Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 32, Issue 3 , Pages 255-266, April 2007

A national survey of substance abuse treatment for juvenile offenders

  • Douglas W. Young, M.S.

      Affiliations

    • University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Institute for Governmental Service and Research, University of Maryland, 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 208, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Tel.: +1 301 405 3297; fax: +1 301 314 9258.
    • ,
  • Richard Dembo, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
    • ,
  • Craig E. Henderson, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Sam Houston State University, Campus Box 2447, Huntsville, TX 77341-2247, USA

Received 26 September 2006; received in revised form 19 December 2006; accepted 25 December 2006. published online 12 March 2007.

Abstract 

Despite consensus about the value of substance abuse treatment for delinquent youth, information about its prevalence and availability is inadequate and inconsistent. This article presents findings about treatment and other correctional service provision from a national survey of directors of 141 juvenile institutional and community corrections (CC) facilities. Educational/General Educational Development programming and drug and alcohol education were the most prevalent types of correctional and substance abuse services. Other common services included physical health services and mental health assessment, provided to about 60% of youth across facilities, and mental health counseling, life and communication skills, and anger management, provided to about half of the youth. Substance abuse treatment, as with most other services, were more prevalent in large, state-funded residential facilities (where 66% provided treatment) than in local detention centers (20%) and CC facilities (56%). More detailed data showed that the number of youth attending treatment in all types of facilities on any given day was very low.

Keywords: Substance abuse treatment, Juvenile offenders, Correctional services, Juvenile justice, Delinquency

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PII: S0740-5472(07)00014-1

doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2006.12.018

Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 32, Issue 3 , Pages 255-266, April 2007

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