What is Denver Juvenile and Family Justice Doing Right? Teamwork

They were the recipients of the 2012 JMATE Evidence-Based Practice Program Award for demonstrating a consistent commitment and movement towards evidence-based practice in adolescent substance abuse treatment. What is Denver doing right? Turns out it's good old fashioned teamwork.
We recently spoke with Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Karen M. Ashby about what Denver is doing to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.  

Note: Review criteria for the JMATE reward included evidence of: (1) using evidence-based manuals, protocols, knowledge, and technologies, and using data to improve implementation, management, and fidelity; (2) a sustained commitment to evidence-based practices; and (3) a specific focus on adolescent treatment and recovery.

 

Pictured above: Susan Richardson, Terry Bennett, Emmitt Hayes, LJ Hernandez and Lorendia Schmidt pause outside the Denver Courthouse. 
Susan Richardson is national executive director for Reclaiming Futures. Formerly, she was a senior program officer in the health care division of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she led a three-year effort involving the state's juvenile justice and treatment leaders to adopt the Reclaiming Futures model by juvenile courts in six North Carolina counties. Prior to that, Susan was executive director of the Annie Penn Community Trust and, concurrently, Director of Community Development for Annie Penn Hospital; and she worked in management, marketing, and public relations for health care and non-profit organizations. She served on the North Carolina Governor’s Task Force for Healthy Carolinians, and is a former member of Grantmakers in Health, Southeastern Council of Foundations, the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She received her B.S. in Public Health, Health Policy and Administration, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.