This TIP, Screening and Assessing Adolescents for Substance Use Disorders, updates TIP 3, published in 1993, and presents information on identifying, screening, and assessing adolescents who use substances. Adolescents differ from adults both physiologically and emotionally as they make the transition from child to adult. Although experimentation with substances is common with this population, substance abuse can seriously impair development, leaving an adolescent unprepared for the demands of adulthood. Therefore, it is important for a wide range of professionals who come into regular contact with adolescents to recognize the signs of substance use. This TIP focuses on the most current procedures and instruments for detecting substance abuse among adolescents, conducting comprehensive assessments, and beginning treatment planning. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the document. Chapters 2 and 3 present appropriate strategies and guidelines for screening and assessment. An explanation of legal issues concerning Federal and State confidentiality laws appears in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 provides guidance for screening and assessing adolescents in juvenile justice settings. Appendix B summarizes instruments to screen and assess adolescents for substance abuse and general functioning domains, many of them updated since 1993. Appendix C excerpts a 1998 publication on drug testing juvenile detainees prepared under a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Contents

• What Is a TIP?
• Editorial Advisory Board
• Consensus Panel
• Foreword
• Executive Summary and Recommendations
• Chapter 1-- Introduction
  • Terms Used in This TIP
  • Assessment Model
  • Selection of Screening And Assessment Instruments
• Chapter 2—Preliminary Screening of Adolescents
  • Screening
  • The Need for Community Coordination
• Chapter 3—Comprehensive Assessment of Adolescents for Referral and Treatment
  • The Assessor
  • Setting
  • The Multiple Assessment Approach
  • Assessment Instruments
  • Written Report
• Chapter 4 --Legal Issues in the Screening And Assessment of Adolescents
  • Federal Law Protects Youths' Right to Privacy
  • Consent To Disclose Information
  • Communicating With Others About Adolescents
  • Other Exceptions to the General Rule
  • Other Rules About Confidentiality
  • A Final Note
• Chapter 5—Screening and Assessment of Adolescents in Juvenile Justice Settings
  • Screening and Assessment Protocols
  • Evaluation and Quality Management Monitoring
  • Staff Training
• Appendix A--Bibliography
• Appendix B—Instrument Summaries
• Appendix C --Drug Identification and Testing in The Juvenile Justice System
• Appendix D—Field Reviewers

This publication is part of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant technical assistance program. This publication was written under contract number 270-95-0013 with The CDM Group, Inc. (CDM). Sandra Clunies, MS, ICADC, served as the CSAT government project officer. Rose M Urban, MSW, JD, CSAC, served as the CDM TIPs project director. Other CDM TIPs personnel included Y-Lang Nguyen, production/copy editor, Raquel Ingraham, MS, project manager, Virginia Vitzthum, former managing editor, Mary Smolenski, EdD, CRNP, former project director, and MaryLou Leonard, former project manager.

The opinions expressed herein are the views of the Consensus Panel members and do not reflect the official position of CSAT, SAMHSA, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). No official support or endorsement of CSAT, SAMHSA, or DHHS for these opinions or for particular instruments or software that may be described in this document is intended or should be inferred. The guidelines proffered in this document should not be considered as substitutes for individualized client care and treatment decisions.