News Release

$23.3 Million Announced to Provide Substance Abuse Treatment to Juveniles And Young Adults Returning from Incarceration

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson today announced $23.3 million in grants to support substance abuse treatment and related services for juveniles and young adults returning from incarceration.   The grants are designed to provide substance abuse treatment to both juveniles and young offenders up to age 24 as they enter into the community from prison.

“By helping our youth avoid drugs and alcohol, we can help prevent them from committing crimes and returning to prison,” Secretary Thompson said. “The President has made an unprecedented commitment to supporting community-programs that help young people avoid the pitfalls of drug and alcohol abuse and other unhealthy behaviors.  Without drugs, they might turn their lives around, become productive members of their communities and live longer, happier lives.”

SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie noted: “The grants will be used to form community partnerships that will plan, develop and provide services in the community to treat substance abuse and provide other services.  We will build on community ties to keep these young people away from drugs and moving into training or jobs that can anchor them and lead to a life free from drugs and free from crime.”

The 12 grants to promote successful reentry into the community are awarded through HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. These grants were given to programs in eight states

Arizona

Pima Prevention Partnership, Tucson --  $500,000 per year for four years for a total of $2 million.  This program will address the unmet substance abuse treatment and wrap-around support needs of incarcerated juveniles ages 14-18 who are reintegrating into their family and community during the four-year funding period.

California

Atlantic Recovery Services, Long Beach --  $500,000 per year for four years for a total of $2 million.  The project will assist juvenile substance abusers aged 14 to 25 who are exiting the juvenile justice system.  The goal is to provide comprehensive substance abuse treatment services to 71 participants in the first year.

Phoenix House San Diego, Inc., Terrace -- $491,128 per year for four years for a total of  $1.96 million.  The program will provide a model reentry program for youth returning to the community from incarceration at the Department of Probation’s Juvenile Ranch Facility at Rancho del Campo.  The facility serves youth who have received substance abuse treatment at the ranch and are returning to the Mid-City and South Bay regions of San Diego.

Santa Clara County Department of Alcohol and Drugs, Campbell -- $453,347 per year for four years for a total of  $1.81 million. The Teens in Transition Evolve program will provide substance abuse treatment and related reentry services to sentenced juvenile offenders aged 4-17.  Between 48-64 youth returning to the community from incarceration will be served each year of the project.  The project will target youth from San Jose’s Mayfair District and other surrounding economically distressed neighborhoods.

Georgia

Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Decatur -- $500,000 per year for four years for a total of $2 million.  The grant will allow Georgia to plan, develop, provide and evaluate substance abuse and other reentry services to sentenced juveniles aged 14-21 who are returning to the community from incarceration.  The program intends to treat 525 youth over the course of four years.

Massachusetts

Boston Public Health Commission -- $500,000 per year for each of four years for a total of $2 million.  The program, called the Young Offender Reentry and Recovery Network, will provide community-based substance abuse treatment and wrap-around reentry services for 132 young men per year, as they are released from the House of Corrections in Boston.

SPAN, Inc., Boston -- $464,148 per year for each of four years for a total of $1.86 million.  The Youth Entering Society Services Project will provide services to 700 young adult ex-offenders over four years.  The program will provide substance abuse, vocational and case management services.

New York

Vera Institute of Justice, Inc., New York City -- $494,928 per year for each of four years for a total of $1.98 million to support the first family-focused substance abuse program in New York.  The Adolescent Portable Therapy program uses an intensive, family and home-based reentry intervention.  The program involves juveniles involved in the Family Court.

The Center for Community Alternatives, Inc., Syracuse -- $500,000 per year for each of four years for a total of $2 million.  The Self-Development Program will provide a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program, reentry preparation, post-release reentry services and wrap-around supports to young adult offenders 16 to 24 years old. 

Texas

University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio -- $500,000 per year for four years for a total of  $2 million.  Project STAY will work collaboratively with community agencies to serve 240 previously incarcerated, minority youth ages 14-17.  The program will include evidence-based, family-focused, intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment, as well as services to enhance educational and vocational outcomes, adolescents’ well-being and access to mental health resources.

West Virginia

Prestera Center for Mental Health, Huntington -- $419,448 per year for each of four years for a total of $1.7 million.  The program is designed to improve the likelihood that juveniles aged 14-21 who are transitioning back to their Appalachian communities will become successful members of society.  The target clientele is offenders under the supervision of the West Virginia Juvenile Justice System.

Wisconsin

Racine County -- $499,650 per year for each of four years for a total of $1.998 million.  The program will establish an afternoon/evening Day Reporting Center for substance abusing youth aged 14-17 who are returning to the community after being sentenced to incarceration or detention.  Racine County intends to serve 300-400 youth by providing alcohol and drug counseling, academic tutoring, career development, independent living skills and family therapy.

SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States.

 

This page was last updated on 19 October, 2004
SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service