Shout Out From Robert Listenbee, Jr.

Greetings from the road! I've just headed out of National Harbor, Md., where I have spent most of this week with over 4,000 treatment court professionals at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals 19th annual training. 
I've been busy hearing about the most promising practices in our fields of juvenile justice reform, mental health and adolescent substance abuse treatment, and teaching the Reclaiming Futures model to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.
For me, some of the highlights of the world’s largest conference on substance abuse, mental health and the criminal justice system, included:

• Hearing the Reclaiming Futures "shout out" from OJJDP Administrator, Robert Listenbee, Jr.
• Meeting the dedicated staff and leaders who are making a difference in the lives of young people every day.
• Learning how drug courts can help address health disparities, alongside Reclaiming Futures staff and fellows.

Pictured above, from left to right: LaTonya Harris, Reclaiming Futures Lucas County Project Director, Susan Richardson, Reclaiming Futures National Executive Director, Robert Listenbee, Jr. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Administrator, Kate Moritz, GAIN Projects Manager and Michael Dennis, PhD., Senior Research Psychologist and GAIN Coordinating Center Director, Chestnut Health Systems.

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 in 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. She received her B.S. in Public Health, Health Policy and Administration, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.