Text Box: IPA Text Box: Purpose Text Box: Centers Text Box: Presentations Text Box: Publications Text Box: Researchers/Staff Text Box: Illicit Drug Chartbook Text Box: Home Text Box: Prevention Research Text Box: Substance Abuse Education Text Box: Media Impact Research Text Box: Drug Policy Research Text Box: What’s New Text Box: Resource Links Text Box: Methamphetamines Text Box: Center for Drug Policy Research Text Box: Program Descriptions The Center for Drug Policy Research has three major projects: State Drug Abuse Policy (www.impacteen.org) project supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The purpose of this project is to examine the relationship between state drug policies and youth drug use and attitudes about drug use. Specifically research in this project focuses on describing the variance in state drug policies ranging from community efforts to prevent drug use, a public health treatment approach to drug prevention and treatment or the use of a deterrence approach emphasizing punitive responses to drug law violations. Findings from this project have shown that communities that foster social networks have lower rates of substance use. In addition, communities that combine treatment with juvenile justice supervision for drug law violations also are more likely to have lower rates of youth drug use. Findings from this project have been presented at major scientific conferences such as the American Public Health Association, the American Society of Criminology and the American Sociological Association. Findings have also been published in journals and monographs supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Justice and in such journals as Crime and Delinquency and Corrections Today (anything else). Further researchers use their findings to work with state and national governments to develop effective drug prevention policies. Reclaiming Futures Montgomery County, Ohio (www.reclaimingfutures.org) is one of 10 projects supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create new approaches to helping youth involved with drugs, alcohol, and crime. The Institute for Prevention of Addictions has contracted with Wright State University to provide the Montgomery County, Ohio site with technical assistance and program evaluation services. The program partners with the courts, treatment facilities, juvenile justice centers, and community to meet the needs of youth involved in Dayton, Ohio's juvenile justice system. Program goals include: 1) designing a system of care that coordinates criminal justice, drug treatment and social services; 2) involving the community by pairing high-need teenagers who have been jailed on drug-related crimes with "natural helpers" in the community; and, 3) improving treatment services for drug and alcohol use. Preliminary involvement with this project has included program design and development, grant writing, program evaluation feedback and reports, presentation of findings at a national conference, and development of conference proceedings and a research article.