Blog: Reclaiming Futures

• Families and teens often need a quick orientation to the juvenile justice system -- but there's never one there when you want one. YouTube is changing that, though. Above is a 9-1/2-minute video from a Florida teen court that provides a thorough overview of how things work there (although it is, unfortunately, cut off prematurely.) Anyone have other examples they want to share?

I’m sure you already know the Reclaiming Futures mantra for teens in the justice system who have alcohol and drug issues: “More treatment, better treatment, and beyond treatment!”
The hardest part of the mantra to bring to fruition is the third part of it – how can we help support youth in recovery once they’re done with treatment (or even the juvenile court)? Changing behavior for the long-term isn’t easy, and youth need positive activities and supportive adults to help them stay sober and crime-free.
 
To begin to tackle our own “beyond treatment” plan, Bristol County Reclaiming Futures recently hosted a “sustainability summit.” Our goal was to initiate conversation about how to better meet the needs of at-risk and justice-involved youth with substance abuse issues, and I’m happy to report that the project generated a lot of positive energy and even made the news! We generated a number of strategies to move forward, and a task force comprised of summit attendees and other interested parties soon begin working on implementing them. (Special thanks to Dan Merrigan of Boston University, our Reclaiming Futures coach, for facilitating the work group project.)
 
Some highlights:

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! 

After more than 10 years with Reclaiming Futures, I have decided to step down as national program director, in order to concentrate on teaching and research in my role as a faculty member at the School of Social Work at Portland State University. I will continue to serve as national director until my successor begins work.
The search for a new national director will begin soon, and our plan is to have a new leader in place at our next leadership institute in May 2011. We are forming a search committee of four to six people who are close to the project to advise us about the selection process. A job announcement is forthcoming soon.

The Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE) - the only national conference specifically devoted to adolescent substance abuse treatment -- is coming up in December. JMATE has issued a call for papers, registration opens June 1st, and now you can follow JMATE on Facebook.
Reclaiming Futures is one of the co-sponsors, but even if it weren't, I'd be encouraging you to go. I've been to several JMATEs and they were all excellent, informative events. (Also, it's great to be at a treatment conference and never have to ask after a presentation, "Say, does your research apply to teens as well as adults?")

Are you attending the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) 20th Annual National Leadership Forum in National Harbor, MD next week?
Come and join us to learn more about how Reclaiming Futures is being implemented through juvenile drug court grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
The workshop, titled, "Juvenile Drug Courts:  Building the Model," will give an overview of juvenile drug courts -- their history, challenges, 16 strategies for developing and maintaining them, and current performance measures for success. It will also focus on OJJDP's work to build the juvenile drug court program model through its partnerships with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Reclaiming Futures.
Gwen Williams, MSW, who is a Program manager at OJJDP, will be the primary presenter. She will be joined by Yvonne Sherrer, Community Fellow at the Reclaiming Futures site in Dayton, OH, and Christa Meyers, Project Director at the Reclaiming Futures site in Hocking County, OH. 
"Juvenile Drug Courts:  Building the Model" will be held on Thursday, February 11th, from 4:15 pm - 5:15 pm, in the room called "National Harbor 4/5."

Last week, I featured our top 10 stories on juvenile justice and adolescent substance abuse treatment and 8 great resources to improve adolescent substance abuse treatment.
This week, I'm highlighting posts from our first year to help you focus on creative ways to help teens in the justice system and in recovery learn skills that will help them live crime-free and drug-free lives.
Here's 11 things you can do with teens in your justice system:

Yesterday, to celebrate the first anniversary of this blog, we began reposting our top 10 posts from the past year, including one on engaging the families of youth in the juvenile justice system, how to handle confidentiality and consent issues when connecting kids with adolescent substance abuse treatment, and more.
Today, our celebration continues with our top five posts (in reverse order of popularity): 

Juvenile Justice Reform Stories

• Wyoming begins making progress on juvenile justice reform.
• Reclaiming Futures in action: a teen mom in our site in Dayton, Ohio, gets off drugs and alcohol and sets her sights on a brighter future. (Don't miss this earlier post on the juvenile drug court there.)
• A U.K. study recommends widespread use of restorative justice practices with juvenile offenders to cut recidivism rates, based on success seen in Northern Ireland.
• A Florida program is fast-tracking the court cases of teens who reoffend most often, mirroring some "frequent flyer" programs that have been tried out for adult chronic offenders in other cities. No mention in the article of alcohol and drug treatment, mental health treatment, or other services for teens in the program. (Hat tip to @justicestudies.)