Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment: Evolving Policy at Federal, State, and City Levels

• NCJ Number: 160954
• Author(s): T Ooms; Herendeen
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 30 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Corporate Author: American Assoc for Marriage and Family Therapy Research and Education Foundation
• Sale Source: American Assoc for Marriage and Family Therapy Research and Education Foundation
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Family Impact Seminars with COFO Meeting Highlights and Background Briefing Report

Annotation

This report presents background information and summarizes a 1989 seminar focusing on adolescent drug treatment issues and policies at the Federal, State, and city levels.

Abstract

Participants noted that treatment services for adolescents are scarce, underfunded, and often not tailored to their special needs. National surveys reveal that use of alcohol begins at an early age and that about 5 percent of high school seniors use one or more illicit drugs on a daily basis. Awareness is increasing of the frequent simultaneous existence of mental health and drug problems. Teenagers who abuse drugs daily are more often involved with other high- risk behaviors that can lead to sexually transmitted diseases, suicide, and homicide. Another trend is that whole families are often now involved with illicit drugs, leaving few drug-free guardians available to provide support to teenagers. Screening and assessment should precede treatment, because use of drugs is not by itself an indication of a need for treatment. The two treatment models are the psychiatric model and the addiction model. Congress has recently enacted substantial increases in treatment funding.