Ventura Teen Finds Hope Through Juvenile Drug Court

An estimated 130 young people arrested each year in Ventura County, California, are diagnosed with substance abuse or co-occurring mental illness problems. But there is good news for these teens and their families.
Ventura County's juvenile drug court is turning young lives around with the help of Reclaiming Futures.
Our team recently worked with "JM" to access appropriate treatment and connect to a support system beyond treatment.   

Ventura County Reclaiming Futures is working to improve the quality of alcohol and drug treatment services by:

• Implementing the Reclaiming Futures model in juvenile drug court
• Increasing treatment services
• Implementing the Seven Challenges program
• Increasing gender-specific treatment
• Increasing pro-social opportunities
• Improving coordination with school systems 
• Tailoring treatment to the developmental needs of youth

Learn more about the Reclaiming Futures model at http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/model.

 
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.