President’s Budget Proposes Spending on Youth Programs, Services

Juvenile Justice Reform

• President’s Budget Proposes Spending on Youth Programs, Services (YouthToday.org)
  President Barack Obama introduced his 2014 budget proposal on Wednesday, highlighting new efforts to increase funding for education and juvenile justice.
• The Power of Poetry in Education (JJIE.org)
  April is National Poetry Month. This year, thousands of students incarcerated in juvenile detention and correctional centers around the country are participating in a nationwide poetry initiative, “Words Unlocked,” sponsored by the Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings.
• Pa. Courts Tout Improvements to Juvenile Justice (Cumberlink.com)
  A new report says Pennsylvania's juvenile courts have made dozens of rule changes in response to an internal review prompted by a court scandal in Luzerne County. Chief Justice Ronald Castille produced the eight-page report Monday at the Juvenile Justice Academy in Hershey.
• In Texas, Youth Reported with Mental Health Problems Grows Substantially (JJIE.org)
  More than half the juveniles in Texas detention facilities in 2012 had mental health issues, according to a recent Associated Press (AP) report based on figures released by the state’s justice officials in February. Over the last three years, officials state the number of juvenile detainees with “intensive need” for mental health treatment has ballooned by 113 percent.

Jobs, Grants, Events and Webinars

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Addictions, Trauma and Family Systems Conference (ChicagoTribune.com)
  Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center is hosting a special half- day conference for behavioral health professionals, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Thursday, April 18, 2013 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water Street in Chicago. The conference, “Addiction, Trauma and Family Systems,” will feature keynote speaker Dr. Claudia Black, nationally renowned addiction and codependency author, speaker and trainer, as well as Dr. Kim Dennis, CEO and medical director of Timberline Knolls.
• SAMHSA is Accepting Applications for up to $38 Million in State Adolescent Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination Grants (SAMHSA.gov)
  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for cooperative agreements for State Adolescent and Transitional Aged Youth Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination grants for up to four years.
• Commentary: Alcohol Awareness Month: Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow (Drugfree.org)
  Alcohol is the number one drug problem in the United States and it impacts every single person in our country, either directly or indirectly. Each April since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) has sponsored NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma, encourage individuals and families to seek help and to engage local communities in bringing attention to alcoholism and alcohol-related problems.

David Backes writes the Friday news roundup for Reclaiming Futures and contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Santa Clara University. David works as an account executive for Prichard Communications.