This competing continuation application expands our CJDATS1 work (1 UO1 DA016193). Using an existing research infrastructure and collaborations with public safety, juvenile and criminal justice partners, and treatment and health care providers, the overarching aim of the Ctr for Implementing Juvenile Justice Drug Abuse &HIV Systems Interventions (CIJJI) is to develop and test assessment methods and intervention implementation models to reduce substance abuse, delinquency, and HIV risk among juvenile offenders. Research partners include experts in juvenile justice and drug abuse assessment and services, HIV prevention, implementation science, methodology, and economic analyses from the U. of Miami, Emory U., U. of Ga., U. of Conn. Health Center, and U. of S. Florida. The CIJJI involves partners from Dept of Juvenile Justice, treatment agencies, and health clinics in Fla., Ga., and Conn, as Co-Investigators, Advisory Board Members, and performance sites. This work establishes an empirical foundation for implementing cost-effective continuum of care-focused, research-supported substance abuse and HIV prevention interventions. We propose to test the implementation model of evidence-based substance abuse and HIV prevention practices that we successfully developed and tested in CJDATS1, with increased focus on creating more extensive systems change and - ultimately - juvenile justice reform. We expand our adolescent HIV prevention focus by examining differential implementation processes and outcomes of two promising continuum of care models (one group-based and one family-based) with juveniles in detention and transitioning services to health clinics post-release. And we plan to develop and test the effectiveness and implementation issues of youth psychosocial assessment tools that could guide decision making about treatment, placement, and transfer to adult court. These concepts are linked thematically, practically and sequentially. The assessment work extends the CJDATS1 Adolescent Core Measure and provides a multilevel, multi-source instrument battery for the two implementation studies.
We aim to advance our implementation efforts with effective and cost-effective cross-systems continuum of care for juvenile offenders, with innovative assessments, in-detention HIV prevention and substance abuse intervention, and successful transition of larger system supported services to community agencies upon youths'release.
