Research documention the prevalence of the use of drugs and alcohol by teenagers in the Unitd States abounds, and leaves no doubt that the consequences of this behavior exacts high costs on the lives of individual teenagers.
Consider the following statistics that show the rates of use and access to drugs and alcohol by teenagers and related behavioral consequences:

• 89% of twelfth graders and 48% of eighth graders reported having easy access to marijuana.
• 64% of twelfth graders and 23% of eighth graders reported in 2001 that they had been drunk at least once in their lives.
• 12, 810 juveniles were arrested for drug abuse violations in New York City in the year 2000.
• Motor vehicle traffic injuries are a leading cause of injury death for 10 to 17 year olds.

“High school students who report drinking on at least one occasion are actually seven times more likely than nondrinkers to have had sex.”
Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Inc. (CCC) has a long history of monitoring the delivery of services to New York City children and teenagers and advocating for an investment of public resources in child- serving systems. CCC’s advocacy in the areas of children’s mental health, juvenile justice, and child welfare in partic- ular focused our attention on the prevalence of substance information about the substance abuse treatment services available to New York City teenagers and their families.
In the Fall of 2001, CCC convened the Task Force on Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Services. As CCC’s first foray into the field of substance abuse, the Task Force sought to identify the kinds of substance abuse treatment programs serving teenagers in New York City, to learn the pathways for teenagers to treatment services, and to under- stand the components of the treatment programs and the linkages between substance abuse treatment programs and other programs serving children and youth.

This report describes what CCC learned through inter- views with substance abuse treatment programs and focus groups with teenagers participating in substance abuse treatment. Our intent in conveying this information is to educate New York City parents/caregivers, children and youth, elected and appointed officials, educators, lawyers, judges, caseworkers, health and mental health professionals, and child, family, and youth advocates about the availability of substance abuse treatment programs. We also seek to highlight the need for an adequate investment of resources in adolescent substance abuse treatment and prevention services and for improving the linkage between these services and other child and youth serving systems. Additionally, the report identifies areas that require further investigation and monitoring.