In December 2016, OJJDP released the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines to fill the need for an evidence-based, treatment-oriented approach that emphasizes family engagement and addresses the substance use and often co-occurring mental health disorders that youth experience.

Upon release of the guidelines, AIR began the testing phase with data collection expected to begin in 2018. This phase consists of two related studies. One is a random assignment rigorous outcome evaluation comparing JDTCs aligned with the guidelines with traditional juvenile court processing outcomes. The second is an implementation assessment examining the clarity of the guidelines and the prevalence of and processes involved in implementing them. OJJDP expects that the results of these studies will guide updates and improvements to the guidelines at the conclusion of the project.

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