Essay On Juvenile Substance Abuse

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Substance Abuse Treatment in the Juvenile Justice System
Juvenile offenders have a high rate of substance use. Upon arrival to a correctional facility after being detained, approximately 56% of boys and 40% of girls tested positive for drugs. Most of these youth test positively for marijuana or cocaine, but many are addicted to many more substances. The DSM-V defines a substance-use disorder as “a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress…” classified by encompassing 2 or more of 11 different criteria from the manual. By effectively treating substance-use disorders, the juvenile justice system can: a) stop the offender from committing the criminal act of drug use itself and b) decrease recidivism rates of juvenile offenders by truly treating them instead of perpetuating them to become a product of the cyclical “drug-crime” pattern. Needs of Juvenile Offenders Juvenile offenders often enter the correctional system with a family history of criminality, drug use, and neglect. Many female offenders have experienced a disproportionally high rate of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Many of these adolescents have grown up in areas that are low on the socioeconomic hierarchy and may not be attending school which would increase the likelihood of substance use and criminal activity. It is important to correctly identify what type of treatment the offender needs in order to be effective. If this group of adolescents’ did not have a substance use disorder, they may not be in the juvenile justice system at all. Many correctional facilities simply do not have the funding to actually rehabilitate these youth and therefore recidivism rates will not decrease. The Importance of Screening Proper screening methods must be used during the intake part of the juvenile justice system. It is necessary to screen for mental disorders as approximately 70% of children in juvenile detention facilities have one or more mental health issues. There are many different methods of screening such as the MAYSI- the Massachusetts Youth Screening Inventory. These screening inventories will assess mental health and stability as well as substance use disorders and is 52 questions long. This should be done within the first 48 hours in a juvenile correctional facility for maximum effectiveness. To get the substance-use treatment off to a promising start it is essential to stress to the juvenile that what they are sharing with you is confidential and will not get them in any more trouble. Types of Treatment There are many types of substance-use treatment programs. If an adolescent has a substance use disorder they may have the “luxury” of attending a private pay residential facility that tries to make youth comfortable. Once a juvenile has entered the criminal justice system they will have no such luck. One of the deciding factors in which type of treatment the juvenile will receive is whether they were sentenced to a diversion program, probation, or a residential facility. Treating adolescents is not easy because a family based treatment model is most effective, but many juvenile delinquents do not have the family support to allow such a therapy structure. Probation.
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“Having court-ordered treatment and monitoring may be the most effective approach to getting substance use disorder services to many adolescents.” It is better to put juvenile delinquents who just have legal troubles with drugs on probation so they can get the help that they need without learning any new tricks in the juvenile residential correctional facility.
Diversion Programs and Substance Use Treatment for Juveniles. Diversion is a tool used by the juvenile justice system to handle the high volume of juvenile offenders without incarcerating all of them. A judge can sentence a juvenile delinquent to a diversion program and these have actually been proven to be more effective in rehabilitation than a residential program. Diversion programs are essentially an offshoot of probation. I have described some of the diversion programs that are used commonly below.
Intensive Community Supervision. Juveniles have the opportunity to continue about their everyday lives with school and their families. This includes reporting to a probation counselor very frequently with a bare minimum of twice a week. Day Treatment. This treatment is almost like a school like structure, the adolescent is at the facility all day participating in academic classes and substance use treatment but they go home to sleep

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