Substance use, disruptive behavior, depression, and trauma-related stress are commonly co-occurring problems among youth, yet only a small fraction receive needed treatment services due to the dearth of accessible, effective early treatment resources within the juvenile justice system (JJS). Participants will be adolscents who have been referred to the JJS for services for early, low-to-moderate offenses (e.g., truancy, minor-in-possession of tobacco or alcohol, driving citations.
The intervention will address the well-established bidirectional relationship between substance use (SU) and co-occurring behavioral problems (CPs) which is a defining characteristic of JJS involved youth (JIY).