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In juvenile probation, noncompliance with probation conditions is a common occurrence. To deal with this, juvenile probation officers (JPOs) may use different strategies, such as sanctions and incentives. This study uses survey and focus group data from 19 JPOs to evaluate their perceptions of the effectiveness of sanctions and incentives in reducing youth noncompliance, specifically in the form of substance use. Results show that there are two distinct groups of JPOs: those who believe sanctions are an effective deterrent strategy and those who do not. Perceptually and demographically these two groups contain significant differences. Notably, both groups have similar views of social incentives, but JPOs who believe sanctions are ineffective are significantly more likely to have positive views of tangible incentives. This study has implications for how the field of juvenile probation can target JPO perceptions to move toward incentive-based strategies rather than sanction-based strategies for reducing youth substance use., Competing Interests: DECLARATION OF INTEREST The authors report no conflict of interest.

In bridging the science to service gap, effective, yet practical, strategies are needed for supporting practitioner implementation of evidence-based treatments. The development and preliminary evaluation of an adherence monitoring system to support clinician fidelity to an evidence-based treatment for substance-abusing adolescents was tested for community-based practitioners. Session tapes were monitored for adherence to a family-based approach to CM (CM/FB) for 27 practitioners during baseline, post-workshop, and follow-up periods. Approximately half of the practitioners were randomized to receive intensive quality assurance following a CM/FB workshop as part of a larger study. Findings supported the clinical feasibility of the developed system as well as the face and content validity, reliability, and concurrent validity. Future directions are discussed in light of these results, including instructions for the use of the developed system to efficiently train clinicians to adequate fidelity.

Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a family and community-based treatment approach targeting youth with serious clinical problems who are at risk for out-of-home placement (e.g., detention, incarceration, or residential treatment facility). Based on an extensive body of controlled clinical research, MST has been identified as an effective treatment of youth antisocial behavior, including substance abuse.