Resource Roundup: Juvenile Justice, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Crossover Youth, and More

This week, we've got a bonanza of resources, conference presentations, and toolkits related to the juvenile justice system, adolescent substance abuse treatment, and working with troubled youth generally. 
Presentations from Juvenile Justice Conferences You Missed

Still suffering heartburn because you weren't able to make it to that fantastic juvenile justice conference this year? No worries. You can find many of the presentations online. For example:

• Presentations from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice 2010 onference. (Hat tip to Mark Fulop.)
• The 2010 Blueprints conference can help update you on what really works in preventing youth violence.
• Even if you're not a grantee of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), you can find interesting material posted from a recent orientation OJJDP held for new grantees: for example, there's a presentation on how to evaluate your program, another that covers "tools to improve services and program performance," a review of the findings from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), and of course, an overview of OJJDP grant programs.

Conferences and Courses Related to Delinquency and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• The National Center for School Engagement is offering a 1-1/2 day training in evaluating your truancy reduction program, May 13-14, 2010, in Denver, CO. 
• NAADAC, the association for addiction professionals, is holding its 2010 annual conference on addiction disorders in Washington, DC, September 8-11, 2010. Attendees can earn up to 30 CEs.
• How do you communicate with your community about youth in the justice system struggling with drug problems? Attend the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media for ideas. The conference, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control, SAMHSA, and the National Public Health Information Coalition, will be held in Atlanta, August 17-19, 2010. got an idea for a presentation? You can still submit abstracts until May 2nd. 

Online Resources for Addiction, Recovery, School Engagement, and Crossover Youth

• Communities in Schools (CIS) looks like an effective, community-based model for keeping kids in school.  A key element? Connecting troubled kids with a caring adult. CIS has got sites in 27 states, including in a number of Reclaiming Futures communities -- find out if your state is one of them.
• The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) just launched its own blog, "Of Substance." Recent posts include one from Dr. Westley Clark on the impact of health reform on substance abuse programs.
• Join Together has revamped and revitalized its excellent online tool, Alcoholscreening.org, a very brief online screening tool to help adults and teens determine whether their alcohol use is harmful. 
• Work with "crossover youth" -- i.e., youth in the child welfare system as well as the juvenile justice system? Then you should check out the crossover youth practice model from the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University, and Casey Family Programs.
• "In My Own Words" is a collection of essays by high school and college students celebrating recovery from alcohol and drug addiction published by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network. 
• SAMHSA is offering new toolkits to implement evidence based practices, including Assertive Community Treatment and Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders."
• NIATx provides numerous resources for improving adolescent treatment, from FAQs to toolkits to a support forum.
• The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) offers mini-guides to increase the effectiveness of your adolescent substance abuse treatment program, and you don't have to be a grantee to reap the benefits.
• Scroll down in this post for links to information about integrating substance abuse and mental health services.

(Hat tip to Paul Savery, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Co-ordinator at the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, for passing on a number of the items above.)