U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Democrats have shut down the government. Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated. Please refer to the Department of Justice’s contingency plan for more information.

National Cross-Site Evaluation: Juvenile Drug Courts and Reclaiming Futures: Executive Summary: 7/1/2011-6/30/2015

NCJ Number
249745
Date Published
December 2015
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This is the executive summary of a report that presents the findings and methodology of an independent cross-site evaluation of five juvenile drug courts that merged two existing models to create an innovative approach for managing juveniles with drug-related and other behavioral problems.
Abstract
The two models merged in the programs are the juvenile drug court model and the Reclaiming Futures model (JDC/RF). The intent of this merger of the two models was to improve the effectiveness and efficacy of juvenile drug courts. The evaluation determined that three activities of the integrated JDC/RF model were related to positive substance use outcomes. These activities are community engagement and collaborative partnerships, educational linkages, and a community transition phase. The JDC/RF programs that emphasized these program elements were more effective in impacting days of substance use at 6 months post-intake compared to JDC/RF programs that implemented these activities to a lesser extent. The programs elements that were effective in reducing criminal behavior that might be unrelated to substance use were using a non-adversarial approach, educational linkages with the school system, and using sanctions to modify non-compliance. The program element that positively impacted both substance use and criminal behavior was the use of gender-appropriate treatment. The JDC/RF integrated model produced a net savings of $84,569 per youth, and findings suggest that it is possible for other jurisdictions to replicate the outcomes of the JDC/RF model in their own programs. The evaluation conducted a meta-analysis that compared the JDC/RF programs, JDC-only programs, and programs with intensive outpatient components. The JDC/RF programs were more effective than the other models in reducing both substance use and criminal behavior. 1 table

Date Published: December 1, 2015