RECLAIMING FUTURES-MULTNOMAH EMBRACE

Debbie Sweet
Treatment Expediter
503.988.5279

Multnomah County was one of 10 pilot communities in the United States that received funding from 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 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.

 Reclaiming Futures – Multnomah Embrace continues to improve alcohol and drug treatment services for approximately 350 teens in our juvenile justice system every year by:

• Reliably assessing young people for alcohol and drug treatment needs and consistently connecting them to treatment;
• Routinely sharing information between probation officers and treatment counselors;
• Tapping strong community partnerships to systematically connect kids to positive activities - school, employment, recreation, the arts, volunteering, and adult mentors; and
• Improving quality of services by providing additional training to staff.

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Reclaiming Futures - Multnomah Embrace Strategic Plan (PDF)

The Need | Quick Facts | What We Do | It Works
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Reclaiming Futures Brochure

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.

Quick Facts:

• Multnomah County is home to 66,400 youth between the ages of 10-17.
• In 2004, 2,727 teens were in trouble with the law.
• 82% of the 1,153 teens screened by juvenile justice in 2004 were using substances at a level beyond “experimental” use.
• 2004-5 data shows that of 131 teens assessed by juvenile justice, 92.3% were abusing alcohol and/or drugs – and a third were drug or alcohol dependent.
• Approximately 1,000 teens receive County-funded alcohol and drug treatment; of these, about 500 are in the juvenile justice system.

What We Do:

Reclaiming Futures Multnomah County is improving alcohol and drug treatment services for approximately 500 teens in our juvenile justice system every year by:

• Reliably assessing young people for alcohol and drug treatment needs and consistently connecting them to treatment;
• Routinely sharing information between probation officers and treatment counselors;
• Tapping strong community partnerships to systematically connect kids to positive activities - school, employment, recreation, the arts, volunteering, and adult mentors; and
• Improving quality of services by providing additional training to staff.

It Works:

Teens in our Felony Drug Diversion Program (FDDP) -- designed by Reclaiming Futures to route youth with felony drug charges to treatment faster –- appear to be more successful than in programs that offer “treatment-as-usual.” Sixty-two percent (62%) of the youth who engaged in the program during 18-months from 2003-2005 completed the program successfully. Successful outcomes in “usual” treatment programs average below 40%.

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In The News

Press Release 3-1-07
Juvenile Probation Officers Call for New Responses to Teen Drug and Alcohol Use
A report by Reclaiming Futures probation officers, including one from Multnomah County, recommends a ground-breaking approach to help teens in trouble with drugs and alcohol and crime...

The Oregonian 7-20-05
Better Than They Were
Robert Richardson arrives at the new St. Johns apartment of Lori Hill and her son Keenan Caples on a recent weekday morning. Keenan stands to greet him, looking the man he calls "Mr. Richardson" in the eye.

Richardson, Keenan's mentor through a Multnomah County family support program, sizes up the lanky 14-year-old's 5-foot-11 frame...

The Oregonian 12-27-04
Adults make the difference in teen drug addiction
Today, somewhere in Portland, a ninth-grader will use methamphetamine. So will an eighth-grader, and probably even a sixth-grader..

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