NCJ Number
160117
Journal
Perspectives Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1996) Pages: 44-48
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Between October 1990 and December 1994, the American Probation and Parole Association conducted a project designed to identify and intervene with drug-involved youths.
Abstract
One phase of the project involved technical assistance to help five sites develop or enhance their drug identification and intervention programs. Each site was requested to select a minimum of 50 youths to participate in the project. Project objectives were to describe chemical dependency screening results used to identify drug-involved youths, to evaluate the results of drug recognition technique (DRT) and urinalysis (UA) testing used to monitor juvenile drug use, and to assess the actions taken by project staff after a positive DRT or UA test. Project findings showed that drug abuse was a problem among youthful offenders. The percentage of positive drug tests ranged from 11 to 37 percent. Alcohol and drug use started an early age for many youths, with the average age of first alcohol using ranging from 12.39 to 13.69 years and the average age of first drug use ranging from 12.9 to 13.95 years. Project youths were not tested frequently enough to detect all drug use, and agency staff failed to take action on numerous positive drug tests and DRT assessments. Project youths became involved in criminal activities at an early age, at least one-third had special education needs, and nearly two-thirds did not live in families with two parents. 1 reference, 1 note, and 12 figures