ASAM Announces New Standards for Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Care

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria, the most widely used and comprehensive set of standards for addiction treatment programs, has announced a new installment, The Adolescents and Transition-Aged Youth volume. This set of guidelines establishes new dedicated treatment standards and admission criteria for youth with substance use disorder (SUD). The volume of new standards will be available digitally on March 31, 2026, and in print June 2026.¹

First released in 1991, The ASAM Criteria provide a framework for organizing the system of treatment for SUD, including the types and intensities of treatment that should be available to patients. Previously, standards for adolescent SUD care were lumped in with those for adults in the Third Edition of The ASAM Criteria, which was published back in 2013. Now, with recent research and the evolution of SUD among youth, ASAM has developed this dedicated, second volume for the Fourth Edition to facilitate individualized care for adolescents (defined as youth under 18 years of age) and transition-aged youth (defined as individuals between the ages of 16-25), to improve patient outcomes.

"Adolescents and transition-aged youth have unique developmental needs that the addiction treatment system should be organized to meet," said Corey Waller, MD, MS, DFASAM, the editor-in-chief of the Adolescents and Transition-Aged Youth volume. "Ongoing brain development during these formative years puts youth at a greater risk of developing the disease of addiction, which can lead to poor health outcomes and delayed life skill development. The new ASAM Criteria standards outline the full range of treatment services that should be available to all adolescent patients in order to effectively prevent and treat substance use disorder and set them up for long-term health and success into adulthood. While there will be challenges to overcome to make this vision a reality, we must commit to building systems and payment models capable of delivering effective interventions and treatments for all young people who need them."

As research demonstrates, approximately 80% of adults with SUD initiating substance use before age 18, making SUD a pediatric-onset illness. Additionally, individuals who use substances before age 15 are 6.5 times more likely to develop SUD than those who wait to start use until age 21 or older.²

That is why the updated ASAM Criteria promote early intervention to prevent adolescent substance use from becoming SUD. These standards recommend specialty treatment for youth who are using substances and at high risk of escalating SUD. They also promote a family systems orientation, fully integrated mental health treatment, and coordination across systems of care, such as schools and child welfare agencies.

"The ASAM Criteria's new adolescent treatment standards represent a tremendous opportunity to further elevate and individualize SUD care for our nation's children and young adults," said Joseph Lee, MD, the president and CEO of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the publisher of the Adolescents and Transition-Aged Youth volume. "To help clinicians adopt The ASAM Criteria and put these standards into practice, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation was intentional about creating a user-friendly, digital interface that can serve all members of the SUD care team, and by extension, families and children impacted by this disease."

The volume includes a new continuum of care for adolescents, marked by 4 broad levels of care that represent different degrees of treatment intensity. The new adolescent continuum of care also promotes the following:

1. A chronic care model of treatment. The new Level 1.0Y provides ongoing monitoring for adolescents in stable remission. This includes recovery management checkups and ongoing medication management services for patients prescribed medications for SUD.
2. Co-occurring capable care. All levels of care should provide co-occurring capable care, including fully integrated mental health treatment. This is especially important due to the high prevalence of co-occurring mental health conditions among adolescents and transition-aged youth.
3. Integration of medical care. Evidence suggests medical management for adolescents is more important now than ever with the increased prevalence of fentanyl in the drug supply. The adolescent continuum of care integrates withdrawal management services in the x.7Y programs with the expectation that these levels also provide integrated biomedical and psychosocial services.
4. Holistic care. The criteria advocate for care that addresses the biological, psychological, developmental, social, and cultural needs of the patient and their family. All adolescent SUD treatment programs are expected to provide family services, recovery support services, and risk reduction services.

This Adolescents and Transition-Aged Youth volume is the second of 4 volumes of The ASAM Criteria, Fourth Edition. Subsequent volumes will focus on justice-involved patients and the treatment of behavioral addictions such as gambling, internet, and gaming addiction.

For those interested in learning more, publisher Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will host a webinar on April 16 to discuss the new adolescent standards and how treatment programs can utilize them. Additional implementation materials will be released to help treatment programs deploy these new standards and successfully match patients to the appropriate level of care.

References

1. New standards for adolescent substance use disorder care announced. News release. March 25, 2026. Accessed March 26, 2026. https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/press-release/asam-youth-criteria

2. The ASAM Criteria, Fourth Edition Adolescents and Transition-Aged Youth Volume. ASAM. Accessed March 26, 2026. https://www.asam.org/asam-criteria/adolescent-volume