Drug Identification and Testing in the Juvenile Justice System: Summary

• NCJ Number: 167889
• Author(s): A H Crowe
• Date Published: May 1998
• Length: 90 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance)

Annotation

This document presents findings from two projects funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to demonstrate innovative ways to identify and intervene with juvenile drug abusers; the report offers recommendations to assist juvenile justice agencies seeking to develop programs to identify, screen, and test youth for illicit drug use.

Abstract

One project was conducted by the American Correctional Association and the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. starting in 1989. A complementary project was conducted by the American Probation and Parole Association starting in October 1990. Each organization prepared and provided training and technical assistance to help different types of juvenile justice agencies develop or enhance programs to identify, screen, and test juveniles for illicit drug involvement. The report describes the extent and consequences of juvenile drug use; drug-involved youth in the juvenile justice system; the purposes, target groups, activities, information dissemination, and outcomes of each project. It also discusses the considerations involved in designing programs to identify and intervene with drug-abusing youth and presents nine recommendations for effective drug identification programs. Figures, tables, glossary, appended forms, suggested readings, and 41 references