Blog: Reclaiming Futures

Have you considered lending your talent to young people in your community? If so, the story below, the first of three weekly videos from young people, should provide the nudge you need.
In this three-minute video, Guy, a well-known graffiti artist in Snohomish County, Washington, describes his transformation as a Promising Artists in Recovery (PAIR) participant.

Through Reclaiming Futures Snohomish County, Henri Wilson and other generous adults are mentoring young artists in the county's juvenile justice system who have substance abuse issues. By engaging in calligraphy, painting and photography classes, teens are viewing life through a different lens.

We're only one week out from our webinar about how the Reclaiming Futures model is uniting juvenile courts, probation, adolescent substance abuse treatment, and the community for cost effective juvenile justice reform. 

Please register for a free webinar on Tuesday, April 30 at 10 a.m. (PDT)/1 p.m. (EDT)
What you'll learn:

• Communities have a compelling need to break the cycle of drugs, alchohol and crime 
• Reclaiming Futures is connecting young people to caring adults 
• The six-step model is pointing to better outcomes for youth

About the presenters:

Susan Richardson is national executive director for Reclaiming Futures. Formerly, she was a senior program officer in the health care division of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in North Carolina, where she led a three-year effort involving the state's juvenile justice and treatment leaders to adopt the Reclaiming Futures model by juvenile courts in six North Carolina counties. She received her B.S. in Public Health, Health Policy and Administration, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Margaret Soukup is the project director for Seattle-King County Reclaiming Futures, in Seattle, Wash., where she serves as Science to Service/Workforce Development Coordinator Project/Program Manager III, Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division (MHCADSD). Margaret has a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University Seattle and a bachelor's degree in applied science, social sciences from Washington State University. 

On Wednesday, April 10, President Obama announced the largest requested percentage increase in federal funding for drug treatment in over two decades.
The President’s Budget requests a $1.5 billion increase for treatment and prevention services, over the fiscal year 2012 level.
 
Please take a moment to review the funding highlights:

• $76.8 million will fund grants made directly to approximately 605 community‐based coalitions (including 139 new grants) focusing on preventing youth substance use
• President Obama’s drug budget calls for $1.5 billion increase for drug treatment and prevention over fiscal year 2012.
• The budget calls for largest requested percentage increase in drug treatment funding in over two decades.
• The total amount requested for treatment and prevention is $10.7 billion.

 

Thanks to the teamwork of Hocking County Reclaiming Futures, many teens in Southeast Ohio are receiving the support they need to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
Learn how this team creates healthy activities for young people. In a story, published by the Logan Daily News on April 1, they:

• Hiked trails with a soil & water conservation education specialist,
• Created art from recycled and reclaimed items, and 
• Learned to identify trees and shrubs in the Hocking Hills

Reclaiming Futures teens are learning to give back too. By donating art objects for programming at the Bishop Educational Gardens, they are creating goodwill in the community. 
Kudos to Hocking County Reclaiming Futures for building educational partnerships for court-involved young people. Together, they are connecting teens to positive activities and caring adults.

By bringing together juvenile courts, probation, treatment, mental health, educators and the community, Reclaiming Futures Hardin County has accomplished a lot in two years.
According to a 2012 report, participants in Reclaiming Futures Hardin County reduced substance abuse from 100% at intake to 28% at six months in treatment. At 12 months in treatment their illegal activity dropped to 5% (29% below the national juvenile court average).
This month, Hardin County Reclaiming Futures welcomes Judicial Fellow Judge Steven D. Christopher, to their team of caring adults who are emphasizing treatment over detention.
Judge Christopher fills the vacancy recently left by retired Judge James S. Rapp, who has helped lead many successes, including a 92% graduation rate at Hardin Community School.
Reclaiming Futures Hardin County remains committed to providing:

• Individualized treatment plans based on screening and assessment 
• Evidence-based drug and alcohol education and treatment
• Supervision
• Public education
• Mentors
• Educational and vocational services
• Family support

Please listen to project director, Khrystal Wagner, interviewed March 12 on WKTN Radio:
   
Are you interested in helping your community break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime? Here’s how you can help teens in Hardin, County and everywhere: 

According to Papas, funded by the California Office of Child Abuse Prevention, it is estimated that one in three children in the United States lives without their biological father. Children who live in homes with absent biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems and to be victims of child abuse.
Reclaiming Futures Santa Cruz County is taking preventative action through Hands on Fatherhood, a program designed for fathers and father-figures to encourage each other and increase meaningful father-child relationships. In the video below, Community Fellow, Jaime Molina, describes the wonderful work they are doing to connect fathers and children.  
 

According the the Campaign for Youth Justice, over 10,000 kids will spend this Valentine’s Day in an adult jail or prison, without the support of loved ones.
Reclaiming Futures is building networks of caring adults with whom teens in the justice system can be connected—and an array of activities where young people can learn social skills, job skills, and new behaviors that will help them stay drug-free and crime-free long after they complete treatment and probation.
This Valentine's Day, Reclaiming Futures encourages you to mentor and volunteer in your community and support young people. Together, we can work to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
Learn more about bringing Reclaiming Futures to your community to:

• Change the way your community treats kids in the justice system with substance abuse problems.
• Help young people stay out of trouble with the law.
• Improve public safety and save money.
• Give young people the support they need—more treatment, better treatment and beyond treatment—to turn their lives around.

Do you support juvenile justice reform and want to help communities break the cycle of drugs, alchohol and crime? 
Join our staff in Portland, Oregon, where Reclaiming Futures is improving the experience for teens in the juvenile justice system by providing adolescent substance abuse and mental health treatment in 37 communities around the country.
We are hiring for two dynamic positions, Strategic Partnership Development Director and Fellowship Program Manager. Please read the full position descriptions. Some highlights of these jobs include: 
Strategic Partnership Development Director

• Secure major sustainability funding from private and government sources
• Cultivate regional and national relationships with individuals and agencies
• Establish financial and other partnerships with local, state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, private foundations, and private or business sectors

Fellowship Program Manager

• Provide leadership for the strategic direction of the fellowship program and seek input from staff, fellows and faculty across the country
• Organize fellowship meetings’ activities and materials
• Develop a webinar strategy to provide learning opportunities for sites and grow the national profile of Reclaiming Futures 

Despite snow, ice, fog and temperatures around 15 degrees on January 25, nearly 70 leaders interested in juvenile justice reform, adolescent substance abuse treatment, public policy and philantropy gathered at the Columbus Foundation in Columbus, Ohio, to learn about Reclaiming Futures, a proven model for helping teens break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
We were joined by Harvey Reed, Director of Ohio Department of Youth Services, to discuss how to unite probation officers, judges, substance abuse treatment professionals and community members to help teens in the justice system.
The following counties expressed interest in the technical assistance, training, webinars, leadership institutes, fellowship support and coaching available to members of the Reclaiming Futures community:

• Coshocton
• Franklin
• Henry
• Logan
• Marion
• Perry
• Pickaway
• Drake