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Policy to Practice
CASA’s efforts to convert our research findings and policy recommendations into large-scale, institutional change are well underway, and we have a number of ongoing projects in four distinct areas.
Families
In addition to the nine year old Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your ChildrenTM initiative, CASA also is developing a presentation for parents and schools, to educate them about teen substance abuse risk, how to prevent it, how to recognize the signs of abuse, and how to intervene. CASA is working to develop other sophisticated, user-friendly materials to educate parents and schools (which includes How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents).
Women
With continued support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, CASA is working to implement many of the recommendations from the Women under the Influence book to reduce alcohol, tobacco, prescription and illegal drug abuse among girls and women. The state of Florida created a public-private working group to translate the recommendations of the book into practice and fashioned a blueprint for action that can be used as a model for other states. CASA is preparing a document based on the blueprint that can be distributed to other states to prompt action.
CASA is seeking funding to start a Women’s Center focused exclusively on the special issues related to substance abuse among girls and women, the key points of intervention for prevention and treatment, and the roads to recovery. The Women’s Center intends to conduct high quality research aimed at increasing understanding of substance abuse among girls and women, raise awareness to the problem and improve the public health and individual health outcomes with strategies designed specifically for girls and women.
In 2004, following five years of research into the relationship between juvenile substance abuse and juvenile delinquency, CASA published its seminal report, Criminal Neglect: Substance Abuse, Juvenile Justice and the Children Left Behind. The report was the first of its kind and remains the most comprehensive examination of this subject. Among its findings:
- 80 percent of arrested juveniles either were under the influence of alcohol or drugs while committing their offenses, tested positive for drugs at the time of arrest, committed an alcohol or drug offense, admitted to having substance abuse problems, or showed some combination of these characteristics.
- In 2000, of the 2.4 million juvenile arrestees with substance abuse problems, only 68,600 received treatment.
- At least 30 percent of adults in prison for felony crimes were incarcerated as juveniles.
- Up to three-quarters of incarcerated 10 to 17 year-olds have a diagnosable mental health disorder, but mental health resources for them are scarce.
- The overwhelming majority of incarcerated juveniles suffer learning disabilities, but developmentally-appropriate education is often unavailable.
What these statistics show is that the children who are involved with the justice system overwhelmingly are children with severe problems, but problems that can be treated. Instead of writing them off as “bad kids,” our government can act to rehabilitate these children, giving them a real chance at healthy lives, and thereby saving public money and improving the safety of our communities.
In order to help states bring these promises to fruition, and in consultation with juvenile justice experts nationwide, CASA has developed the Model Bill of Rights for Children in Juvenile Justice Systems. The Model Bill is a piece of model legislation that lists the problems in our juvenile systems, and then describes a series of rights, which, if implemented, would create positive change. The Model Bill’s primary function is to provide a guide to legislators to create similar, rights-based legislation in their states. By recognizing these rights, states will affirm the innate human dignity of these children, and take a major step towards effective reform.
CASA is supported in these efforts by the generous partnership of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
LINKS:
Text of the Model Bill of Rights for Children in Juvenile Justice Systems
Companion Guide to the Model Bill of Rights for Children in Juvenile Justice Systems
Report - Criminal Neglect: Substance Abuse, Juvenile Justice and the Children Left Behind (2004)
Controlled Prescription Drug Abuse and Diversion
CASA submitted a Citizen Petition to the Food and Drug Administration on October 30, 2007. In the Petition, CASA requested that the FDA issue new rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to demonstrate and certify in their applications for new drugs that they have made every effort to formulate the drug in such a way that avoids or minimizes the drug’s potential for intentional and unintentional abuse.
CASA has also requested that the FDA require pharmaceutical companies include proactive risk management plans in all new applications for controlled drugs, demonstrate evidence of safety, as well as concrete steps that will be taken to prevent the abuse of the drug while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness.
The recommendations in the Petition are based upon the findings of CASA’s 2005 report, Under the Counter: The Diversion and Abuse of Controlled Prescription Drugs in the U.S.