By Cecilia Bianco, April 20 2015
Addiction to alcohol and other drugs impacts more than 85 million Americans. This growing problem has sparked a coast-to-coast addiction and recovery awareness campaign: UNITE to Face Addiction.
By Jim Carlton, April 08 2015
Susan Richardson has recently announced her plans to leave the position of national executive director of Reclaiming Futures to return to her home state of North Carolina, and we are grateful for her years of excellent leadership. Yesterday, Reclaiming Futures appointed Mr. Evan Elkin as national executive director, effective May 11, 2015.
By Cecilia Bianco, April 06 2015
There are 2.5 million alcohol-related deaths worldwide every year. Approximately nine percent, or 320,000 of those deaths, are among young people aged 15-29.
April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and there are many ways to get involved to help create awareness and encourage individuals and families to get help for alcohol-related problems.
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) has sponsored Alcohol Awareness Month every April since 1987 and provides all the information and resources you’ll need to support this cause.
The theme for this year’s 2015 NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month was chosen to highlight the pervasive impact that alcohol, alcohol-related problems and alcoholism have on individuals, on families and children, in the workplace and in our communities: "For the Health of It: Early Education on Alcoholism and Addiction."
The NCADD provides many resources that help bring light to this issue and we are all encouraged to share them widely:
Drinking Too Much Too Fast Can Kill You
NCADD's Self-Test for Teenagers
Local NCADD Affiliates as well as schools, colleges, churches, and countless other community organizations will sponsor a host of activities to support this cause.
Many organizations have already joined in and are doing their part to raise awareness, including the following:
If you’re interested in hosting an event or spreading the word, NCADD also has an “Organizer’s guide” to make it easy and effective in your community! The Organizer’s guide includes:
For more information, visit the NCADD website.
By Anonymous, March 31 2015
Below you’ll find a selection of the latest grants, jobs, webinars and events posted to our Opportunity Board. Please share the Reclaiming Futures Opportunity Board with your colleagues in the juvenile justice, adolescent substance abuse and teen mental health areas. It’s free to browse and post!
Webinars
Topics: Resources
By Cecilia Bianco, March 30 2015
The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University‘s McCourt School of Public Policy has announced that the application window for the 2015 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate Program is now open through May 15, 2015.
The Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate Program, held August 3-7, 2015, is an intensive training designed to support local jurisdictions in their efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in their juvenile justice systems. The program is operated jointly by the Georgetown Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Center for Children's Law and Policy.
The three primary goals of the certificate program are to help jurisdictions reduce:
Through the examination of the key decision points in the juvenile justice system, the program’s curriculum provides participants a better understanding of the disparate treatment of youth of color may be experiencing as compared to white youth within the juvenile justice system.
The program will also focus on the relationship between disproportionality in the juvenile justice system and disparate treatment in other child serving systems, including child welfare and education.
After completing the program, participants will be responsible for the development of a capstone project – a set of actions each participant will design and undertake within their organization or community to initiate or continue collaborative efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.
Visit the CJJR website where you will find further information about the program, including how to apply, tuition, and available subsidies for those with financial need. Questions can be sent to jill.adams@georgetown.edu.
By Susan Richardson, March 19 2015
Youth violence in the U.S. is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages
of 15 and 24—one of the many reasons National Youth Violence Prevention Week seeks to educate students, teachers, school staff, parents, and the public on effective ways to prevent or reduce youth violence.
Taking place next week, March 23-27, 2015, Youth Violence Prevention Week is founded by The National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). The initiative kicks off with the 15th SAVE Summit March 21, and expands nationally next week to encourage communities to host events and workshops engaging students in the fight to stop shootings, bullying and other violence in our schools using the planning tools and resources in SAVE’s Action Kit.
According to SAVE, violence in schools has become devastatingly common in the United States (statistics sourced from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention):
During the week of March 23-27, SAVE will offer activity ideas for schools and community organizations across the country to host events educating youth on the potential of their positive impacts on their communities. Below are a list of events produced by SAVE and its sponsors:
Visit the National Youth Violence Prevention Week website for an activity planning guide, as well as suggested ideas targeted at specific audiences involved in young people’s lives (ie: parents, school, senior citizens, law enforcement, medical services, etc.)
Topics: Positive Youth Development, Resources
By Susan Richardson, March 12 2015
Though alcohol and marijuana top the charts as the two most-abused substances by young people, synthetic drugs—the highly-addictive and highly-threatening substances—are still popular and easily accessible.
Two Webinars Addressing Synthetic Drugs
Beginning April 8, the Office of National Drug Control Policy will host two webinars to discuss the dangers of synthetic cannabinoids (“Spice”) and cathinones (“Bath Salts”), and to provide details on Federal and local efforts to confront these threats. The first webinar, featuring representatives from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration, will introduce these substances, and share insight into the manufacturing, distribution and health risks associated with synthetic drugs. It will also explain the Federal regulatory provisions and enforcement actions. The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 8, from 1-2 p.m. ET. To register, click here.
The second webinar, taking place later this month, will highlight case studies that demonstrate successful community initiatives to prevent use and distribution of synthetic drugs. Watch for details on the second webinar in the next issue of ONDCP’s E-Newsletter Update. Sign up here.
Some Good News: Usage is Declining
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, use of spice products (sometimes called “synthetic marijuana”) is declining, with 5.8 percent of 12th graders using the substance in 2014, compared to 7.9 percent in 2013 and 11.3 percent in 2012. And, less than one percent of 8th, 10th and 12th graders combined use cathinones (“Bath Salts”), which have been reported to result in sometimes violent behavior and even death.
It’s easy to see these low percentages and think that these synthetic drugs aren’t cause for concern, but in fact the impact of these scarcer drugs can have greater negative impacts on young people’s futures. Webinars like this ONDCP series are instrumental in informing mental health and juvenile justice professionals on the latest medical information related to new drugs, which can inform treatment programs on how to adapt to best serve youth.
To register for this webinar, click here.
By Cecilia Bianco, February 23 2015
The most recently available national data tells us that more than 116,000 status offense cases were processed in court in 2011, and young people in more than 8,000 of those cases spent time in a detention facility.
While status offenses are non-criminal in nature, they can often jumpstart a cycle in the juvenile justice system that organizations and groups like The Status Offense Reform Center (SORC) believes can be stopped with the right means.
The SORC has a mission to “help policymakers and practitioners create effective, community-based responses for keeping young people who commit status offenses out of the juvenile justice system and safely in their homes and communities.”
In recognizing how challenging transforming a complex and long-lived system can be, the SORC developed a toolkit to help pave a course ahead for those in positions of authority: A Toolkit for Status Offense Reform. The toolkit addresses many common questions state and local officials have when attempting to make changes to this system:
Additionally, there are four sections, or “modules,” included in the toolkit that tackle four key areas to help make the positive changes necessary to divert youth from the system:
This module describes how to productively engage stakeholders in a system change effort.
This module describes how to use data to conduct an assessment of your system.
This module describes how to develop and implement a well-informed plan for system change that can be sustained over the long term.
This module describes how to monitor, assess, and modify your reform plan following its implementation.
For more information, explore the SORC website which includes a library of case studies of successful system reforms in different areas to help determine potential roadblocks and how to overcome them.
Image from SORC website
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, Resources
By Susan Richardson, February 19 2015
On March 4, 2015 at 3 p.m. EST, the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) and the Coalition 
for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) will host a webinar for juvenile justice professionals sharing best practices for protecting youth confidentiality. This includes recommendations for making the process of sealing and expungement accessible to youth. The consequences of poor confidentiality results in obstacles for youth in areas of employment, education and housing.
According to the co-sponsors, you will learn two key takeaways from this webinar:
In order to best protect juvenile justice-involved youths and improve outcomes for them in the future, it’s necessary to take these extra steps and follow best practices for confidentiality.
Webinar Details
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, Resources
By Susan Richardson, January 22 2015
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), enacted in 1974 and reauthorized
in 2002, has made strides in setting standards for state and local juvenile justice systems, and providing state funding, training and evaluation. This important legislation and its reauthorizations have continued to protect youth, increase access to prevention and treatment services, and reduce transfers to the adult criminal justice system.
Though JJDPA has remained strong, the juvenile justice field has evolved in a way that requires the legislation to evolve and adapt.
On February 15, 2015, The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) will host a webinar addressing this. “The JJDPA: Updating Federal Law to Reflect New Reforms” will bring together national leaders in juvenile justice and policymakers, including CJJ, the executive director for Juvenile Law Center, and the Office of US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
CJJ states, “Please join us for an overview of how this legislation has helped drive reform at the state and local levels. We will also discuss how we can help ensure that federal policy reflects the new knowledge, advancements, and promising practices from the field, and how a reauthorized JJDPA might change the future landscape of juvenile justice practice.”
This webinar will be valuable for juvenile justice professionals, policymakers, advocates and allies in the fields of juvenile justice to understand how the federal landscape of juvenile justice may evolve.
Register here for the webinar.
Webinar Details
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, Resources
By Susan Richardson, January 15 2015
Candid conversation and community events will be the focal points of National Drug Facts Week Jan. 26 through Feb. 1, 2015. A national health observance led by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Drug Facts Week seeks to work with teens to shatter the myths about drugs and drug abuse.
NIDA encourages schools, community groups, sports clubs, hospitals and other interested organizations to host an event in your community, supported by a robust collection of resources and interactive tools provided by NIDA on its website. The website is even designed with teen-friendly language and graphics to make it easy for teens to also take action and host events among their peers.
NIDA is also hosting a Drug Facts Chat Day on January 30. The online chat will facilitate conversation between high school students and NIDA scientists, so students from around the country can comfortably ask questions they most want answered, knowing that these expert scientists will give them the facts.
At Reclaiming Futures, we believe in the power of facilitating productive conversation with teens about substance use. It helps to illuminate their needs and identifies ways that parents, family members, educators and health professionals can be supportive in paving a healthy and substance-free future.
Our new pilot project, an adaptation of Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), is an early intervention framework built around a motivational conversation with youth at risk of juvenile justice involvement. We will train front line staff in juvenile justice diversion settings to use screening tools and brief follow up sessions to tailor a treatment response that matches with the youth's level of need and motivation.
Like National Drug Facts Week, this new SBIRT approach seeks to support teens with substance use questions and habits through motivational conversations with health experts. We’re happy to support NIDA’s efforts, and encourage you to share this opportunity.
Visit the National Drug Facts Week website to learn how to host your own community event.
By Cecilia Bianco, November 17 2014
Due to the connection between ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and juvenile justice system involvement, it has become increasingly important that the system become more trauma-informed in its processes.
The term ACEs refers to childhood abuse, neglect, and general household dysfunction that negatively affects a child’s development. To improve the treatment of young people impacted by ACEs in the juvenile justice system, there is an ongoing effort to increase knowledge of trauma-informed care and how it can improve systems in health, justice and education.
Communities like ACEs Connection, which work to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and to change systems to stop traumatizing already traumatized people, are already paving the way to combat this problem in the future.
The latest resource to support these efforts is a new tool created by JBS International and Georgetown University National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health. These two organizations came together to build a free online tool called “Trauma Informed Care: Perspectives and Resources” that provides insights and resources for those who want to be more trauma-informed.
The tool includes the following to allow users to take advantage of existing research, knowledge, practices, and approaches that have already shown to be effective in addressing trauma:
Explore the eight modules of the tool on the site, which is now live!
For past reporting on ACEs in the juvenile justice system, see the following:
By Cecilia Bianco, September 15 2014
The content on the Reclaiming Futures website and blog is intended to be informative, inspiring, and useful. Our Reader Survey was designed with you in mind to ensure we’re delivering what you want to see!
Here are the top five reasons you should share your feedback in our quick nine-question survey:
Your feedback will help us provide the most relevant content to your needs and interests. It will also help us reach you on the platforms you prefer, whether it’s through our newsletter, social media or the blog. Your feedback will shape the content we post going forward.
The survey will help us gauge your interest in expanding the Reclaiming Futures model. It will allow you to share the areas in which you’d like to become involved, so we can make those easily available to you. If you’re interested in bringing Reclaiming Futures to your community, please contact Donna Wiench.
Who do you want to hear from in this sector? What topics would you like us to address more frequently? Tell us where to fill in the gaps!
There are many aspects to the Reclaiming Futures model, which is implemented in 39 sites around the country. We want to hear which part of the model you'd like us to report on more!
If you complete the survey and provide your name and contact information, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon card.
Our goal for this survey is to make sure we are best serving our audience. The results will help us tailor our content to what you want to see and where you want to see it.
Click here to get started. We appreciate your participation!
Topics: Reclaiming Futures, Resources
By Susan Richardson, August 14 2014
Last week, we highlighted two new white papers that provide strategic recommendations for instigating systemic change to reduce recidivism among youth in the juvenile justice system. Next month, the National Reentry Resource Center, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, will host a two-part webinar series sharing highlights from these white papers.
Aimed at juvenile corrections leaders, probation officers, judicial staff, policymakers and other key stakeholders in the juvenile justice space, these webinars will provide quick summaries of what is working, along with tangible, actionable recommendations.
Webinar #1: Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice Systems
Webinar #2: Measuring and Using Juvenile Recidivism Data to Inform Policy, Practice, and Resource Allocation
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, Resources
By Cecilia Bianco, August 11 2014
To stay up to date on juvenile justice news, consider using Twitter. There are several accounts 
that will keep you up to date on all the news and events you need to know about!
Here are ten of the best, most informative accounts for juvenile justice news:
And don't forget to follow Reclaiming Futures!
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, Resources
By Lori Howell, November 18 2011
On TV: "Young Kids, Hard Time"By Candice Besson, September 19 2011
CIGNA and The Partnership at Drugfree.org are kicking off a monthly series of telephone seminars that will help you better understand today’s changing landscape of substance abuse. The seminars are free and there is no registration required. They’re open to any parent, caregiver or loved one interested in learning more about teen drug addiction. Each seminar will include the participation of a leading expert within the field and a parent from The Partnership at Drugfree.org’s Parent Advisory Board, who will share his or her personal experience with the topic being presented.
On Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at Noon-1:00 pm EDT, the series kicks off with a call about teen abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and what parents can do to prevent this dangerous behavior.
WHAT:
Did you know that one in five teens has used a prescription drug not prescribed to them by a doctor?* This month’s podcast and Q&A will explore teen abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and what parents can do to prevent this dangerous behavior.
By Jon Kidde and R..., August 16 2011
Last week, School Health Services Coalition, a division of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency in California, released Restorative Justice: A Working Guide for Our Schools. [Be patient: the document can take a bit to load in your browser. --Ed.] The publication is a resource for anyone who seeks to implement restorative justice in the school setting. The 43 page PDF covers the following:
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Resources
By Shay Bilchik, May 26 2011
Georgetown University Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) is delighted to announce the release of Safety, Fairness, Stability: Repositioning Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare to Engage Families and Communities, a paper co-authored by Joan Pennell, Carol Shapiro, and Carol Wilson Spigner, with commentaries by Kordnie Jamillia Lee and Trina Osher. The paper was released at a symposium held at Georgetown University on May 13, 2011.
Connections to family and community are often severed, at least temporarily, as a result of a youth's involvement in the juvenile justice, child welfare, and/or mental and behavioral health systems. Ensuring that these connections are not severed permanently, or are maintained in the first place, begins by engaging families and communities in a more constructive and respectful manner. This paper recognizes that such connections must be supported in a manner that allows families and communities to provide a sense of stability and permanency in a youth’s life and the life-long connections that youth will need as they transition into adulthood.
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Resources
By Benjamin Chambers, April 14 2011
From JUVJUST:
The Interstate Commission for Juveniles (ICJ)—an organization responsible for the transfer of supervision for juvenile offenders and the return of juveniles who have absconded, escaped, or run away from one state to another—recently published a Bench Book for Judges & Court Personnel. This bench book provides an overview of legal procedures for the interstate agreement (called a “compact”) to transfer or return juveniles who cross state lines. It also includes an analysis of the compact’s legal foundation, describes sentencing considerations; establishes a process for returning juveniles who have run away from home, escapees, and absconders; explains liability and immunity considerations; and summarizes other relevant considerations.
Indiana, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and the District of Columbia had not adopted the new compact has of March 25, 2011. Check out this memo from the Interstate Commission on Juveniles.
Related post: Georgia Could Become “Asylum State” for Juvenile Delinquents.
Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Resources