Is Your Teen Trying Drugs This Summer? News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Bradley County: Juvenile Court, Schools Join to Help Families (TimesFreePress.com)
  From campus courts to an elementary-level class at the county's Juvenile Justice Center, the goal is to keep kids from growing up and entering the adult justice system, officials said Tuesday.
• Juveniles In Court: New Chief Judge Relies On 'Holistic' Nursing Approach (Hartford Courant)
  Appointed last month as Connecticut's chief administrative judge of juvenile matters, Wolven, whose five-year term will begin in September, said she sees the courts taking the same [holistic] approach when it comes to juvenile offenders.
• Making an Impression in the Courtroom (JuvenileJusticeBlog.web.unc.edu)
  The senior administrative support specialist in the Pima County Public Defender’s Office maintains a clothes closet for defendants. Inside are more than 60 pairs of men’s and women’s shoes and dozens of slacks, blouses, dress shirts, suit coats and ties. [Vicki Broom] goes to the jail every week to measure defendants heading for trial. If she’s lucky, she’ll be able to find enough outfits to mix and match for the entire trial.

Jobs, Grants, Events and Webinars

• 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!

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Is Your Teen Trying Alcohol and Drugs This Summer? (MedicalDaily.com)
  According to the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, during the summer months more than 11,000 teens will drink alcohol for the first time, 5,000 will start smoking cigarettes and 4,500 will try marijuana.
• Help for Families of Young Drug Addicts (ThirdAge.com)
  The reality of living with a drug-addicted child or grandchild is that you are cohabiting with a person who will die too young without the proper treatment. Addiction is a terminal illness, but it can be arrested. It will require a lifetime of vigilance. For teenagers and those in their young 20s, especially, suicide or overdosing are big risks.
• Family Drug Treatment Court Helps Parents, Children Reunite After Addiction (JSOnline.com)
  Between 60% and 80% of substantiated child abuse and neglect cases involve substance abuse by a custodial parent or guardian. A harsh reality, one that the Milwaukee County Family Drug Treatment Court seeks to address.
• Underage Drinking Problem: Alcohol the No. 1 Drug of Abuse Among Teens (GreatFallsTribune.com)
  While not a new problem for law enforcement, school officials or parents, underage drinking does carry stiff penalties and other consequences that many may not be aware of, least of all the perpetrators themselves, and there also are consequences outside of run-ins with the law.

David Backes joined the Prichard Communications team in mid-2012 as an account executive with a focus on social media and digital communications. David began his career as a website copywriter and quickly transitioned into the marketing and advertising side of online communications. Always striving to add to his digital toolbox, David now has several years’ experience in social media marketing, search engine optimization, marketing automation, web design and development, and online usability testing and analysis.