Only 10% of teens who need help for alcohol and drug problems actually enter adolescent treatment programs due in part to a lack of adolescent-only services and the poor quality of the teen treatment services that are available. Less that one-third of substance abuse programs in the U.S. offer specialized programs for teens.
A new study shows that 1.4 million teens need help for addictions each year, but only about one-tenth receive it.
Because of the lack of adolescent programs, the opportunity to intervene early in teen substance abuse is lost, the authors said. Many families seeking help for their children are unable to find treatment in their communities.
The study also found most of the available programs treat teens only on an outpatient basis and that facilities that offer teens residential or inpatient treatment rank higher in quality.
The study was funded by the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and appears in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.
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Originally posted on March 13, 2010 @ 6:06 am
