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When you work with adolescents in substance abuse treatment, one of your biggest challenges is what happens after they complete treatment. Connecting teens with positive people who can help them maintain sobriety can be quite difficult. 
So it's great to see that Faces & Voices of Recovery has revamped and revitalized its Guide to Mutual Aid Resources, an online, one-stop resource of over 50 online and in-person mutual aid groups that are helping people find and sustain their recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. According to a press release, "the groups are organized into practical, user-friendly categories like, 'Youth-Focused' or 'Medication-Assisted.'"

From the press release: the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) invites qualified individuals to apply under its fiscal year (FY) 2010 Fellowship Program on Tribal Juvenile Justice.
The fellowship represents an opportunity for professionals, practitioners, researchers, or trainers with expertise in tribal youth justice to assist OJJDP in strengthening its partnership with federally-recognized tribes to enhance juvenile justice and serve tribal youth and their families.
The application deadline is July 19, 2010.

I'm pleased to be able to pass on the news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) is offering an expected 80 grants worth between $200,000 and $1 million per year for up to three years to provide one-to-one mentoring for children of incarcerated parents. I'm especially pleased that the grant solicitation explicitly expects a positive youth development focus in programming provided to the young people. 
FYSB also plans to make eight awards for similar statewide projects. Eligible states include the 15 states with the highest number of incarcerated prisoners: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, North Carolina, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama and Missouri. Native American tribes and tribal entities in these states are also eligible, and applications from tribal entities not in these states but with high numbers of incarcerated Native Americans, will also be considered. Annual awards will range between $1.5 million and $2 million for up to three years.
Application deadline for both is July 30, 2010.

• Above is a one-minute video from the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) on jailing kids in adult prisons (follow the link and scroll to last item) that was picked up by 191 broadcasters, according to Youth Today. Congratulations to CFYJ on getting the message out.

The Department of Justice's ongoing work to integrate juvenile drug courts and the Reclaiming Futures model was highlighted by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder when he addressed the opening session of a conference held by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) on June 3, 2010. If you click on the video above, you'll see he speaks briefly about the administration's overall efforts to draw on innovative approaches to adolescent substance abuse around 14:40.
In the same segment, he indicates that three more juvenile drug court awards will be made this fall jointly with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) -- and he also mentions that a summit on adolescent recovery is planned for this fall. Looking forward to that! 

[The following post, on the state-level interpretation of the Supreme Court decision banning life without parole for juveniles who commit crimes short of homicide, is reprinted with permission from a May 28th blog post on Youth Today. You can get more background on the decision in this post from the National Juvenile Justice Network. -Ed.]
Youth Today already posted a story on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Graham v Florida, and our subscribers can look for a more in-depth look at its ramifications in our June issue. But here’s yet one more point we think should be made about the aftermath of the decision.
There are 37 states that have life without parole sentences for certain juveniles and now must replace with new sentencing provisions. The court mandated that juveniles have a “meaningful opportunity” for release.  
 
JJ Today has contacted many people, all of whom were willing to pontificate on what they think would be the best way for states to change those laws. Suggestions include: review sentences after inmates turn 30, review them after 10 years of the sentence, and try all juveniles in juvenile court.
 
Not one person wished to discuss what they felt would be the worst revision they could tolerate.  As Terrance Graham’s attorney Bryan Gowdy put it, there is a point at which a really high term of years or wait for parole would be the “functional equivalent” of a life sentence.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released additional funding opportunities for 2010 -- this time, focused on different aspects of data and evaluation.  
You can apply to: 

• Evaluate what works in addressing girls' delinquency. (There's a dearth of evidence now, so you have a chance to be a pioneer.) Amount: $200,000 to $400,000 for a project period of up to three years. Deadline: July 8, 2010. 
• Propose a research project to evaluate what works in responding to juvenile delinquency. Amount: $200,000 to $500,000 for project period of up to three years. Deadline: June 29, 2010. 
• Help OJJDP compile and disseminate statistics relevant to the juvenile justice field. Amount: up to $2.4 million, total, for three years. Deadline: July 6, 2010. 
• Establish a National Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center to assist OJJDP grantees (and communities in general) in building local capacity to effectively design and implement evaluations of juvenile justice interventions. Amount: up to $1.5 million for three years. Deadline: July 9, 2010. 

• Do you work for an agency that treats teens or adults with alcohol and drug problems?   
• Are you responsible for addiction programs in your state? Or do you advocate for adults and teens with addictions?

If so, you may need to mobilize, and fast.
Huge decisions are being made at the state level all over the country that could eventually cut off insurance reimbursements (including Medicaid) for addiction treatment providers. 

• Juvenile justice reform may finally be coming to New York state, where governor David A. Paterson has proposed a bill that would radically change the state's juvenile justice system by sharply limiting the kinds of crimes for which youth could be committed to youth prison, and setting up an independent office to oversee those prisons. Unfortunately, increased mental health and substance abuse treatment for youth in the system are not in the bill. (See this post for background on New York's broken juvenile justice system, and the opportunities it could provide for reform.)

• A program in Boston Lenox, MA diverts youth in the justice system to a 10-year-old, five-week program called "Shakespeare in the Courts, " according to The Boston Globe. Their sentence? Rehearsing Shakespeare four afternoons a week, with the goal of putting on a performance. What's great about the article is how well it displays the power of such a program to help kids change, as well as their uncertainty in the face of such an unconventional response to their behavior. (Related story: the National Endowment for the Arts recently funded performances of Shakespeare for youth in the juvenile justice system -- follow the link and check out the third bullet. )
  • Related post: The Bard wrote his share of sonnets and other poems, and writing poetry can also be beneficial and therapeutic to teens in the juvenile justice system. Follow the link for more information.