NCJ Number
99018
Date Published
1985
Length
46 pages
Annotation
After presenting an executive summary of the 1984 Practitioners' Conference on Juvenile Offenders with Serious Drug, Alcohol, and Mental Health Problems, this booklet briefly describes 16 programs throughout the country designed to prevent or treat these juvenile problems.
Abstract
The executive summary outlines conference goals and objectives and summarizes major conference themes and implications for Federal policymakers. The 16 programs described are sponsored by agencies of law enforcement, juvenile justice, public education, child welfare, mental health, and drug/alcohol prevention and treatment. Program strategies include (1) intensive individualized treatment in Action (California), facilities for serious delinquents with major mental health disorders, (2) case management programs that integrate existing community services into a comprehensive system, and (3) community and school prevention programs. Several programs focus on reentry and aftercare. In the Lincoln Hills Correctional Facility (Irma, Wis.), for example, program participants spend 25 percent of their time in the community to facilitate their reintegration. Community involvement, empowerment, and ownership of both the problem and the solutions are viewed as important by many of the programs. This is an integral aspect of the Soul House Drug Abuse Program (Newark, N.J.), Oakland Parents in Action, and the Parents Resources and Information on Drug Education Coalition (Omaha, Nebr.). A variety of methods for increasing community involvement have been developed, including consumer evaluations of intervention and parent education.