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Reclaiming Futures' National Project Director to Step Down in May 2011

Reclaiming-Futures_highways-crossing-in-sunriseAfter 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.

Roundup: Sentenced to Shakespeare, and More

  • juvenile-justice-reform_old-TVJuvenile 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. )

Topics: News, No bio box

Implementing an Evidence-Based Practice? Here's What Works

adolescent-substance-abuse-treatment_implementation-research-report-coverFor those of you in the adolescent substance abuse treatment field or the juvenile justice system who are trying to implement an evidence-based practice (EBP), here's a synthesis of EBP implementation research from the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN). It covers stages of implementation, research on core implementation components ... and more.
 
What's more, NIRN has also posted presentations on implementation research and online guides to different aspects of what works in implementing innovative evidence-based programming.
 
And be sure to check out these related posts:

 
(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.)
 

Juvenile Drug Courts: Why You Should Avoid Using UA Levels in Drug Court Proceedings

If you are involved in running a juvenile drug court, do you ask any of the following questions when you get UA results back for your clients? And do these affect how you or the court sanctions the young person? 

  • "How positive is s/he?"
  • "Are his/her levels increasing or decreasing?"
  • "Does the result mean s/he just used?" 

juvenile-drug-court_NDCI-fact-sheetThose are the wrong questions to ask -- and are especially concerning if teens are being sanctioned based on the answers to these questions -- according to "Urine Drug Concentrations: The Scientific Rationale For Eliminating The Use Of Drug Test Levels In Drug Court Proceedings," by Paul L. Cary, director of the Toxicology and Drug Monitoring Laboratory at University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia Missouri. Though this fact sheet was published by the National Drug Court Institute in January 2004, it's still relevant today.
Here's my gloss of the article:

Roundup: The Future of AA & NA -- and More

 
adolescent-substance-abuse-treatment-news_old-TVJuvenile Justice-Related News

Topics: News, No bio box

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment - JMATE Proposal Deadline Extended

adolescent-substance-abuse-treatment_meaning-of-life-deadlinesThe only national conference to focus exclusively on adolescent substance abuse treatment -- the Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness -- has extended the deadline for submitting presentation proposal abstracts from June 4, 2010 to July 1, 2010.  
You can learn more about the conference on its web site or in our recent posts:

 

Photo: energeticspell under CC license.

New Relapse Prevention Tool Tested by NIATx and Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies

adolescent-substance-abuse-recovery_old-phoneWith funding from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIATx and its research partner, the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies, are developing and testing a mobile phone-based relapse prevention system that is currently being tested in a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Named Addiction CHESS (ACHESS), the system will be delivered through a smart-phone and will focus on providing information and resources to alcohol-dependent patients leaving residential care. Using the latest communications technology holds great potential to support people in recovery, particularly for young people who have come to rely on the internet and cell phones for information, entertainment, and social support.

Juvenile Justice Reform: What Happens When You Lose a Team Member?

juvenile-justice-reform_moody-picture-of-treesOn Monday, April 19th 2010, Nassau County’s Family Court Deputy County Attorney’s Office was advised that the county was restructuring the department. Our Juvenile Treatment Court prosecutors, Gregg Roth and Arianne Reyer, were advised their services were no longer needed as of Friday, April 30th. Arianne was later given a temporary reprieve, but Gregg is gone.
This move was devastating to the treatment court and to the Reclaiming Futures initiative here, which had built a cohesive working group over the last three years. Just as when I was younger and my brother left home for the military, it had never occurred to me that anyone would ever leave our team. I am left feeling abandoned and alone with Gregg’s departure, just like I did when my brother went off to the Army. Our Nassau County Juvenile Treatment Court/Reclaiming Futures Change Team is family, and one of us is no longer here.

Webinar for Family Members Impacted by Substance Use & Co-Occurring Disorders

 
adolescent-substance-abuse-treatment_woman-speakingHere's a free, one-hour webinar from National Family Dialogue (launched last year by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment) called "Our Stories Have Power," for family members who have been impacted by substance use and/or co-occurring mental health issues. It will be held May 26, 2010, at 2pm PST / 5pm EST. 
 
Family members can learn how to use their stories to educate the public and policy makers about the need for effective addiction treatment and recovery supports. They can also learn strategies for using their stories to build relationships and partnerships.

Good for You!

[The following post is reprinted with permission from the blog at the Pongo Teen Writing website. The author has recently posted "Writing from Kids in the Juvenile Justice System: In My Blood to Be a Drunk" and "Poetry as Treatment for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System" on this blog.  Photo by hojusaram. -Ed.]
 
juvenile-justice-system-writing_99-blue-balloonsThough Pongo is completely focused on the youth in the program, there have been a few surprising times when the teens have taken care of me. I appreciate it, but I also think it shows a talent in them.

I remember working with a young man in juvenile detention who was gang involved. He wrote about feeling forced to be a man, in the gang way, by carrying a gun on the streets and dealing drugs. He wrote about not knowing any other life. On a deeper level, he wrote about not having a dad, about struggles with loneliness.  He had been suspicious of the writing at first, and we talked for a long time before we began. But when we were done, as he was leaving, he turned to me and said, “It’s very nice of you, sir, to take your time to help young people.”

Once I was leading a poetry workshop with a large group of youth at the state psychiatric hospital. After a nice beginning, they wanted to move on from the writing activities that I had brought. They wanted to write on their own, about issues that were very much on their minds. They worked quietly. And as they finished I would call individuals forward to read. While each person read, the other youth would pause, listen, and applaud, and then continue with their own work. Though I rarely become emotional while working with kids, the writing in this session was so poignant, dealing with suicidal feelings, that I started to cry. The group was calm and quiet, and one teen walked to the back of the room to get me a box of tissues. And we carried on.

Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness - Find it on Facebook!

adolescent-substance-abuse-treatment_JMATE-on-Facebook-profileThe 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?")

Roundup: "Igniting Change in Juvenile Justice" Webinar and More

Juvenile Justice System and Adolescent Behavioral Health News

Juvenile Justice System Funding - More from OJJDP for 2010

juvenile-justice-system-funding_smarties-with-dollar-signsThe good folks at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) simply don't quit -- and for that, we should be glad. Once again, they've announced more funding opportunities: 

 

Juvenile Justice Reform - More on U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Prohibiting Life Without Parole for Youth Who Have Not Committed Homicide

[The following is reposted in its entirety from an e-newsletter sent out by the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) and is reprinted with permission. -Ed.]
juvenile-justice-reform_Supreme-Court-buildingThe National Juvenile Justice Network commends the May 17, 2010 holding by the Supreme Court of the United States that it is unconstitutional to sentence youth who did not commit homicide to life without the possibility of paroleGraham v. Florida broadly condemns the sentence of life without parole for youth who have not committed homicide, finding the punishment to be cruel and unusual. The opinion draws upon our national evolving standards of decency demonstrated in part by the fact that only 129 non-homicide youth offenders are currently serving life without parole sentences in only 12 states. 

The strongly worded opinion affirms the fact that youth have lessened culpability than adults, and that youth’s developing brains make it impossible to determine if they are beyond rehabilitation. Reiterating many of the findings from Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), regarding youth’s lack of maturity, underdeveloped sense of responsibility and vulnerability to outside, especially peer, pressure, the Court states that youth cannot be “classified among the worst offenders.” Furthermore, “no recent data provide reasons to reconsider” the Court’s observations in Roper, and “developments in psychology and brain science continue to showfundamental differences between juvenile and adult minds.”

Juvenile Justice Reform: Building Support with Good Communications

juvenile-justice-reform_communications-toolkit-coverWant to get the word out about your juvenile justice reform initiative to key stakeholders and to the public? The Center for Court Innovation has your back: it's just released "Building Support for Justice Initiatives: A Communications Toolkit," in cooperation with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

From their press release: "The publication is a manual to help justice practitioners communicate about their work with the public and key institutional stakeholders. Includes 10 key steps for effective communication, extensive links to on-line resources, and guides offering sample logos, brochures, and flyers as well as practical tips for communication strategies like 'Crafting a Core Message.'"
Bonus: The Reclaiming Futures blog is listed as one of the online resources. We're flattered!

Supreme Court Restricts Life Without Parole Sentences for Juveniles

juvenile-justice-reform_open-doorwayJuveniles may not be sentenced to life without parole for crimes short of homicide, according to a 5-4 Supreme Court decision. While teens may be given life sentences, the court ruled that they must have the opportunity to apply for eventual release. In doing so, the court recognized the unique developmental stage of adolescence, and the possibility of young people's maturation and redemption.
I would argue that the ruling should be extended to include homicides as well -- at least on a case-by-case basis.  But what do you think? 

Juvenile Justice Reform: Helping Families in Crisis

juvenile-justice-reform_doorwayI don't get to talk to families on their best days.  Rather, I mostly talk to people when they are in the midst of crisis - a crisis having arisen because their child has been arrested or is somewhere on the short road to being tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as an adult even though they are still a child.  I feel inadequate and find myself lacking answers. I feel scared for them knowing that they are powerless and the full range of consequences of these practices will not reach them until years down the road.  Truly, it is the families and the children that will carry years of devastating burdens far longer than I.  

As an organizer, I want to see the reform that will end these harmful practices, but as a family organizer, I want to provide answers to folks who have a right to understand every aspect of what is happening to their children in these circumstances.  I keep wondering whose job it is to give families the information they need during this difficult time.

Many families seek legal advice from the attorneys that represent their children.  Providing this advice, however, can be difficult for the attorneys because they represent the child, not the family.  While families can and should take an active role in the defense of their child and communicate relevant information to the attorney, such as if the child has been in trouble before or was a good student, this still ultimately means that the care and concern of the child falls back to the family.  Yet, the family often lacks the information necessary to help make decisions in the best interest of their child.  How are families to make decisions without adequate information?  

Roundup: Input Needed on Federal Strategic Plan on At-Risk Youth Policy - and More

juvenile-justice-system-adolescent-substance-abuse_old-TVJuvenile Justice System News

Still More Funding for the Juvenile Justice System from OJJDP

juvenile-justice-system-funding_smarties-with-dollar-signsThe Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has announced four more funding opportunities for 2010.

  • Juvenile Indigent Defense National Clearinghouse - deadline June 24, 2010. From the RFP: "This program‘s purpose is to provide resources to maintain a national clearinghouse on juvenile indigent defense. The successful applicant will operate a national clearinghouse to address the deprivations of due process for indigent youth in the justice system and to improve the quality of juvenile indigent defense representation. The clearinghouse will provide technical support and training, publications and resources, policy development, and leadership opportunities to the juvenile indigent defense bar."

Webinar: Adolescent Recovery Networks

Want to Help Teens in the Justice System Recover from Addiction?

Join William White of Chestnut Health Systems Lighthouse Institute for a free webinar sponsored by Reclaiming Futures on "Adolescent Recovery Networks." Mr. White will present on recovery movements and recovery network models, and discuss ways that adolescent substance abuse treatment systems can develop strong recovery systems.
To participate, log on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 10:30 am PST / 1:30 pm EST. (Follow the link above to register.) PLEASE NOTE: The presentation will run 90 minutes, and up to an hour will be provided for questions, so make sure you block out enough time!

 
UPDATE: You can listen to a recording of "Adolescent Recovery Networks" or download the presentation slides here.
 
RELATED Post: Be sure to check out our handy reference list of evidence-based models for treating adolescent substance abuse.

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