A study has found high rates of drug and alcohol abuse and dependency among some who went through Cook County's juvenile detention center.
The Northwestern Medicine study found more than 90 percent of males and nearly 80 percent of females in the study were diagnosed with a "substance abuse disorder" at some point in their lives. The study was published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.
The Chicago Tribune reports the study looked at 1,829 youths detained between 1995 and 1998 at the county's Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago, and followed up with them at least nine times in 12 years.
Lead author Leah Welty said there's an opportunity to reach a "sizable portion of people in need" if funds and resources are put toward preventive intervention and services during the correctional phase and care for those released from the system.
"Detention can be this place to intervene with preventive efforts to try to prevent subsequent development of substance abuse and dependence," said Welty, an associate professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.
Substance abuse services and treatments are provided to residents at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, said Pat Milhizer, spokesman for the Chief Judge's Office of the Cook County Circuit Court, which oversees the juvenile detention center. He said youths are assessed on how likely they are to use and its potential severity, and said nearly all youths indicate varying degrees of substance abuse.
Milhizer said all youths who have substance abuse issues get individual counseling while at the center, and that there are also weekly group sessions.
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Racial disparities were found in the study. African-Americans were less likely to have cocaine-use disorders than non-Hispanic white youths, who were 30 times more likely to abuse cocaine. Hispanic youths were 20 times more likely to use cocaine than African-Americans.
