Reclaiming Futures

Last updated

Reclaiming Futures is a non-profit organization aimed at assisting teenagers out of trouble with drugs, alcohol and crime. It began in 2001 with $21 million from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As of 2010 it operates with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. As of 2010 the group is based at the Regional Research Institute for Human Services of the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University in the United States, [1] and operates in 26 communities across the U.S. [2]

Contents

In the locations where the group operates, teams of people associated with the juvenile justice system work together to help teens in the system with substance abuse issues. The teams consist of judges, probation officers, treatment professionals, community members and families, all working together on behalf of young people.

Information

Reclaiming Futures has created a six-step model [3] for steering young people out of difficulties with addictive substances and crime. Key elements of the model include screening and assessing teens for drug and alcohol problems and assembling a team to develop a strength-based care plan; training drug and alcohol treatment providers in evidence-based practices shown to have worked with teens; and involving community members as natural helpers and role models to provide support. [4]

According to evaluation by the Urban Institute and the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall Center for Children, [5] communities that piloted the Reclaiming Futures approach to helping teens overcome drugs, alcohol and crime reported significant improvements in juvenile justice and substance abuse treatment, and an additional evaluation [6] showed that eight communities that piloted the Reclaiming Futures model have improved the social networks that juvenile justice and substance abuse agencies use to communicate and cooperate with one another.

Funding

According to the OJJDP, funding for the Juvenile Drug Court/Reclaiming Futures Program and Brief Interventions and Referrals to Treatment for Courts and Juvenile Drug Courts is provided by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance but administered by OJJDP. In 2007, the OJJDP awarded nearly $1.3 million to three grantees for programs that applied the Reclaiming Futures model to their juvenile drug courts by helping youth meet educational goals, identifying juveniles requiring substance abuse treatment, and effectively engaging youth in treatment by increasing the number and range of available options. [7]

Related Research Articles

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and the cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses. The Administrator of SAMHSA reports directly to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA's headquarters building is located outside of Rockville, Maryland.

Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to confront substance dependence, if present, and stop substance misuse to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drug Abuse Resistance Education</span> US anti-drug educational program

Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E, is an education program that seeks to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior. It was founded in Los Angeles in 1983 as a joint initiative of then-LAPD chief Daryl Gates and the Los Angeles Unified School District as a demand-side drug control strategy of the American War on Drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drug court</span> Type of court

Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that provide a sentencing alternative of treatment combined with supervision for people living with serious substance use. Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health approach using a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities work together to help addicted offenders into long-term recovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth detention center</span> Type of prison for people under the age of majority

In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC), juvenile detention, juvenile jail, juvenile hall, or more colloquially as juvie/juvy, also sometimes referred as observation home or remand home is a prison for people under the age of majority, to which they have been sentenced and committed for a period of time, or detained on a short-term basis while awaiting trial or placement in a long-term care program. Juveniles go through a separate court system, the juvenile court, which sentences or commits juveniles to a certain program or facility.

Drug education is the planned provision of information, guidelines, resources, and skills relevant to living in a world where psychoactive substances are widely available and commonly used for a variety of both medical and non-medical purposes, some of which may lead to harms such as overdose, injury, infectious disease, or addiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American juvenile justice system</span> Aspect of American justice system

The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used to handle minors who are convicted of criminal offenses. The system is composed of a federal and many separate state, territorial, and local jurisdictions, with states and the federal government sharing sovereign police power under the common authority of the United States Constitution. The juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a variety of consequences including probation, community service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative schooling. The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult system, operates from a belief that intervening early in delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in criminal behavior as adults.

Phoenix House is a nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization operating in ten states with 150 programs. Programs serve individuals, families, and communities affected by substance abuse and dependency.

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections (IDJC) is a state agency of Idaho that operates three juvenile correction centers and works closely with county probation departments to provide accountability, community protection, and rehabilitation to justice involved juveniles in Idaho. The three facilities are: Juvenile Corrections Center Lewiston (JCC-L), Juvenile Corrections Center Nampa (JCC-N), and Juvenile Corrections Center St. Anthony (JCC-SA). The agency has its headquarters in Boise.

Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are a series of best-practice manuals for the treatment of substance use and other related disorders. The TIP series is published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an operational division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A diversion program, also known as a pretrial diversion program or pretrial intervention program, in the criminal justice system is a form of pretrial sentencing that helps remedy behavior leading to the arrest. Administered by the judicial or law enforcement systems, they often allow the offender to avoid conviction and include a rehabilitation program to avoid future criminal acts. Availability and the operation of such systems differ in different countries.

Juvenile delinquency in the United States refers to crimes committed by children or young people, particularly those under the age of eighteen.

The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs is a group within the executive branch of the U.S. government, and is responsible for promoting healthy outcomes for all youth, including disconnected youth and youth who are at-risk. The Working Group also engages with national, state, local and tribal agencies and organizations, schools, and faith-based and community organizations that serve youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth incarceration in the United States</span>

The United States incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world through the juvenile courts and the adult criminal justice system, which reflects the larger trends in incarceration practices in the United States. In 2010, approximately 70,800 juveniles were incarcerated in youth detention facilities alone. As of 2006, approximately 500,000 youth were brought to detention centers in a given year. This data does not reflect juveniles tried as adults. As of 2013, around 40% were incarcerated in privatized, for-profit facilities.

The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) is a state agency of Massachusetts. Its Administrative Office is headquartered in 600 Washington Street Boston. The agency operates the state's juvenile justice services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Better Futures Minnesota</span>

The Network for Better Futures d/b/a Better Futures Minnesota is a non-profit social enterprise based in Minneapolis, Minnesota dedicated to reintegrating high-risk adults, primarily African-American men, into society by providing a platform to help them succeed. The agency works with men with histories of incarceration, substance abuse, chronic unemployment, and homelessness—men who have a high risk of being repeat offenders.

The adolescent community reinforcement approach (A-CRA) is a behavioral treatment for alcohol and other substance use disorders that helps youth, young adults, and families improve access to interpersonal and environmental reinforcers to reduce or stop substance use.

Drug courts are specialized court docket programs that aim to help participants recover from substance use disorder to reduce future criminal activity. Drug courts are used as an alternative to incarceration and aim to reduce the costs of repeatedly processing low‐level, non‐violent offenders through courts, jails, and prisons. Drug courts are usually managed by a nonadversarial and multidisciplinary team including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, community corrections, social workers and treatment service professionals. Drug court participants include criminal defendants and offenders, juvenile offenders, and parents with pending child welfare cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incarceration prevention in the United States</span> Methods to reduce prison populations in America

Incarceration prevention refers to a variety of methods aimed at reducing prison populations and costs while fostering enhanced social structures. Due to the nature of incarceration in the United States today caused by issues leading to increased incarceration rates, there are methods aimed at preventing the incarceration of at-risk populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender responsive approach for girls in the juvenile justice system</span>

Gender responsive approach for girls in the juvenile justice system represents an emerging trend in communities and courts throughout the United States, Australia and Latin America, as an increasing number of girls are entering the juvenile justice system. A gender responsive approach within the juvenile justice system emphasizes considering the unique circumstances and needs of females when designing juvenile justice system structures, policies, and procedures.

References

  1. "Directory of Projects & Personnel: Regional Research Institute for Human Services". Archived from the original on 2010-06-04. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
  2. "Locations - Reclaiming Futures". www.reclaimingfutures.org. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  3. "The Solution - The Reclaiming Futures Model". www.reclaimingfutures.org. Archived from the original on 2010-02-20.
  4. B.S, Amanda Stevens (2022-10-05). "Symptoms Of Meth Use: Warning Signs". Ocean Recovery. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  5. Butts, Jeffrey A. and Roman, John. Changing Systems: Outcomes from the RWJF Reclaiming Futures Initiative on Juvenile Justice and Substance Abuse. A Reclaiming Futures National Evaluation Report. Portland, OR: Reclaiming Futures National Program Office, Portland State University, 2007
  6. Yahner, Jennifer and Jeffrey A. Butts. Agency Relations: Social Network Dynamics and the RWJF Reclaiming Futures Initiative. A Reclaiming Futures National Evaluation Report. Portland, OR: Reclaiming Futures National Program Office, Portland State University, 2007
  7. "GAO-10-125: Juvenile Justice Programs, DOJ Is Enhancing Information on Effective Programs, but Could Better Assess the Utility of This Information". Government Accountability Office. December 2009.