It has resulted in decreased rates of substance abuse and other mental health problems, such as suicide. Eugenia Ortega, Superintendent of the Karl Holton Youth Correctional Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility in California, cited her program as an example of effective institutional intervention for juveniles. Institutional interventions generally emphasize behavioral modification over community interventions. Ortega's facility emphasizes education and physical fitness. Facility staff often are called upon to act as a substitute for an offender's family, but families need to become more involved in the program, she said.
Some families participate in group therapy, but other types of involvement are also needed.
The Holton facility is the only institution in the California correctional system devoted entirely to substance-abusing juvenile offenders and the largest such institution in the nation. Although initial funding was difficult to locate, Ortega said, the federal government assisted with funding once the program was in place. The value of planning and treatment efforts within institutions will be lost quickly without strong community supports. The key to successful aftercare, said Dodge, is planning for and working with the young people as soon as they enter an institution rather than waiting until they are ready for release. A strong case management system that offers individualized assessment and comprehensive services is the appropriate method.