Addressing Substance Use Disorders Through Delinquency Dispositions

The Juvenile Code authorizes 14 different dispositional alternatives for delinquency cases that result in Level 1 dispositions and 23 different dispositional alternatives for delinquency cases that result in Level 2 dispositions. G.S. 7B-2508(c), (d); G.S. 7B-2506(1)-(23). For both Level I and Level 2 dispositions, cooperating with substance abuse treatment is a dispositional option.  It can be challenging to sort through the many available dispositional alternatives to order an effective and individually tailored disposition that addresses the risks and needs of the juvenile. This blog addresses why it might be important to focus on substance use disorders as part of disposition, how to know when a juvenile needs substance use disorder treatment, and how substance use disorder treatment may be included as a dispositional alternative. Why Focus on Substance Use Disorders in Delinquency Cases? Research has shown that addressing substance use disorders among juveniles adjudicated delinquent for serious offenses can have an impact on reducing future offending. The Pathways to Desistance Study provides the most robust long-term research findings on what factors impact desistance in offending among juveniles who have committed serious offenses. For seven years, the study followed 1,354 juveniles who were adjudicated delinquent based on a commission of a serious crime. The study examined reoffending trajectories and factors that impacted those trajectories for these juveniles. Substance use disorders were identified as an important factor. The findings included that there were high levels of substance use and abuse among the population in the study; having a substance use disorder and the [...]