Resolution Regarding Access to Medication‐Assisted Treatment for Adolescents and Adults in the Juvenile and Family Justice System

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12179
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Published date: 01 September 2020

Resolution Regarding Access to Medication-

Assisted Treatment for Adolescents and Adults

in the Juvenile and Family Justice System

WHEREAS, the juvenile, family, and tribal justice systems are experiencing

increased burdens due to substance use, including alcohol, opioids, and metham-

phetamines;

WHEREAS, these burdens include the foster care system in the United States, which

has experienced an upward trend of youth in care from its modern day low of 396,000 in

2012 to 443,000 in 2017;

1,2

WHEREAS, risk factors, including alcohol and drug misuse, are defined as "characteris-

tics of caregivers that may increase the likelihood of child maltreatment."

3

WHEREAS, opioid-related deaths of pregnant and post-partum women is estimated to

have doubled from 2007 –2016, and are associated with warning signs, such as major

depression, substance use disorder, and intimate partner violence;

4

WHEREAS, in 2018, an estimated 946,000 (3.8 percent) adolescents aged 12 to 17 had

a substance use disorder (SUD), and an estimated 5.2 million (15.3 percent) young adults

aged 18 to 25 had a SUD (i.e., met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria for either dependence or abuse for alcohol or

illicit drugs);

5

WHEREAS, in 2018, only 159,000 (0.6 percent) adolescents aged 12 to 17 received any

substance use treatment, and only an estimated 547,000 (1.6 percent) young adults aged

1

Stein, P., & Bever, L. (2017). The opioid crisis is straining the nation’s foster-care systems: Foster children

are in need at younger and younger ages, and there aren’t enough homes to take them, state officials say.

2

Children’s Bureau. (2019, July 10). Trends in Foster Care and Adoption.

3

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Admin-

istration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2019). Child Maltreatment 2017, page 23.

4

Mangla, K., Hoffman, C. M., Trumpff, C., & O’Grady, S. (2019). Maternal self-harm deaths: an

unrecognized and preventable outcome, page 3. The article states “Gemmill et al reviewed trends in opiate-

related deaths between 2007 and 2016 in 22 states that had adopted the pregnancy checkbox. The group

concluded the maternal mortality involving opiates doubled during this time period. By 2016, 70% of

deaths involving opioids occurred during pregnancy and up to 42 days post-partum. Most of the opioid-

related deaths in 2016 involved heroin and synthetic opioids.”

5

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019). Key substance use and mental

health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, page 40.

Juvenile and Family Court Journal 71, No. 3

©2020 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

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