New York City's La Bodega de la Familia, in collaboration with the New York State Division of Parole, helps drug offenders succeed with parole and probation through increased family-based partnerships and support. A 2002 evaluation of La Bodega's program found reduced drug use in all categories, fewer re-arrests, improved treatment outcomes, a nearly 50 percent decline in substance abusers using any illegal drug, and enhanced well-being and perception of being supported by family members. La Bodega's success also sparked the establishment of Family Justice Inc., a group that is applying family support principles to treatment programs around the country.

The Knoxville Public Safety Collaborative (KPSC) also helps offenders successfully transition from prison to the community. KPSC's multidisciplinary case management approach brings police officers, corrections officials and treatment providers together to share information and help offenders overcome substance use and other problems that can lead to re-arrest. Before KPSC, 89 percent of offenders were reincarcerated; that number has decreased to 45 percent in just two years. KPSC also developed resources to help other communities, including a diagnostic tool to gauge readiness for interagency alliances and a blueprint for communities seeking to build their own KPSC-style initiatives. Knoxville is a Demand Treatment! Partner.

Additionally, Innovations in American Government recognized two programs that address the child welfare system. The Child Welfare League of America estimates that more than half of parents involved in the child welfare system have a substance use disorder.

Michigan's Structured Decision Making helps child services workers collect information consistently, assess situations more accurately, and make decisions about the best course of action for each case. It provides tools that help workers determine risks, prioritize responses, target resources, monitor cases, and identify reunification or permanent placement opportunities. Child welfare organizations in 10 other states have since adopted SDM.

Finally, Families Together, a family visitation partnership between the Providence Children's Museum and Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families, provides biweekly therapeutic visitation at the Children's Museum. The program helps participants rebuild relationships, strengthen parenting skills, and bond through shared learning and play in an environment very different from the usual government offices or fast-food restaurants. Caseworkers observe the families, and get a more complete picture of each family, which leads to more accurate and valid recommendations to family court judges. An average of 75 families take part in therapeutic visitation each year. Additionally, Families Together trained 387 social workers and supervisors last year. Preliminary results from a survey indicate that the program is changing how social workers deal with and use visitation.

The Ford Foundation and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government launched Innovations in American Government in 1986. The program received nearly 1,000 applications this year. On May 7, the National Selection Committee will choose five winning programs. Each finalist will receive a $10,000 grant; each winner will receive a $100,000 grant to encourage replication of its program.

Applications for the 2004 Innovations Awards are available and are due May 30, 2003.