1. Program Proposal
By Michelle Scoggins

2.  Reported in 2008, 60.6 percent of juveniles between the ages of 12 to 17 were
dependent on or abused drugs as age increased these numbers began to taper
down.
 37.4 percent of juveniles between the ages of 18 to 25 and 24. 3 percent of adults aged 26 or older
(SAMHSA, 2012).
 2010 trends of incarcerated juveniles were reported at 779,700 juveniles
between the ages of 18-29 either in jail or prison (SAMHSA, 2012).
 The overall cost for juvenile incarceration is approximately $14.4 billion per
year (CASA, 2010).
 Juvenile costs for substances use, $68 billion per year.
 Equivalent to $2280 a year per each juvenile in the US (CASA, 2010).
 The therapeutic approach of human-canine interaction prove to assist those
with building skills, increasing competence and confidence, facilitating
healthy attachment, and strengthening of emotional and behavioral regulation
(Project POOCH, 2012).
 MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility’s Project POOCH
 Dr. Merriam from Pepperdine University studied the program for three years and of the
juveniles she interviewed reported a zero percent recidivism rate (Project POOCH, 2012).

3. Program goal:
• Reduce recidivism through object relations
attachment vs. traditional substance abuse therapy.
• Use alternate treatment to encourage other coping
mechanisms beyond substances
• Change the juveniles bond from a substance to a
living being
• Provide unwanted animals with a forever home
• Train juveniles how to care for another as a way to
prepare for adulthood
• Teach the juveniles responsibilities through feeding,
cleaning and monitoring animals
• Encourage teamwork

4.  Program is offered to youth throughout their
incarceration; minimum stay is 6 months and the
maximum stay is length of incarceration.
 Housing maximum for the pilot will be 20 inmates
 Estimated program cost is $200,000 for a two year
pilot project in one youth facility. Ideally a youth
facility with an in place substance abuse program
looking for a contract renewal, allowing this program
to be implemented without structural change.
 Staff includes
 Two counselors
 Three therapists
 One program director
 Support officer staff – provided by the facility
 Two mentors
 One vocational instructors
 Teens are linked with an animal where they are
responsible for the daily care and training. Upon
departure the teen has the option to take or leave the
animal.
 Mandatory monthly drug testing; urinalysis, hair
follicle, etc.

5.  Project POOCH. (2012). Our mission: Research. Retrieved on 5/12/2012:
http://www.pooch.org/about.php#research
 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia
University. (2010). Adolescent substance use: America’s #1 public health
problem. Retrieved on 5/12/2012:
http://www.casacolumbia.org/upload/2011/20110629substanceuseslide
s.pdf.