The Need
Hundreds of young people in the Multnomah County juvenile justice system need help every year to overcome drugs and alcohol. Without it, these teens are more likely to commit new crimes. Yet treatment isn't available to many of those who need it. For instance, in Multnomah County , we have only half as many residential beds as we need. This means that some young people must wait months for inpatient treatment. Even those who do obtain treatment still need the broader community's help to stay clean.
About Reclaiming Futures
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for Reclaiming Futures, a five-year demonstration project to implement a new approach to helping teenagers caught in the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. Reclaiming Futures promotes new opportunities and standards of care in juvenile justice by bringing communities together to improve access to drug and alcohol treatment, expand and coordinate services, and find jobs and volunteer work for young people in trouble with the law. According to an independent evaluation performed by The Urban Institute, Multnomah County made significant improvements during the grant period.