Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Health and Human Services Awards $40 million
  Grants were awarded to 39 state agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations and non-profit groups in 23 states for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. (Hat tip to Rob Vincent.)
• Study Finds Drug Testing in Schools Has Only Small Effect in Reducing Substance Use
  “This study sends a cautionary note to the estimated 20 percent or more of high schools that have joined the drug testing bandwagon,” study co-author Dan Romer said in a news release. “We find little evidence that this approach to minimizing teen drug use is having the deterrent effect its proponents claim.”
• Fact Sheet: Understanding Child Welfare and the Courts
  Families involved with the child welfare system may have some involvement with the court—in most States, this occurs in a family or juvenile court. This fact sheet is designed to serve as a quick guide to the general types of court hearings that a family may experience, and it traces the steps of a child welfare case through the court system. (H/t Paul Savery.)

[Please note: Reclaiming Futures and its partners are not endorsing or promoting the author's book. We are reprinting his column because it does a good job of showing how the principles of Motivational Interviewing (an evidence-based practice) can be used to help youth make positive changes. Though written for parents with teens using alcohol and drugs, it also applies to juvenile probation officers and other professionals who work with youth to help them change their behavior -- all sorts of behavior, not just alcohol and drug use. --Ed.]
Imagine you are in the Emergency Department (ED) with your 16-year-old daughter, who was brought in for her second episode of alcohol poisoning in six months. The doctor is about to discharge her because, medically, she’s fine, but you know she’s going to go right back to heavy drinking if you don’t do something. You and your husband feel you’ve tried everything to help your daughter, but you also believe that there has to be some way to take advantage of this dire emergency to motivate her to get into treatment and to stop drinking.
I’ve seen hundreds of families in this very situation and their dilemma is always the same: they all want to influence their child to get on a better path, but they don’t know that there is a quick, easy and scientifically-proven way of getting the job done. The approach I’m referring to is called “Instant Influence.” It’s based on Motivational Interviewing (which in its briefest form has been shown to reduce substance use among adolescents and young adults seen in the ED) and my 20 years of experience motivating some of the most resistant-to-change substance abusing children and adults in a wide variety of settings.
People tend to only listen to one person — themselves. And, as a result, they’re only influenced by one person … again — themselves. So, as frustrating as this may be for a parent who would like to sternly say, “You have to stop!” and to have that be enough, the real trick to motivating someone is to get them to convince themselves to make a change for their own good reasons.

Many of you have undoubtedly seen news about synthetic drugs that are marketed -- legally, in many places around the country -- as "bath salts" or "plant food." These "synthetic cathinones" are stimulants that usually come in powder or crystal form, and can be smoked, injected, or snorted.  Emergency rooms and poison control centers have seen enough serious negative health effects that legislatures in a number of states have attempted to ban these drugs, and the constituent ingredients.  
Use varies by locale. In Maine, police and hospitals have reported "a surge of people becoming delusional and violent after injecting, snorting or smoking so-called bath salts."
The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) recently issued a situation report on bath salts (non-prescription synthetic cathinones), calling them an "emerging domestic threat." Users include teens.
Note to Juvenile Courts (and Juvenile Drug Courts in Particular):
Teens and others find bath salts attractive because:

• They are often sold legally in gas stations, head shops, skateboard shops, and on the internet; and
• Most routine drug screens will not detect the use of bath salts. (Though specialized drug screens will.)

The good news is, the Drug Enforcement Administration is considering scheduling them as a controlled substance under the Federal Controlled Substances Act.
The bad news? The NDIC expects that abuse will grow over time, and that manufacturers will adjust the chemical make-up of their products when needed to keep them legal.
Related Post:

• Bath Salts Still Legal Despite Dangers

• Selecting and Implementing Evidence-Based Practices
  Treatment funding is being increasingly tied to outcomes, a trend expected to continue as the integration of behavioral health with primary care moves forward in the context of healthcare reform. Learn more from the Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England about achieving desired client outcomes in part 2 of a 3-part series.
• Poll: Drug Abuse Equals Childhood Obesity as Top Health Concern for Kids
  On Aug. 15th, the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital released the results of its 5th annual national poll, in which Americans rated drug abuse and childhood obesity as the number one health concern for our nation’s youth. This is important news because it shows that drug abuse is now on the radar screens of people throughout the country and that Americans are very concerned about this issue. Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America issues a statement in response. (Hat tip to Christa Myers.)

"Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT) is an evidence-based intervention for children and families whose level of conflict, coercion, and aggression have resulted in or placed them at-risk for physical abuse or related safety concerns," writes Paul Savery.
He also forwarded the following: 

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network is pleased to release the 2011–2012 Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT) Learning Collaborative Information and Application Packet. AF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment designed to improve the relationships between children and their caregivers. AF-CBT addresses concerns such as harsh physical discipline/punishment as well as child/family aggression and family interactions characterized by hostile interactions and conflict.  
 
The Information packet contains critical information to help you and your organization understand the benefits of participating in the 2011-20112 AF_CBT Learning Collaborative. All interested in participating should thoroughly read the attached Information Packet and follow the directions included for submitting the Notification of Interest (by Monday, August 22, 2011) and the Online Application (by Friday, September 2, 2011).

You can learn more on the NCTSN website. If you have further questions, please contact Lauren Simone at lauren.simone@duke.edu.
 
Hurry! Note that deadline for the NOI: Monday, August 22, 2011!

• Is Our Racial Gap Becoming a Generation Gap?
  A provocative post from PolicyLink. Nearly half of the nation's young people are of color, but over 80 percent of America's seniors are white. "For the first time," the author argues, "America's seniors, business leaders, and elected officials simply do not see themselves in the faces of today's young. For many, this signals less obligation and commitment to the kinds of programs and resources that would help provide a boost for the next generation."
• Addiction: What Gets Us Hooked?
  The title says it all. (H/t to Paul Savery.)
• OJJDP Seeks Nominations for Awards at October Conference
  The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is seeking nominations for awards in four categories, to be given out at its fall conference, scheduled for October 12-14, 2011. UPDATE August 18: Deadline has been extended to August 29, 2011.

via JUVJUST:
On July 29, 2011, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Attorney General Eric Holder signed a memorandum of agreement to combat alcohol and substance abuse among American Indian/Alaska Native tribes by establishing a office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The new Office of Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse, created as a result of the passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, will coordinate the efforts of American Indian and Alaskan Native communities and federal agencies to address alcohol and substance abuse.
 
As part of its substance abuse efforts, the Office of Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse will emphasize programs geared toward reaching youth and offering alternatives to incarceration.
 
 
 Photo: ~Sage~ under Creative Commons license.

NIATx is pleased to announce a second round of the Business Practices of the Future Learning Collaborative—Fee-for-Service. This learning collaborative will focus on giving behavioral healthcare providers, including adolescent substance abuse treatment providers, the skills they need to bill third-party payers for their services.  
 
Already billing insurance companies? We can help you do it better. Participants will receive support in either creating a billing system from scratch or improving collections for an existing billing system, using the NIATx Third-party Billing Guide, Second Edition, and other NIATx resources, as a guide.
 
Participants found the first round of this learning collaborative an eye-opener, busting some of the myths that many providers have about billing insurance companies. For example, they learned that you can bill for a service without a contract, by setting up a single case agreement. And you don’t need to purchase an expensive electronic medical record system in order to start billing. (See the billing guide, linked above, to learn how to do this – and more.)
 
For more information, join the informational call:
Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 2:00 pm EST/1:00 pm CST
Call-in number: 1-866-642-1665
Passcode: 213469#

Amy Winehouse died of addiction. Though toxicology reports are so far inconclusive, we can look at her life and know the cause of her death. Many of us know what addiction looks like up close and personal and most, if not all of us know what addiction looks like from the gripping images of famous people struggling in front of us.
Hopefully, we can convert this recent casualty into an opportunity for learning, and strive to create a better way to prevent this treatable chronic health condition called addiction. We know that people can and do recover!
Those who do not survive addiction leave behind grieving families, friends and communities who may question what they could have done differently. To this tremendously agonizing question there is no single or simple answer. We can, however, start to look at addiction differently and recognize that with support, awareness, allies and hope — recovery is possible and it benefits everyone.
We know from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and others that:

• Troubled Teenager's Path to Murder Charge
  The New York Times reports on endangered workers. Is the Massachusetts mental health system in a crisis that, among other problems, creates worrisome risks of violent tragedy?
• The Legal Rights of LGBT Youth in State Custody 
  This article provides a guide for advocates representing LGBT youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. All youth in state custody, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are guaranteed rights to physical safety and prevention of psychological harm under the Constitution and state laws.  
• New Parent Helpline Provides Support, Resources For Teen Substance Abuse 
  When parents find out their teen is abusing drugs or alcohol, the family’s immediate focus is generally on getting help for the teen. But parents are often in great need of help themselves. A new toll-free telephone helpline is providing that assistance.