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Abstract #153459

Craig E. Henderson¹, Douglas Young², Nancy Jainchill, PhD³, Josephine Hawke, PhD⁴, Sarah Farkas³, and Meghan Davis¹. (1) Sam Houston State University, Box 2447, Huntsville, TX 77341, (936) 294-3601, craightml@sbcglobal.net, (2) Institute for Governmental Service and Research, University of Maryland, 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 208, College Park, MD 20742, (3) National Development and Research Institutes, 71 West 23rd Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 20010, (4) University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030

This study examined the extent to which organizational context predicted use of consensus-based elements of effective substance abuse treatment practices with juvenile offenders. Participants were either directors of substance abuse treatment programs located in residential facilities (institutional sample; n=34) or directors of community-based treatment agencies providing services to adolescents in their home communities (community sample; n=88). The two settings differed significantly in the number and types of effective practices they were using. Community programs were more likely to have staff qualified to deliver substance abuse treatment, involve families in treatment, and assess their treatment outcomes. In contrast, institutional programs were more likely to provide comprehensive services. Resources dedicated to training, internal support for new programming, and network connectedness with non-criminal justice facilities were associated with greater use of effective practices. These findings highlight the importance of establishing corrections-community partnerships designed to promote continuity of care for juvenile offenders.

Learning Objectives:

• Indicate some of the differences in effective treatment practices used by institutions (e.g., prison) versus community-based facilities
• Identify some of the important organizational factors associated with the use of more effective treatment practices across institution and community settings
• Use survey findings to identify implementation strategies for juvenile justice programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.