but it provides a great introduction to evaluating success. (Hat tip to Paul Savery.)
• Reclaiming Futures in the News: "Drug Courts Restore Addicts"
  A great piece profiling the adult and juvenile drug courts and the accomplishments of Reclaiming Futures in Hocking County, Ohio. The article originally appeared in the Logan Daily News, but you can find the full article on the Reclaiming Futures website.
• Improving Educational Outcomes of Youth in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems Through Interagency Communication and Collaboration
  Maybe you read that headline and thought to yourself, "Got it covered: we're already collaborating and communicating as well as we can." I can tell you from experience with multiple sites implementing the Reclaiming Futures model that there's always room for improvement -- and investing time and attention in this sort of collaboration pays off big time for kids, families, agencies, and service providers. So be sure to check out this comprehensive, 20-page "practice guide" put out in May 2011 by the (deep breath) National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and (don't forget to breathe) Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (NDTAC). (Hat tip to Paul Savery.)

• "Adolescent Substance Abuse: Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery" - Special Issue of The Prevention Researcher
  We just published a post on a free article, "Youth in Recovery," which appeared in the journal, The Prevention Researcher. But it was only one of several articles the journal put out in a special issue devoted to adolescent substance abuse. Here's some of the other articles (you'll have to pay a fee or access through your local library):
  • Adol escent Brain Development and Drugs
  • Enhancing Parent-Child Communication about Drug Use: Strategies for Professionals Working with Parents and Guardians
  • Preventing and Treating Substance Abuse Among Adolescents
  • Special Considerations for Substance Abuse Intervention with Latino Youths
• Global Commission Urges End to Criminalization of Drug Use
  A report by current and former world leaders has concluded that the drug war has failed, and urges an end to the criminalization of drug use. "An estimated 250 million people worldwide use illegal drugs, the report states, adding, 'We simply cannot treat them all as criminals.'" The White House of Office of National Drug Control disagreed, stating that making drugs more widely available would make the problems of drug use and addiction worse. 

Conferences and Webinars

• National Conference on Health Communications, Marketing, and Media
  Held August 9–11, 2011, in Atlanta, Georgia, this conference "brings together academics, public health researchers, and practitioners from [f]ederal and state government and the private sector, and provides a forum for collegial dialogue within and across these disciplines." Follow the link to learn more and register. (Hat tip to Paul Savery.)
• International Community Corrections Conference
  While not specifically youth-focused, this conference highly relevant for juvenile justice, since its theme will be, "The Roles of Evidence-Based Risk-Needs Assessments." Held July 17-20, 2011, in Reno, Nevada. (Hat tip to JUVJUST.)
• Recovery Community & Healthcare Reform Webinar
  In this 90-minute webinar (sponsored by The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR), Faces & Voices of Recovery, and NAMI), you'll learn how to make sure health reform implementation in your state helps people in recovery from addiction, consumers of mental health services, and their families. June 15, 2011, 12:00 pm PST / 3:00 pm EST. Don't miss it! >>Register here.