Substance Use Disorder Treatment Resources for Youth, Young Adults, and Families

SAMHSA’s vision for youth behavioral health is that all children, youth, and their families thrive in their homes and communities. When youth are struggling with emotional problems, they often use substances such as alcohol and other drugs to help manage feelings that cause distress or discomfort. While this is not different from adults, youth are more vulnerable to substance use disorders because their brains are still developing.

In the United States, more than 90% of adults who have a substance use disorder (SUD) began their substance use in adolescence. Additionally, youth who have SUDs have poorer health and functional outcomes and are at greater lifetime risk for experiencing various adverse consequences, including sexually transmitted infections, justice system involvement, school-related challenges, and increased mental health challenges.

Data Points

According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH):

Tobacco/Nicotine Use: In 2023, 7.4% of adolescents aged 12–17 (1.9 million people) used tobacco or vaped nicotine in the past month.
Underage Alcohol Use: In 2022, 15.1% of people aged 12–20 (5.8 million people) drank alcohol in the past month. Binge drinking was reported by 8.2% (3.2 million people), and heavy drinking by 1.7% (646,000 people).
Marijuana Use: In 2023, 11.3% of people aged 12–20 (4.3 million people) used marijuana in the past month, and 6.5% (2.5 million people) vaped it.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD): In 2023, 27.1% of young adults aged 18–25 (9.2 million people) had an SUD, followed by 16.6% of adults 26+ (37.0 million people), and 8.5% of adolescents aged 12–17 (2.2 million people).

SAMHSA Programs

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Youth Programs are cutting-edge, evidence-based substance use initiatives with a family-focused model of care that is responsive to the needs of youth, young adults, and their families. Programs are designed to provide an array of comprehensive, coordinated treatment services that are age-appropriate and culturally sensitive and that encompass prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery support to include harm reduction, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and medications for alcohol use disorder (MAUD).

Our programs promote training and education across states and facilitate collaboration between local community-based providers and their state, tribal, or territorial infrastructure, all targeted to increase access and improve health outcomes for adolescents, young adults, and families impacted by substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Discover how:

The Youth and Family TREE program has been meeting the needs of youth who have substance use disorders and their families.
The PYO TREAT program has been addressing the overdose crisis that continues to adversely affect our youth.
The SBIRT program increases opportunities for individuals who have or are at risk for substance use disorders to receive early intervention and treatment services.