House Bill 3900 (Sec 26-28) requires the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Chemical Dependency Disposition Alternative (CDDA), which provides local juvenile courts with a sentencing option for chemically dependent youth. Following an assessment to determine whether the juvenile is chemically dependent,

...the court shall then consider whether the offender and the community will benefit from use of this chemical dependency disposition alternative. If the court determines that this chemical dependency disposition alternative is appropriate, then the court shall impose the standard range for the offense, suspend execution of the disposition, and place the offender on community supervision for up to one year. As a condition of the suspended disposition, the court shall require the offender to undergo available outpatient drug/alcohol treatment and/or inpatient drug/alcohol treatment (RCW 13.40.165 5a, 5b).

The University of Washington was mandated by this statute to develop standards for measuring the effectiveness of chemical dependency treatment programs for CDDA youth. These standards must include methods for measuring success following the youths' treatment. The following report responds to the statute and describes the scientific basis for the CDDA intervention programs.

The key components of this report include:

• a review of chemical dependency treatment outcome research for adolescents generally and juvenile offenders specifically
• an overview of factors that predict substance use problems and positive chemical dependency treatment outcomes in adolescents
• a review of assessment procedures and instruments currently in use for screening, and comprehensive evaluation of adolescents with chemical dependency problems.