Blog: Reclaiming Futures

You’re invited to tune into a live broadcast of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on September 17 at 2-4pm ET. This White House special event celebrates the 25th anniversary of the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

The event will celebrate the millions of individuals who have reclaimed their lives by overcoming addiction, and those who have persevered with them to aid their success.

You can help recognize these individuals at the event by tweeting questions and comments to @Botticelli44 using the hashtag #RecoveryatWH at any time prior to or during the event. Questions will be selected and posed to the panelists in recovery at the event.

Visit the live broadcast on September 17, or host a viewing party and register here.

With your help, we can take an important pause to highlight stories of recovery, uplift the negative stigma of addiction and take the next step toward a national commitment to recovery.

• Who: You, your stakeholders, members and affiliates, and ONDCP
• What: A ONDCP White House special event viewing party
• Where: Your venue of choice + www.whitehouse.gov/live
• When: September 17th | 2 – 4pm EST
• Contact: Nataki MacMurray at RecoveryRSVP@ondcp.eop.gov or (202) 395-5510

Here’s an exciting opportunity to upgrade your juvenile drug court.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) recently released a solicitation for “OJJDP FY2014 Enhancements to Juvenile Drug Court”  which will provide up to eight juvenile drug courts with as much as $500,000 over three years.  The deadline for applications is July 23rd.  

The RFP states, “OJJDP will make awards to currently operating juvenile drug courts to enhance their capacity and the services they provide. A juvenile drug court provides comprehensive, developmentally appropriate, community-based services for youth who come in contact with the juvenile justice system due to alcohol or other drug use.”    The solicitation says OJJDP welcomes applications that involve two or more entities.

This grant is a great opportunity for communities interested in integrating Reclaiming Futures into their existing juvenile drug court.  As a partner to drug court applicants to this RFP, Reclaiming Futures could serve as a provider of technical assistance.  Reclaiming Futures has experience with data collection, the use of scientifically based screening and assessment procedures to identify youth in need of substance abuse and mental health services, staff training, family and community engagement, outcome monitoring and evaluation.

If your community is interested in applying for this grant and would like to learn how Reclaiming Futures fits into your proposal, contact Donna Wiench, Reclaiming Futures Strategic Partnership Director to learn more.

Focal Point magazine, produced by the Pathways Research and Training Center (RTC) at Portland State University, recently published a collaborative article [PDF] between current and former Reclaiming Futures staff and partners examining how the Reclaiming Futures model saves money, reduces recidivism and improves abstinence from drug and alcohol abuse.
The article’s introduction is included below:

Why focus on the juvenile justice system? Despite the fact that most juvenile justice-involved young people are not being treated for substance abuse and mental health needs, the juvenile justice system is still the single largest referral source for adolescent treatment and this system is where young people in trouble often first come to our attention. Young people involved in the juvenile justice system often are challenged with substance use issues.
Nationally, about half of young people in the juvenile justice system have drug related problems. In fact, four of five young people in the juvenile justice system are under the influence of alcohol or drugs while breaking the law; test positive for drugs; are arrested for committing an alcohol or drug offense; admit having substance abuse and addiction problems; or share some combination of these characteristics.
Additionally, many young people in the juvenile justice system have a co-occurring disorder (both substance abuse and mental health). Yet in spite of research that shows treatment helps reduce recidivism and saves money, juvenile courts usually are not set up to detect and treat substance abuse or to provide mental health and other important services.
Instead, most of the young people in the juvenile justice system who need treatment for drugs, alcohol, and mental health problems are not getting it. Fewer than one in twelve young people who need such supports actually receive treatment of any kind. For those who receive treatment, less than half are retained for 90 days as recommended by research. Many communities are not using evidence-based treatments that have been tested in the field for many years.
Young people need different care than adults: care that addresses adolescent development and brain science, and that utilizes support from families and community. Too many juvenile courts mirror a more punitive approach appropriate to adult criminal court rather than the rehabilitative civil court envisioned when the juvenile court was first established in the late nineteeth century.

The good news is that there's already a solution to the issues outlined above: Reclaiming Futures! We know from our evaluations that the Reclaiming Futures model helps teens overcome the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime by addressing their co-occurring needs. Again from the article, "The Reclaiming Futures JTDC model has potential to increase drug and alcohol abstinence, reduce young people’s illegal activity, and reduce the cost of crime to society." 
Learn more about the Reclaiming Futures model here >>
For the rest of the article, jump to page 18 in the linked PDF for our Reclaiming Futures article, or scroll through the whole magazine for more great articles about co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues facing teens and young adults.

One of the greatest pleasures of working with Reclaiming Futures is getting to know juvenile justice leaders around the country—and celebrating their successes.
A great example is the team in Ventura County, California, who recently received a $600,000 two-year, Second Chance Act grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to serve young people with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. 
Because Ventura County Reclaiming Futures has demonstrated success—and funders like to invest in promising practices—they continue to attract partners to help teens overcome the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
Keep up the great work, Ventura County!

On behalf of Reclaiming Futures, I'd like to thank our colleagues, friends and family for supporting young people in the the juvenile justice system. We appreciate your work on behalf of vulnerable people everywhere.

I am pleased to introduce the newest member of the Reclaiming Futures National Program Office, Christa Myers.
Please see our conversation below to learn how you can help Christa achieve one of her goals in the first 90 days of work.
You'll also find out which famous animal she played at a youth conference. Please welcome Christa in the comments section below!
Susan J. Richardson (SJR)
Christa Myers (CM) 
SJR) What brings you to Reclaiming Futures?
CM) I have been working as Project Director/Juvenile Drug Court Program Coordinator at a Reclaiming Futures site for 5.5 years. I was hired for that position with a youth development background, having worked for:

• Ohio State University Extension, Hocking County (4-H);
• National Crime Prevention Council, Youth Division;
• Sunday Creek Associates, Youth Entrepreneurial Project; and
• Hocking County Juvenile Court/Children's Service, Summer Program for Girls.

I look forward to working on a national level to bring my strengths and skills from my work in Hocking County to the National Program Office.
SJR) What are you most interested in learning?
CM) I am most interested in learning more about each of our 37 sites. I have thoroughly enjoyed my coaching role with Hardin and Lucas Counties, Ohio, and Forsyth County, N.C., because I get to know more about their local work and can celebrate their successes along with them. I look forward to experiencing this with all the sites in the national learning collaborative.
SJR) What do you hope to achieve in your first 90 days at Reclaiming Futures?
CM) I am terrible with name recall, so I hope I will be able to associate names with roles and locations in the first 90 days. But please forgive me if I make mistakes!

The Office of National Drug Policy Control promotes a “smart on crime” approach that emphasizes prevention and access to treatment over incarceration in order to break the cycle of substance abuse, crime and re-arrest—especially among youth.
Programs like Reclaiming Futures Multnomah Embrace are furthering the goals of the smart on crime approach by engaging the right people to improve services for youth in the justice system and positively impact the community.
 
In 2006, the program partnered up with Write Around Portland and local mentoring agencies to publish “When You Were Fifteen,” a collection of stories from adults and youth about what it was like to be 15—the average age of youth in the local juvenile justice system. This book continues to raise awareness of the need for caring adult mentors in the lives of youth caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
 
More recently, Multnomah Embrace hosted a spring meet and greet fair to connect young people with services and activities available in their community.  The meet and greet also offered a panel of four teens from Lines for Life—a 24-hour teen-to-teen crisis, counseling and referral line. The teen panel members discussed the importance of healthy activities and shared personal stories of how these activities positively impacted their lives.

Do you need help talking to teens about the effects of drug abuse on the brain, body and behavior? If so, we have good news: you're invited to a free webinar on October 29.
Deliver the Scientific Facts About Drug Abuse to Teens During National Drug Facts Week, hosted by Reclaiming Futures, presented by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Presenters: 
Sheri Grabus, Ph.D., Acting Press Officer, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
LaTonya Harris, Project Director, Reclaiming Futures Lucas County, Ohio
When: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. (EST)
You'll learn how to shatter the myths about drugs and drug addiction, like: 

• “Marijuana isn’t addictive”
• “Prescription drugs aren’t dangerous because we get them from doctors”
• “Using drugs that aren’t prescribed to you is legal and you can’t get in trouble from it”
• “Treatment doesn’t work”

Nearly 1 in 5 youth (17%) at the door of the juvenile justice system meet criteria for substance abuse disorders; in detention, 39% do. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only 1 in 16 young people with substance abuse disorders get into treatment. 
That's unfortunate, because while we need to hold teens accountable for their actions, simply locking them up does not work.
Effective adolescent substance abuse treatment can help teens stay out of trouble, make our communities safer, and save money.
The Reclaiming Futures model unites juvenile courts, probation, adolescent substance abuse treatment, and the community to reclaim youth. Together, they work to improve drug and alcohol treatment and connect teens to positive activities and caring adults.
Please call 503-725-8911 to learn how to bring the six steps of the Reclaiming Futures to your community: