Linkage facilitation for opioid use disorder in criminal legal system contexts: a primer for researchers, clinicians, and legal practitioners.

At the intersection of drug policy, the opioid crisis, and fragmented care systems, persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States are significantly vulnerable to contact with the criminal legal system (CLS). In CLS settings, provision of evidence-based treatment for OUD is variable and often secondary to punitive approaches. Linkage facilitation at every touch point along the CLS Sequential Intercept Model has potential to redirect persons with OUD into recovery-oriented systems of care, increase evidence-based OUD treatment connections, and therefore reduce CLS re-exposure risk.

Leveraging Parents and Peer Recovery Supports to Increase Recovery Capital in Emerging Adults With Polysubstance Use: Protocol for a Feasibility, Acceptability, and Appropriateness Study of Launch.

Background: Emerging adults (aged 18-26 years) are the most at-risk yet underserved age group among people with substance use disorder, especially rural emerging adults, and polysubstance use is common. Recovery capital is lower among emerging adults than older adults, and evidence-based treatments are typically unavailable or not developmentally tailored, especially in rural areas. Both supportive parents (or parental figures) and peer recovery support services (PRSS) can be leveraged to better support these emerging adults.

Implementation outcomes from a pilot study of training probation officers to deliver contingency management for emerging adults with substance use disorders.

Introduction: Emerging adults (EAs) in the criminal legal system are at high risk for substance use and related negative outcomes. EAs also have low levels of engagement in treatment services, a pattern exacerbated for those living in rural communities. This pilot study investigated implementation outcomes of task-shifting an evidence-based substance use intervention, via a developmentally targeted program, provided by probation officers (POs) to selected EA clients.

Juvenile probation officers delivering an intervention for substance use significantly reduces adolescents' risky sexual behaviours.

Background: Risky sexual behaviour (RSB) is a serious public health problem for adolescents. We examined whether a contingency management intervention implemented by juvenile probation officers (JPOs) targeting substance use also impacted RSB.

Methods: A total of 218 adolescents on probation were randomly assigned to contingency management or to probation as usual.

Examining the measurement precision of behavior problems among a sample of primarily rural youth on juvenile probation and their parents.

Accurate and timely intervention in the justice system is particularly critical in rural communities, given documented barriers to accessible, evidence-based services for youth. As youth in the juvenile justice system have a high prevalence of behavioral health needs, accurate assessment of those needs is a critical first step in linking youth to appropriate care. The goal of the current study is to examine the reliability of a brief assessment (the Brief Problem Checklist [BPC]) among a sample of 222 justice-involved youth and their caregivers who primarily reside in rural communities in the United States.

Juvenile Probation Officers' Perceptions of Sanctions and Incentives as Compliance Strategies.

In juvenile probation, noncompliance with probation conditions is a common occurrence. To deal with this, juvenile probation officers (JPOs) may use different strategies, such as sanctions and incentives. This study uses survey and focus group data from 19 JPOs to evaluate their perceptions of the effectiveness of sanctions and incentives in reducing youth noncompliance, specifically in the form of substance use.

JUVENILE PROBATION OFFICER PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN JUVENILE PROBATION AND WITH CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT.

Probation is a common sanction for youth substance users, and as such, juvenile probation officers (JPOs) shoulder much of the burden for treatment and rehabilitation. To improve youth outcomes and alleviate some of the burden, JPOs may seek parental involvement in the probation and substance use desistance processes. Using focus group data, we analyzed JPO perceptions of the role parents play in contingency management (CM)-an incentive system designed to produce and reward decreased substance use-and whether they perceived any value in CM.

Delinquency, Substance Use, and Risky Sexual Behaviors among Youth who are involved in the Justice System and Predominantly Reside in Rural Communities: Patterns and Associated Risk Factors.

There is a significant gap in research examining the prevalence of problem behaviors among youth involved in the juvenile justice system in rural areas. The current study sought to address this gap by exploring the behavioral patterns of 210 youth who were on juvenile probation in predominantly rural counties and who were identified as having a substance use disorder. First, we examined the correlation among 7 problem behaviors representing different forms of substance use, delinquency, and sexual risk-taking and 8 risk factors related to recent service utilization, internalizing and externalizing difficulties, and social support networks.

Misunderstanding and Sensemaking Among Juvenile Probation Officers Working with Evidence-Based Practices.

Evidence-based practices and programs (EBPs) have been adopted in juvenile probation agencies nationwide to maximize the number of successful probation cases. However, various pragmatic studies have found that JPOs are not yielding the expected benefits when compared to efficacy studies (Lipsey et al., 2010; Taxman & Belenko, 2011).

Evidence Base Update of Psychosocial Treatments for Adolescents with Disruptive Behavior.

Objective: This article expands the review of psychosocial treatments for adolescents with disruptive behavior (DB), published previously by this journal. That earlier review focused on DB treatment studies published 1966-2014; the current paper updates the evidence base by incorporating DB treatment studies published 2014-2021.

Method: A literature search and screening process identified 63 new studies for inclusion in this updated review.

Randomized trial of a diversion program for property offenders with drug use.

Purpose: This paper reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of a front-end diversion program for prison-bound individuals with property crime convictions, concurrent substance use problems, and no prior violent crime convictions.

Methods: Two counties in Oregon participated in the trial, labeled "County A" and "County B." Across counties, 272 individuals (mean age = 32.

Sexual Risk Behavior among Adolescents Seeking Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Exploring Psychosocial & Symptom Correlates.

Adolescents exposed to trauma experience disproportionate rates of HIV/STI. However, integrated treatment for trauma and sexual risk behavior is rare. To inform integrated prevention efforts, the current study describes prevalence and correlates of sexual risk behavior among adolescents seeking treatment for symptoms of posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders.

Family-based treatments for disruptive behavior problems in children and adolescents: An updated review of rigorous studies (2014-April 2020).

Disruptive behavior problems in youth are common and costly, lead to adverse outcomes, and are often left untreated. This article builds on previous work by providing an updated evaluation of family-based treatments based on results from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for three populations: (1) children with disruptive behavior, (2) adolescents with disruptive behavior, and (3) adolescents with juvenile justice involvement. Using a comprehensive process, 28 new reports on 27 RCTs were identified for the 2014-April 2020 period, which when combined with the prior evidence base of all rigorous RCTs, resulted in 3 well-established, 11 probably efficacious, and 7 possibly efficacious family-based treatment categories.

Juvenile probation officers' perceptions on youth substance use varies from task-shifting to family-based contingency management.

The majority of justice-involved youth have problems with substance use, but juvenile justice agencies face numerous barriers to providing evidence-based treatments for these youth. Task-shifting is one strategy for increasing access to such treatments. That is, training juvenile probation officers (JPOs) to deliver substance use treatments, such as contingency management (CM) could improve youths' motivation and behavioral outcomes.

Predictors of substance use in a clinical sample of youth seeking treatment for Trauma-related mental health problems.

Child maltreatment and traumatic events are well established risk factors for adolescent substance use problems, but little is known about the unique contributions of etiological factors on trauma-exposed youths' pre-treatment substance use in clinical settings. This study examined associations between substance use and risk and protective factors measured across multiple ecological levels among a unique sample of youth seeking treatment for trauma-related mental health problems in child advocacy centers. Participants were adolescents (N = 135; 85% female; 60% white, 31% black) aged 13-17 years (M = 15.

Randomized Controlled Trial of an Integrated Family-Based Treatment for Adolescents Presenting to Community Mental Health Centers.

Most adolescents presenting to community mental health centers have one or more comorbidities (internalizing, externalizing, and substance use problems). We evaluated an integrated family-based outpatient treatment for adolescents (OPT-A) that can be delivered in a community mental health center by a single therapist. A sample of 134 youth/families were randomized to receive OPT-A or usual services, delivered at the same public sector mental health center.

Community-based randomized controlled trial of psychological first aid with crime victims.

Objective: The first randomized controlled trial of psychological first aid (PFA) was conducted, using crime victims as participants. For study Aim 1, investigators tested whether paraprofessional victim advocates could be trained to deliver PFA to crime victims. For study Aim 2, investigators tested the effect of PFA delivery on victims' psychiatric (i.

Risk reduction through family therapy (RRFT): Protocol of a randomized controlled efficacy trial of an integrative treatment for co-occurring substance use problems and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in adolescents who have experienced interpersonal violence and other traumatic events.

Decades of research demonstrate that childhood exposure to traumatic events, particularly interpersonal violence experiences (IPV; sexual abuse, physical abuse, witnessing violence), increases risk for negative behavioral and emotional outcomes, including substance use problems (SUP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite this well-established link-including empirical support for shared etiological and functional connections between SUP and PTSD -the field has been void of a gold standard treatment for adolescent populations. To address this gap, our team recently completed a large randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of Risk Reduction through Family Therapy (RRFT), an integrative and exposure-based risk-reduction and treatment approach for adolescents who have experienced IPV and other traumatic events.

Safety and Efficacy of Exposure-Based Risk Reduction Through Family Therapy for Co-occurring Substance Use Problems and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: No empirically supported treatments have been evaluated to address co-occurring substance use problems (SUP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among adolescents in an integrative fashion. This lack is partially owing to untested clinical lore suggesting that delivery of exposure-based PTSD treatments to youth with SUP might be iatrogenic.

Objective: To determine whether an exposure-based, integrative intervention for adolescents with SUP and PTSD symptoms-risk reduction through family therapy (RRFT)-resulted in improved outcomes relative to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) control condition consisting primarily of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.

Capacity of juvenile probation officers in low-resourced, rural settings to deliver an evidence-based substance use intervention to adolescents.

Substance use is a major public health problem with a host of negative outcomes. Justice-involved youth have even higher risks and lack access to evidence-based interventions, particularly in rural communities. Task-shifting, or redistribution of tasks downstream to an existing workforce with less training, may be an innovative strategy to increase access to evidence-based interventions.

Vocational coaches for justice-involved emerging adults.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether vocational supports for emerging adults with serious mental health conditions who are at high risk for rearrest are more effectively served within Multisystemic Therapy for Emerging Adults (MST-EA) through vocationally enhanced MST-EA Coaches or through referral to state vocational rehabilitation services.

Method: A pilot randomized controlled trial examined two MST-EA Coaching approaches. In the Standard Coach + VR condition (n = 16), MST-EA Coaches delivered standard skills curricula to participants and referred them to state vocational rehabilitation (VR) services for vocational supports.

Factors promoting and impeding HIV testing among adolescents in juvenile drug court.

A randomized pilot study compared Risk Reduction Therapy for Adolescents (RRTA) to treatment as usual (TAU); the present study examined whether intervention condition influenced HIV testing, barriers to HIV testing, and HIV communication among adolescents involved in juvenile drug courts overall and by sexual experience. Of 105 participants, 13.3% had HIV pre-treatment testing, whereas 27.

Association of Mental Health Symptoms and Peer Behaviors with Risk for Substance Use and Condomless Sex among Youth in Juvenile Drug Court.

Juvenile drug courts are a growing response to adolescent substance use, but a better understanding of modifiable risk factors is needed to improve program outcomes. Youth's mental health symptoms and peers' activities may impede the effectiveness of these "therapeutic" courts. In a unique longitudinal sample of 105 adolescents involved in juvenile drug court, we find elevated internalizing symptoms and deviant behavior of peers were each associated with increased risk of alcohol and marijuana use.

Parent and Youth Engagement in Court-Mandated Substance Use Disorder Treatment.

While juvenile drug courts (JDCs) require treatment , youth and parent in treatment cannot be mandated. We compared youths' and parents' self-reports of engagement in Risk Reduction Therapy for Adolescents (RRTA) and Treatment as Usual (TAU) in JDCs. Parents and youth receiving RRTA were more likely than those receiving TAU to report high engagement in treatment.

Multisystemic Therapy for Emerging Adults With Serious Mental Illness and Justice Involvement.

Most serious mental illnesses (SMI) have onset by emerging adulthood and SMI can impair adolescents' transitions into healthy, productive adults. Emerging adults (EAs) with SMI are at high risk for justice involvement, and rates of recidivism are greater for offenders with SMI than without. These EAs are frequently multi-system involved (e.