Blog

(This is the first part of a two-part post. Read the second post here.)
Last week, Laura Nissen of Reclaiming Futures and other experts on drug and alcohol treatment were invited to testify at a hearing by the Oregon State Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Legislators rarely get the chance to learn about adolescent substance abuse in depth, and this was a great opportunity to help them understand the problem -- and possible solutions.
You can do this, too. Here's how organizers made it happen in Oregon:

Researchers investigating the prevalence of substance abuse problems among youthful offenders find that the rate of abuse varies according to where they look.

One of the most important things anyone who cares about juvenile justice and teen substance use can do is to talk to their representatives about why treatment matters. 
That's exactly what a group of policy experts and youth advocates did yesterday, when they testified before the Oregon State Senate

Kari Collins has a question for you.
Collins, who formerly directed a Reclaiming Futures site, now directs "Kentucky Youth First" for the state of Kentucky. The state-level juvenile justice agency there wants to train its Family Drug Court staff as parenting instructors (a smart move).
 

Need to make the case that teen alcohol and drug use must be addressed in the community or in the justice system?

Jeffrey A. Butts, Ph.D.

• Curious about what works in teen drug treatment, or are you looking for a database of evidence-based adolescent substance abuse treatment programs?
• Want to learn more about the research behind a particular treatment model?
• Need a refresher on what's out there, or need a citation for a grant proposal?

Here's a handy list of five public registries of evidence-based treatment programs, including those targeting adolescent substance abuse:

1. State of Oregon Addictions and Mental Health Division's List of Approved Practices
2. SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs & Practices
3. Community Guide from Helping America's Youth 
4. University of Washington’s EBP Database
5. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Model Programs Guide 

I found this list in an excellent guide on adolescent treatment put together by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the State of North Carolina, with funding from SAMHSA and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). On page six of the guide, you'll find two more online resources on evidence-based practices: your bonus for checking it out! 
Go here for help implementing your evidence-based practice; and if you know of other registries that track evidence-based adolescent substance abuse treatment models, please leave a comment!

Hello, Reclaiming Futures Community -- welcome to the newest part of our national learning community: our blog. Over the past few years, I've been inspired and energized by the way others have used this evolving medium to share ideas and build movements.

In 2002, when I first became a Reclaiming Futures Project Director for Multnomah County, Oregon, an experienced leader told me not to think about media coverage until we'd achieved results.