Delivering more effective treatment to adolescents: Improving the juvenile drug court model

Steven Belenko, T. K. Logan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

Juvenile drug courts (JDC) emerged in response to a perceived need to intervene more effectively in the substance abuse-delinquency cycle. The influx of drug and alcohol offenders, lack of other juvenile justice system interventions, and positive experiences with adult drug courts helped drive interest in adapting the drug court model for juveniles. This article: (1) provides an overview of substance use and the juvenile justice system; (2) describes the current status of JDC programs; and (3) proposes a model for planning, implementing and evaluating JDCs based on adolescent drug use and treatment research as well as current JDC models. The lack of science-based JDC models and empirically sound JDC evaluations has limited the effectiveness of JDCs. The proposed model is designed to create a new generation of JDCs that maximizes the effectiveness of local resources and delivers research-based interventions to youth and families impacted by substance abuse and delinquency.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)189-211
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2003

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The research for this article was supported in part by grants from the W.T. Grant Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The opinions and conclusions presented in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the W.T. Grant Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, or the University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol Research.

Keywords

  • Adolescent substance abuse
  • Delinquency
  • Juvenile drug courts
  • Program planning
  • Risk and protective factors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatric Mental Health
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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