Charles County Juvenile Drug Court Program

The OJJDP FY 2014 Enhancements to Juvenile Drug Courts solicitation provides funding for currently operating juvenile drug courts to enhance capacity and services. A juvenile drug court provides comprehensive, developmentally appropriate, community-based services for youth who are younger than 18 years old and come in contact with the juvenile justice system due to alcohol or other drug use. The goal of this program is to enhance the capacity of juvenile drug courts and ultimately improve the outcome for the youth involved in the juvenile drug court program. Enhancements to juvenile drug courts will focus on one or more of the following key components of a juvenile drug court: (1) increase the use of scientifically based screening and assessment procedures for youth in contact with the juvenile justice system to identify youth in need of mental health and substance abuse services; (2) expand the range of developmentally appropriate and evidence-based programs and services to ensure a continuum of care is available for these youth; (3) enhance or develop family engagement; and/or (4) expand the outcome monitoring of the juvenile drug court.

The Charles County Maryland Juvenile Drug Court will use funding to enhance the current quality of care available to individuals involved with the juvenile justice system, including those who are impacted by co-occurring and/or trauma disorders and require Level One substance abuse treatment or higher (based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine Levels of Care). The grant funds will provide services for 105 youth in Charles County, Maryland, a county with both highly populated and rural areas. The grant project will focus on treatment interventions that will be based on Early Screening and Assessments, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Recovery Support, Functional Family Therapy, and the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) model. The grant is expected to produce the following outcomes: 1) improve access for participants to rapid, convenient, culturally sensitive assessment, treatment, and support services; 2) increase program capacity to 35 to include youth recommended for Level One out-patient and higher substance abuse treatment; 3) enhance and expand existing treatment services available via interventions providing additional clinical and recovery support services tailored to meeting program participants' needs in a manner consistent with SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's Guiding Principles of Recovery; and 4) increase engagement of family members and natural supports in the program participant's treatment and recovery experience through the introduction of clinical and program staff intervention options intended to improve commitment/retention in the treatment process and to produce additional positive outcomes related to growth in recovery.

CA/NCF