Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

Funding Opportunity

Become a Reclaiming Futures site
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) seeks applicants for $1.325 million/four year grant opportunities. The funding intends to build the capacity of states, state and local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop and establish juvenile drug courts, incorporating the Reclaiming Futures model. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. E.T. on May 16, 2012.
Juvenile Justice Reform
Eastern Panhandle Program Designed to Keep Youth Offenders on Drug-Free Path
West Virginia Herald Mail
West Virginia’s first Juvenile Drug Court opened in Cabell County, W.Va., in 1999, and it’s taken 13 years for the benefits of the program to reach out to youngsters heading for trouble in the Eastern Panhandle.

Study Finds Alarming Number of 7th Graders are Victims of Dating Violence
Houston Chronicle
Study on dating violence that found one in three have been the victims of psychological dating violence and nearly one in six have been the victim of physical dating violence.
Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment
Illinois Taxpayers Save Money Sending Criminals Through Drug Court
FOX Chicago
Will County taxpayers spent $30,000 to graduate ten people on Thursday, but they actually saved $200,000 -- and probably some lives -- in a program that's proving to be the smartest money in crime prevention.

A recent survey of over 10,000 American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, found that the majority had tried alcohol and/or drugs by the time they reach adulthood. More specifically, four out of five teens had tried alcohol and one in five had tried drugs by the time they turned 18.
From CBS News:

"Because the early onset of substance use is a significant predictor of substance use behavior and disorders in a lifespan, the public health implications of the current findings are far reaching." the researchers wrote.
A disturbing finding was that 15 percent of the teens met the criteria for lifetime alcohol abuse, and 16 percent could be categorized as drug abusers. The median age for alcohol abuse to begin was 14 with or without dependent behavior. The median age for drug abuse with dependence to start was at the age of 14 and teens who started abusing illicit substances at 15 were less likely to be dependent.

Previous studies have shown that the earlier substance abuse begins, the higher the likelihood for addiction. From Reuters:

Juvenile Justice Reform
Lead juvenile justice expert says CA state facilities should stay open
Turnstyle News
For more than thirty years, it’s been Barry Krisberg’s priority to fight for reforms in California’s state juvenile correctional facilities, known as the California Youth Authority (CYA) or Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). And now a change is coming at the DJJ.

Many teens sent to adult court: Butler County tied for 7th in number of youth charged with murder
Middletown Journal
Some legal experts question if the courts should try as many juveniles as adults, but others said they deserve the same punishment if they kill someone. Butler County has the sixth highest number of teenagers bound over to adult court between 2007-2010 in Ohio, according to state records examined by The Journal. The county is tied for seventh in the number of youths charged with murder. Cuyahoga County charged 66 teens with murder and Hamilton County was second with 31 during the same time period.
New York City to take custody of local juveniles from updstate facilities
WNYC
New York City will soon take responsibility for its youthful offenders instead of shipping them to facilities upstate, an option that has been viewed as ineffective and costly. The change is something child advocates and city officials have been pushing for for years.

Marin YMCA youth court to hold teen camp on juvenile justice system
Marin Independent Journal  The Marin YMCA Youth Court will hold a four-day camp for teens on the juvenile justice system and restorative justice. Registration is still open.

Fear and anger collide in juvenile court
The Daily Times
A look inside the Wicomico County juvenile court and efforts to keep kids from reoffending.
Adolescent Substance Abust Treatment

Four arrested for buying beer for teenagers
San Diego County News Center
Perhaps youthful memories of high school parties motivates some strangers to agree to buy teenagers alcohol when they’re asked. But being a “cool” grown-up resulted in the arrest of four people as part of a state-wide crackdown on underage drinking.

Last night, CBS News ran a segment on a recovery school in Boston that takes teen addicts and turns them into graduates with a bright future.

For students, the recovery school is a place to learn while also receiving recovery support from staff who have struggled with these issues themselves.

Those working in the substance use treatment and recovery fields should check out this really informative infographic: This is Your Brain on Prescription Drugs:

(click through to see the full infographic)

More than 1 in 10 American high schoolers have used synthetic marijuana (also known as K2 or Spice) in the past year. But many parents, educators and youth workers may not be familiar with this new drug. Thankfully, The Partnership at DrugFree.org has a very informative slideshare presentation on both Bath Salts and K2/Spice. The presentation discusses what exactly the drugs are, how they affect users and what to do if a loved one is abusing these dangerous substances.

Parents360 Synthetic Drugs (Bath Salts & K2 / Spice)
View more webinars from The Partnership at Drugfree.org

A Superior Court in Washington, D.C., is redirecting minors with mental health problems from the juvenile system to treatment and rehabilitation. JM-4, a former juvenile mental health division court, is led by Magistrate Judge Joan Goldfrank, who is known for listening to families and dispensing wisdom and services to kids.
“The message I want to give them is that they are supported,” Goldfrank told the Washington Post. “The whole point of juvenile justice is rehabilitation. How could we not do it on the kids’ side?”
JM-4 is one of a dozen courts in the country that aims to help young people with mental health issues without incarcerating them.
From the Washington Post:

Juvenile Justice Reform
OPINION: State must be smart on youth crime
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Juvenile crime has been dropping for many years in a row. That's good news because it means fewer victims and safer neighborhoods. One interesting factor in the falling crime rate has been that we lock up fewer juveniles. That's right — the crime rate is dropping at the same time we are putting fewer youngsters behind bars. And that makes sense once you think about it.
PODCAST: Stanford Law professor on California’s criminal justice realignment  Stanford Law Professor Joan Petersilia discusses the realignment of California’s criminal justice system, realignment’s impact on county jails, the need for comprehensive realignment research and analysis, and the importance of researcher-practitioner partnerships.
Preckwinkle: “Blow up” juvenile jail and put kids in smaller regional centers
Cook County Reporter
When Cook County Bord President Toni Preckwinkle was asked if she agreed with the report’s recommendation that the juvenile detention center be closed, Preckwinkle said: “Of course. I said that from the beginning. I think I said we should blow it up.”
Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment
National Inhalant Prevention Coalition: Stop encouraging kids to huff helium
Join Together
Huffing helium is not safe, and adults must stop encouraging children to do it, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition
NIPC, a group that promotes awareness and recognition of inhalant use.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Study shows youth law project “bridges gaps” for children in need
  Fosters
  An evaluation study recently completed by the University of New Hampshire reveals that services provided by the New Hampshire Legal Assistance's Youth Law Project result in an overall reduction of recidivism, a goal the agency strives for through providing support and resources alongside juveniles in the court system.
• Cook County must reform juvenile justice, national agency says
  Chicago Tribune
  Cook County should demolish its long-troubled juvenile temporary detention center and needs to address an array of problematic trends in how it detains youths, such as disproportionately high admission rates for African-Americans, according to a national criminal justice research agency report.
• Louisiana seeing reduced need for some juvenile justice facilities, chief says
  The Town Talk
  The number of referrals to Louisiana juvenile detention facilities is down, as are recidivism and funding, the head of the state Office of Juvenile Justice says, so daytime treatment services under her office can be eliminated.
• Funding cuts to youth centers would give minor offenders nowhere to go
  The Salt Lake Tribune
  Lawmakers in Utah are looking at cutting millions of dollars from Juvenile Justice Services, meaning that several rural youth receiving centers will shutter and others statewide will have limited operating hours.
• Most Texas juvenile prisoners have mental health problems
  CBS
  Some 52 percent of young people in Texas’ six youth prison facilities have moderate or high mental health treatment needs, the head of the state juvenile justice department says.
• Local juvenile drug court program is having a positive impact on Great Falls
  KFBB
  Judge Kenneth Neill was tired of seeing kids making bad decisions, so when the Juvenile Drug Court Program began in Cascade County 6 years ago, he saw it as a fresh start for teens who would otherwise be locked up.
• In Dakota County, jury of teenage peers offers alternative for juvenile offenders
  Pioneer Press
  A youth court in Minnesota is giving teens a second chance after learning from their mistakes.
• South Carolina bill to deny licenses to dropouts advances
  7 On Your Side
  Lawmakers are taking aim at South Carolina’s high dropout rate with a bill that would take driving privileges away from students who stop going to school.
• House passes overhaul of Georgia juvenile justice system with focus on treatment
  The Republic
  Juvenile courts would have to conduct an assessment of children's mental health needs before committing them into state custody as part of an overhaul of the juvenile justice code passed Wednesday by House lawmakers.
• What life is like for a 14-year-old killer tried as an adult in Indiana
  The Indianapolis Star
  Should a 12-year-old be tried as an adult? Paul Henry Gingerich was after he helped kill a man two years ago. He faces 10 more years in prison -- unless an appeal convinces a court he should have been tried as a juvenile.
• Q&A: James Bell on what to do with California’s youth prisons
  KALW
  KALW sat down with James Bell, Founder and Executive Director of the Burns Institute, to discuss disproportionate minority contact and realignment in California.
• Florida district seeks civil citation program for misdemeanors committed at school
  The Ledger
  Polk County School District officials said Tuesday they want to implement a civil citation program for students who commit misdemeanors at schools. The program would allow students of all ages who commit a misdemeanor on campus to receive a citation instead of possibly being arrested, run through the court system and possibly taken to jail.
• Legal loophole makes some Texas juvenile records public
  Houston Chronicle
  Personal information about thousands of Texas juveniles cited for truancy, disorderly conduct and other Class C misdemeanors is widely accessible to the public, despite privacy concerns from advocates and parents.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Thousands of teens pick up smoking each day, new report says
  WBTV
  Every day in the U.S., more than 3,800 people under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. More than 1,000 of them become daily smokers. They replace the 1,200 people who die each day in the U.S. from smoking.

Michael Fishman

At the National Collegiate Recovery Conference Wednesday at Kennesaw State University, Michael Fishman, Director of the Young Adult Program at Talbott Recovery Campus in Atlanta, neatly summed up everything he had learned in 22 years of treating addiction in young adults. The recurring theme of his keynote address: It’s complicated.
“Most young adults are generally poly-substance abusers,” he said.
They aren’t just using marijuana; they’re also drinking, Fishman says. It’s not just opioids, it’s opioids and anti-depressants or any other combination. And that complicates the picture for doctors trying to get to know their patient’s true diagnosis.
“The drugs and alcohol may mask the underlying pathology,” Fishman said. Withdrawal symptoms, he added, “cloud the picture,” as do toxicity and detox.
Additionally, many young adults suffering from addiction are also suffering from mental illness of some kind, what Fishman calls “dual-diagnosis.” Depression and anxiety are common in substance abusers and the addiction may begin as an attempt to self-medicate, which Fishman says doesn’t work.
“Ask any young person who self-medicates how that’s working out for them,” he said with a laugh.