Roundup: Reclaiming Futures in Action; California Mulls Legalizing (and Taxing) Marijuana; and More

Juvenile Justice Reform Stories

• Wyoming begins making progress on juvenile justice reform.
• Reclaiming Futures in action: a teen mom in our site in Dayton, Ohio, gets off drugs and alcohol and sets her sights on a brighter future. (Don't miss this earlier post on the juvenile drug court there.)
• A U.K. study recommends widespread use of restorative justice practices with juvenile offenders to cut recidivism rates, based on success seen in Northern Ireland.
• A Florida program is fast-tracking the court cases of teens who reoffend most often, mirroring some "frequent flyer" programs that have been tried out for adult chronic offenders in other cities. No mention in the article of alcohol and drug treatment, mental health treatment, or other services for teens in the program. (Hat tip to @justicestudies.)

 
Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Treatment-Related Stories

• California mulls legalization and taxation of marijuana, even as the Drug Czar asked police to advocate against legalization generally, and the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that "bong water" is a controlled substance (though the case in question involved methamphetamine).
• If parents in one Long Island town wanted their kids to attend the school prom, they had to attend a presentation on teen drug abuse, a step taken by the schools to fight a steep rise in teen use of heroin. (Hat tip to Outreach.)
• Two treatment agencies were recently recognized by SAMHSA for successfully implementing evidence-based practices - including one that tackled Multi-Dimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) for adolescents.
  

 
Resources

• A new tool from the Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) can get you state-by-state information on underage drinking policies.  (Hat tip to Join Together.)
• Promises to Keep, a great blog on status offenders and runaway, homeless, and at-risk teens (Hat tip to Youth Today.)
• Child Trends' brief guide can help you identify evidence-based programs for out-of-school time programs for teens and other children. (Hat tip to the Alliance for Nonprofit Performance.)
• Another resource for implementing evidence-based substance abuse treatment that can be applicable to youth in the juvenile justice system: An Overview of Evidence-Based Practices - Implementing Science-Based Interventions in Practical Settings, courtesy of the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers (ATTC) Network.

What Did We Miss?

We can't report on everything that's going on in the juvenile justice system or the world of adolescent alcohol and drug treatment, so you tell us: what stories or key resources did you see this week that you think others would like to know about?