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June 29, 2008Innovative Ways to Help Teens Struggling With Drugs, Alcohol and Crime |
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: A national group of project directors today called on communities across the nation to better help teens beat drugs, alcohol and crime using a groundbreaking approach tested at 10 pilot sites. They have issued a national report which shares a six-step model to bring about change, reveals a road map for communities to plan for innovation, and offers step-by-step instructions and examples on how to implement this new way of helping teens in trouble. The project directors oversee Reclaiming Futures initiatives funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Together, they have authored the report, How to Implement a Model to Get Youth Off Drugs and Out of Crime, based on six years of creating and testing new ways to help teens that enter the juvenile justice system and previously received little or no care for their drug or alcohol problems. The report describes how judges, probation officers, treatment specialists, families and community members can take steps right now to improve the future of these youths. "We have learned that there are concrete steps that can be taken to bring communities together to change the way they help teens in the system with drug and alcohol issues," said Benjamin Chambers, project director for Reclaiming Futures Multnomah Embrace in Portland, Ore., who helped write the report. About Reclaiming Futures Reclaiming Futures is an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that offers a new approach to helping teenagers caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country.
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