Juvenile Justice

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced a national expansion of its Reclaiming Futures initiative, citing the program´s success in getting more services to teens in the justice system who are struggling with drugs and alcohol.

A national group of probation officers is recommending that juvenile justice leaders take 10 steps to break the cycle of teen drug use and crime. The officers, part of the Reclaiming Futures program funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issued their call to action in a new report, Juvenile Probation Officers Call for New Responses to Teen Drug and Alcohol Use and Dependency.

The vast majority of prisoners who could benefit from drug abuse treatment do not receive it, despite two decades of research that demonstrate its effectiveness, according to researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, NIDA scientists note that about half of all prisoners (including some sentenced to non-drug-related offenses) are dependent on drugs, yet less than 20 percent of inmates suffering from drug abuse or dependence receive formal treatment.