Juvenile Justice Teleconference Website

Juvenile Offenders and Drug Treatment Program

December 1997

Broadcast Overview
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in association with the Juvenile Justice Telecommunications Assistance Project (JJTAP) of Eastern Kentucky University announced the latest in its series of live national satellite teleconferences, Juvenile Offenders and Drug Treatment: Promising Approaches. The 2-hour broadcast aired Friday, December 5, 1997, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. EST.

The FBI reports that the number of arrests of juveniles for drug abuse violations increased by 120 percent from 1992 to 1996. To combat this trend, we must develop and strengthen drug abuse treatment efforts at the Federal, State, and local levels.

Over the past decade, an emerging body of research has shown that specific approaches can reduce recidivism among drug-involved juvenile offenders.
The issue is not whether treatment works but what types of treatment are effective. Meta-analysis of treatment interventions has shown that effective
approaches rely on several critical program and structural factors. These factors include early intervention, clinical approaches, comprehensive intake and screening, case management, family involvement, and special care in the recruitment, selection, and training of staff.

The Juvenile Offenders and Drug Treatment: Promising Approaches satellite teleconference was designed to:

Publicize promising program strategies based upon research in the field of substance abuse treatment for drug involved juvenile offenders.
Identify the most important factors needed to treat drug-involved youth and prevent recovering youth from returning to drug abuse.
Assist communities that are developing innovative and successful approaches in networking and communicating with other communities and sites.
Promote "Integrating Juvenile Justice and Substance Abuse Treatment: A Practice Guide," which will be published by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and pertinent Bulletins to be published by OJJDP.

The Juvenile Justice Teleconference Website
email: ekujjtap@aol.com
For More information, please contact:
Jenny McWilliams at 859-622-6671