Chapin Hall/Urban Institute Evaluation Says Reclaiming Futures Model Gives
Significant Supports to Teens in Trouble with Crime and Substance Abuse

Chicago, IL, October 4, 2007 - An independent evaluation by Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and the Urban Institute found that communities piloting the Reclaiming Futures model reported significant improvements in juvenile justice and drug and alcohol treatment.

Reclaiming Futures is an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that helps teens in trouble with drugs, alcohol and crime. The Reclaiming Futures model combines system reforms, treatment improvement and community engagement.

The evaluation measured the quality of substance abuse treatment systems serving youth in the juvenile justice system as reported by survey respondents in 10 communities, including Chicago and greater Cook County, during the first phase of Reclaiming Futures from 2002 through 2007. Results from the study have just been released in Changing Systems: Outcomes from the RWJF Reclaiming Futures Initiative on Juvenile Justice and Substance Abuse, a report that can be downloaded at www.chapinhall.org.

"All 10 Reclaiming Futures communities reported positive and significant changes," said Jeffrey A. Butts, Research Fellow with Chapin Hall and co-author of the report. "Our findings overall suggest that Reclaiming Futures is a potentially effective method for improving a community's response to delinquency and substance abuse."

The juvenile justice response to drug and alcohol problems is often inadequate, even though research shows that young people who use drugs and alcohol are more likely to have trouble with the law, to do poorly in school, and even to drop out of school. The Reclaiming Futures approach works to integrate the efforts of juvenile justice systems, substance abuse treatment providers and communities to improve interventions for teens with drug and alcohol problems.

Rose Golden, project director of Cook County's Reclaiming Futures site, said, "Even though we had existing collaborative relationships before the pilot, some pieces were missing. Reclaiming Futures has changed the way we work. Before Reclaiming Futures, for example, we did not routinely screen youth for mental health and substance abuse issues during our intake process. Now screening is available citywide to all youth, whether they are diverted from court involvement or adjudicated for an offense. This screening information is used to make more informed and timely referrals for services."

The Honorable Curtis Heaston, Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Justice Division for the Circuit Court of Cook County, noted, "Reclaiming Futures Cook County has provided a new standard of care for the children and families involved in the juvenile justice system. It has raised awareness of community-based services for treating alcohol and drug abuse. Reclaiming Futures ensures that children in the juvenile justice system receive supportive and therapeutic services in a timely manner."

As part of a national evaluation, Chapin Hall and Urban Institute researchers conducted biannual surveys in each of the 10 demonstration communities from December 2003 to June 2006. Survey respondents included local policymakers, judges, juvenile justice staff, drug treatment staff, and community volunteers. Across all 10 pilot sites, respondents reported significant improvements in 12 of 13 areas, including treatment effectiveness, alcohol and drug assessments, and pro-social activities for youth.

"This report confirms what we've been seeing on the ground during the last five years," said Elaine Cassidy, program officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Juvenile justice and drug and alcohol treatment services got better thanks to Reclaiming Futures."

RWJF announced earlier this year a new $6 million grant to support the 10 pilot sites for two more years and to help other communities implement the Reclaiming Futures model over the next four years. Meantime, the U. S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recently announced a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and RWJF to award grants to incorporate the Reclaiming Futures approach at several more sites over the next four years.

Chapin Hall Center for Children is an independent policy research center located at the University of Chicago. Its multidisciplinary research agenda encompasses the needs of all children, with special attention devoted to populations that experience significant problems—such as maltreatment, poverty, and mental and physical illness—and to the service systems designed to address those challenges. For more information, visit www.about.chapinhall.org.

Reclaiming Futures is an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that offers a new approach to helping teenagers caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. Its 10 communities include: Anchorage, Alaska.; Santa Cruz, Calif.; Chicago, Ill.; four counties in Southeastern Kentucky; Marquette, Mich.; the state of New Hampshire; the Sovereign Tribal Nation of Sicangu Lakota in Rosebud, South Dakota; Dayton, Ohio; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, Wash. The national office of Reclaiming Futures is housed in the Graduate School of Social Work at the Regional Research Institute at Portland State University. For more information, visit www.reclaimingfutures.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation. For more information visit www.urban.org.

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