King County, Washington, Celebrates 10 Years of Reclaiming Futures

Through Reclaiming Futures, King County, Washington is changing the experience for young people in the justice system with substance abuse and mental health problems.
On November 7, they celebrated 10 years, having helped thousands of teens get what they need – more treatment, better treatment and beyond treatment – to turn their lives around.
For 10 years, Reclaiming Futures Seattle-King County has partnered with courts, treatment facilities, juvenile justice centers and communities to help teens break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
They have been successful by integrating the Reclaiming Futures model into their policies and by providing:

• Comprehensive screening using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN)
• Adolescent-specific, evidence-based treatment models
• Support to juvenile justice youth who also have mental health issues
• A mentoring program
• High Fidelity Wraparound model to nurture and support youth on probation and beyond 

In October, Jerry Large of The Seattle Times honored King County for "a better way of dealing with juvenile-justice and family-court issues."
Congratulations to Reclaiming Futures Seattle-King County for you dedication and hard work!

Reclaiming Futures Seattle-King County thanks the core partners 2002-2012:
• 4C Coalition
• Div. of Child and Family Services
• Dept. of Adult and Juvenile Detention
• Juvenile Rehabilitation Admin
• JRA Mentoring Program
• King County Superior Court
• King County Youth and Family Services
• King County Prosecutor’s Office
• King County Youth Substance Abuse Providers
• Mental Health, Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division
• Puget Sound Education Service District
• Seattle Human Services
• Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons
• Special Populations Alliance
• The Defender Association
• United Voice of King County Parents
• University of Washington

Lori Howell regularly contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in French from Seattle University. Lori works as a senior account director at Prichard Communications.