Youth, Drugs and Violence: Results From State and Local Program Workshops.

                                Youth, Drugs and Violence

                     Results From State and Local Program Workshops

                                    Sponsored by the
                         State Reporting and Evaluation Program
                Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs
                               U.S. Department of Justice

                                        June 1995

                                     Prepared by the
                       Justice Research and Statistics Association
                             444 North Capitol Street, N.W.
                                        Suite 445
                                  Washington, DC  20001
                                     (202) 624-8560Acknowledgements

This report is a product of a cooperative effort by the States and the Bureau of Justice
Assistance as part of the State Reporting and Evaluation Program, which is coordinated by the
Justice Research and Statistics Association.

The staffs of the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Criminal Justice
Commission contributed to the coordination and implementation of the workshop that is
discussed in this publication.  A special thanks to Joe Albo, Director of the Arizona
Department of Public Safety; Janet Napolitano, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona;
Gerald Richard, II, Director of Community Services for the Phoenix Police Department; and
Lars Jarvie, Police Chief of the Mesa Police Department for delivering their welcoming
addresses.  Special acknowledgement is made to the outstanding moderators of the working
meeting:  Dr. Harold Becker, Program Evaluator/Professor, California State University,
Department of Criminal Justice, and Dr. Kenneth Robinson, President/Founder, Correctional
Counseling, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee.  Important contributions to the success of the meeting
were made by John Sanders, Board Member of The San Antonio Fighting Back Project, San
Antonio, Texas.

The State Reporting and Evaluation Program relies on expertise from the States to insure the
success of workshops and publications.  The following individuals contributed their knowledge
and time to make this workshop and publication a success:  Jill Kateman, Program Analyst,
Evaluation and Technical Assistance Division, Bureau of Justice Assistance; Roberta Silva,
Senior Research Analyst, Idaho Department of Law Enforcement; Fred Fisher, Program
Officer, Montana Board of Crime Control; Ruth Cardella, Consultant; Serena Fisher,
Consultant; Laura Burke, Program Specialist, State and Local Assistance Division, Bureau of
Justice Assistance; and Heber Willis, Program Specialist, State and Local Assistance Division,
Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The Justice Research and Statistics Association prepared this document under the direction of
Joan C. Weiss, Executive Director.  The following JRSA staff compiled and edited the
information for this report under the supervision of Assistant Director for Special Projects
Kellie J. Dressler:  Andrea G. Richards, Program Associate; Andrea Tisi, Program Assistant;
Ann Mulcahy, Intern; and Elizabeth Schrage, Intern.Table of Contents

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1

Perspective on Youth, Drugs and Violence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
       The San Antonio Fighting Back Project:  A Model Drug Prevention Program. . . .   5

State and Local Programs:  Youth, Drugs and Violence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
       Alabama:  Commitment and Supervision Alternatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       Arizona:  Gang Intelligence and Team Enforcement Mission . . . . . . . . . . .  17
       Colorado:  Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
       Delaware:  Project Stay Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       Florida:  PACE Center for Girls, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
       Illinois:  The Midtown Educational Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
       Maryland:  Living Classrooms:  Fresh Start and Tico Enterprises. . . . . . . .  48
       Mississippi:  Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center Project . . . . . . . . .  53
       Minnesota:  Eden Statewide Children's Chemical Health Services Project . . . .  58
       Montana:  Rocky Top Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  65
       Nebraska:  MAD DADS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  70
       Nebraska:  YouthNet Community Based Evaluation-Douglas County. . . . . . . . .  75
       New Jersey:  Project CORE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  79
       New Mexico:  Talking Talons Youth Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  84
       New York:  Riverhead School District:  Anti-Violence Project . . . . . . . . .  90
       North Carolina:  School Resource Officer Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  96
       Oregon:  OREGON TOGETHER!:  Communities That Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
       Rhode Island:  Tides Family Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
       Virginia:  An Achievable Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
       Washington:  Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention Program. . . . . . . . 120
       Wyoming:  Wind River Indian Reservation Youth & Family At-Risk Project . . . . 126

Workshop Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Introduction

This publication reports the results of the Bureau of Justice Assistance State Reporting and
Evaluation Program State and Local Programs Working Meeting:  Youth, Drugs and Violence
held April 6-8, 1995 in Mesa, Arizona.  This meeting brought together over 60 State planners
and local practitioners as well as researchers, analysts, and law enforcement officers from 27
states who have previously been or currently are involved in implementing and/or evaluating
programs designed to meet the needs of youth involved in the criminal justice system.

This publication identifies and documents programs that focus on youth, drugs, and violence
at the State and local levels.  The first section of the publication presents a perspective from
a national expert on a successful youth program in San Antonio, Texas.  The second section
of the publication documents the twenty-one State and local programs that were presented at
the workshop.                        Perspective on Youth, Drugs and ViolenceThe San Antonio Fighting Back Project:  A Model Drug
  Prevention Program

Mr. John Sanders, Board Member of The San Antonio Fighting Back Project (San Antonio,
Texas), presented San Antonio Fighting Back's innovative approach to the prevention of
substance abuse.

San Antonio Fighting Back is a program dedicated to the prevention and reduction of substance
abuse.  The project aids citizens of the south and southeast sections of San Antonio in
combatting the problems which plague their neighborhoods.  Since it began in 1990, San
Antonio Fighting Back has been funded by the United Way of San Antonio and the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.

San Antonio Fighting Back comprises several components which work together to achieve the
goal of "establishing a continuum of care to effectively address alcohol and other drug abuse
through a comprehensive prevention, intervention, treatment, and relapse prevention program." 
The goal is realized through the consolidation of resources and the creation of a single
community-wide system of prevention, early identification, treatment, and aftercare.  This
approach reduces the demand for and illegal use of alcohol and other drugs.  The elements of
the program include neighborhood resource centers, community empowerment, public
awareness, Weed and Seed, and neighborhood beautification. 

Three Neighborhood Resource Centers are located in the target area.  Each functions as a
resource for training, coordination, support, resource development, and technical assistance to
community activities.  Every resource center provides a variety of services to San Antonio
residents such as a Food Bank Program, Boy and Girl Scouts, and the San Antonio
Independent School District Gang Unit.

Community empowerment in San Antonio enables the residents to "take back" their
neighborhoods.  In order for residents to reclaim their community, aid must be given in the
areas of education, leadership development, and advocacy training.  Community empowerment
is displayed through a variety of actions, including the availability of current information on
alcohol and other drugs in the resource centers and public awareness and health campaigns
which are culturally specific to help enrich the community.  Finally, collaborative measures
among organizations, communities, and task forces address prevention, intervention, treatment,
and relapse prevention activities.

San Antonio Fighting Back utilizes the influence of the media in shaping behavior.  The
program has established partnerships with various media sources including radio, television,
and newspapers.  The partnerships help to convey the message of positive, healthy, and drug-
free youth and community role models.  Neighborhood newsletters focus on the personal
success stories of residents, achieved through prevention, intervention, treatment, and relapse
prevention efforts.

"Human Renewal" is the focus of San Antonio's Weed and Seed Program.  The program is San
Antonio Fighting Back's strategy for community policing.  Coordinated law enforcement
initiatives and combined resources from social, community, and private entities strengthen
existing community policing efforts.  Also, this strategy enhances detection, apprehension, and
prosecution efforts in cases of narcotics trafficking, weapons violations, and violent crimes.

San Antonio Fighting Back has implemented a neighborhood beautification program to achieve
two goals.  First, the project provides employment to the city's youth in the target area. 
Second, this employment results in community enhancement through the removal of graffiti,
boarding up of abandoned buildings, and clearing of vacant lots.  Residents of all ages assist
the youth in this clean-up effort, fostering a sense of community.  Military personnel from
nearby bases also take part in the beautification initiative.  The program resulted in the removal
of over 650 tons of debris through the efforts of more than 1,000 community and military
volunteers.

The comprehensive substance abuse, crime, and violence prevention strategy of San Antonio
Fighting Back includes eight components necessary to mobilize and organize the community
for positive change.  The strategy is a community-wide prevention effort of inclusion,
assessment, planning, and awareness.  A community assessment should be done to identify
important issues and available resources.  Both short and long-term planning efforts should be
implemented.  Community awareness should be promoted to alter community attitudes.  Next,
the strategy recognizes, provides, and develops leadership.  The leaders function as facilitators. 
They share leadership and authority qualities with one another and other members of the group. 
The leaders are instructed to discourage apathy and negativism.

The program must preserve its momentum in order to be successful and continue to function. 
Three ideas for maintaining the momentum of a program are communication, ongoing
recruitment, and the establishment of operating norms.  Communication initiatives may take
several forms, such as regular coalition meetings, community-wide meetings, and retreats or
other activities aimed at "getting people to talk, interact, and bond."  Recruitment must be
continuous and efficient to put recruits to work as soon as possible.  Personnel assignments
should attain a working balance between "comfort" and "growth."  Operating norms are a
mixture of conflict resolution; clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and accountability; and
recognition, reward, and celebration.

Several concerns should be kept in mind when implementing program activities.  Among these
considerations is that the activity should address the identified needs of the community.  Also,
as many people as possible should be involved in both the planning and the implementation
of the activities.  After all, "people support what they help to create."

An evaluation of each activity should be conducted so as to establish the success, impact, or
failure of an activity and the reason behind the outcome.  Precautions must be taken to ensure
that the activities are culturally sensitive, relevant, and appropriate.  The assessment of
prevention efforts is an ongoing process that should begin at the start of the organizational
phase.  Evaluation skills should be taught to community residents to ensure that these important
skills remain within the community.  San Antonio Fighting Back views evaluation as a "tool
of improvement" through "constructive, healthy feedback."  Within the evaluation component
lie the accountability standards initially established by the group.

Collaborative efforts are becoming increasingly important to the survival of a program.  San
Antonio Fighting Back calls for the development of partnerships which foster cooperation,
coordination, and collaboration.  The "three C's" are achieved through the sharing of resources,
facilities, and volunteers; participation in joint programs, activities, and training; joint
fundraising activities; and the development of joint grant proposals.  In order to effectively
address "turf issues," roles and responsibilities should be clearly identified.  San Antonio
Fighting Back participates in approximately 12 collaborative programs.  Among these are a
Treatment Collaborative, a High Risk Youth Collaborative, a Mentors Collaborative, and a
Housing Development Collaborative.

The impact that San Antonio Fighting Back has had on the community is evident in a variety
of ways.  Neighborhood residents have displayed pride toward the community by actively
contributing to the success of neighborhood clean-ups.  A community bond has formed among
the 400,000 residents who participated in community events from 1992-1994.  Through hard
work and dedication, the staff at San Antonio Fighting Back and community residents were
able to "reweave the fabric of the community."                                State and Local Programs:
                                Youth, Drugs and ViolenceAlabama

Commitment and Supervision Alternatives

Statement of the Problem

Huntsville, Alabama is the wealthiest community in the southeastern United States.  It is a
community with many resources, including an outstanding school system.  However, in 1989,
the Madison County Juvenile Court of Huntsville, Alabama, only had two disposition options
available for adjudicated delinquents:  probation with very limited services, or commitment to
the Alabama Department of Youth Services (ADYS) for placement in a training school. 
Juveniles who violated the conditions of their probation were often committed to ADYS. 
During that year, the court committed 66 juveniles to the long-term on-campus training school
programs of ADYS.

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation study of juveniles in the custody of the Alabama
Department of Youth Services in 1989 found that 74% had committed relatively minor offenses
and 54% scored less than seven points on a risk assessment instrument in which ten points was
the recommended lower limit for secure placement.  The study concluded that if alternative
programs could be developed, the State's training school population could be reduced by 50
to 55%.

There are significant disadvantages associated with the provision of rehabilitation services for
delinquent juveniles in State training schools.  Delinquent peer pressure may be detrimental to
the goals of rehabilitation (i.e., the most severe delinquents may teach other juveniles how to
perform delinquent acts not previously in their repertoires).  Training schools can be centers
for the recruitment, induction, and training of gang members.  The campuses may be located
far from the juvenile's family so that family involvement in the rehabilitation process is
severely limited.  Home and community factors which contributed to the juvenile's delinquent
behavior cannot be addressed effectively.  Upon release, the juvenile could return to the same
environment, but with new skills in delinquent behavior.

Goals and Objectives

Since the State training schools were an ineffective strategy for dealing with juvenile
delinquents, in June 1990 the Madison County Juvenile Court set the goal of reducing by one-
third the number of juvenile delinquents from Madison County admitted to the training schools
of ADYS by using community service work as a commitment alternative. 

In order to achieve this goal, the following objectives were established:  (1) to conduct a
community service program for 100 or more juvenile delinquents ordered by the court to
perform a specified number of hours of community service; (2) to monitor progress and
compliance; (3) to provide reports to the court; and (4) to collect information regarding the
number of admissions to State training schools.

Program Components

The community service program was designed to be a positive experience for the juveniles
while at the same time holding them accountable for their behavior.  Since low self-esteem is
generally thought to be a characteristic of many juvenile delinquents, it was expected that work
assignments commonly associated with community service work (e.g., trash collection along
highways) might lower their self-esteem even further.  Instead of trash collection, work sites
were selected which would enable juveniles to be of assistance to others, to interact with
responsible adult role models in providing services to persons in need, and to gain skills which
could help them obtain employment in the future.

The program employed one coordinator to work regular office hours Tuesday through Saturday
and, in the second year of the program, added an aide to work after-school and evening hours
Tuesday through Friday and regular office hours on Saturdays.  This work schedule permits
maximum participation of juveniles in the program.  Juveniles who are not in school and are
not employed can work during regular office hours, and juveniles who are in school can work
after school and on Saturdays.

Work Sites and Supervisors  To develop the program, the presiding juvenile court judge
contacted public agencies to obtain work sites.  A wide variety of those agencies agreed to
participate and identified persons willing to assume responsibility for supervising the juveniles
assigned to those sites.  Agencies included Christmas Charities (collects toys, household goods,
and clothing for distribution to needy families); North Alabama Food Bank (collects and
distributes food to needy families); a lunch distribution center for senior citizens; the public
library; Boys and Girls Clubs; and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  The program personnel
studied the various work sites and determined the skills and abilities juveniles would need to
work at various jobs in each location.  On-site supervisors were trained to monitor the juveniles
in their work duties.  Emphasis was placed on finding work experience for juveniles which
involved a professional environment in which the juvenile had to wear a suit and tie.

Court Referrals  Juveniles who have violated the conditions of probation or who have been
adjudicated for offenses which the court concludes require accountability to the community in 
the form of community service are ordered to perform a specified number of hours of
community service as a condition of probation.  Most of the juveniles assigned to the program
have been adjudicated for offenses which would be felonies if committed by adults.  Those
assigned to the program for offenses which would be misdemeanors if committed by adults
usually have carried a concealed firearm or been in first-time possession of a controlled
substance.

Work Assignments  A juvenile who is ordered to perform community service comes with his
or her parent(s) for an interview with the program coordinator.  Prior to the interview, the
coordinator reviews the juvenile's file in order to understand the juvenile's legal history and
other information which might influence a work site assignment.  The rules and procedures of
the program are explained, and the juvenile participates in determining where he or she will
work.  A work schedule is prepared and arrangements are made for program personnel to
transport each juvenile to and from work sites, unless the juvenile can provide his or her own
transportation.

Monitoring  In order to assure that juveniles are performing their duties satisfactorily, program
personnel monitor work sites.  Work site supervisors complete written reports of each
juvenile's hours of work.  When juveniles have completed their hours of service, program
personnel submit a report for inclusion in each juvenile's file.

Training School Admissions  In order to determine the number of admissions from Madison
County to the long-term on-campus training school programs of the Alabama Department of
Youth Services, program personnel review court records and actual admissions to those
programs.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

In order to determine the extent to which program components are being conducted, several
performance measures have been established.  To assure that work sites are readily available
for work assignments, a list of work sites currently available for use by the program is
maintained.  To assure that a sufficient number of juveniles are assigned to the program to
achieve the program's goal, a current list is maintained of those juveniles assigned to the
program, the number of hours specified to be performed, and the number of hours of
community service each juvenile has completed.  In addition, a record of the number of
admissions to State training schools is compiled.  A concern with regard to the over-
representation of minority juveniles in State training schools has prompted the monitoring of
minority participation in the community service program in order to assure the use of
community-based alternatives for minority juveniles.

Implementation Problems and Successes

During 1990, the first year of the program's operation, only one person, a community service
coordinator, was employed in the program.  The program was operated during regular office
hours, Tuesday through Saturday.  Juveniles were unable to perform hours of community
service after school or during early evening hours.  A community service aide was added to
the program during its second year of operation.  During the summer months when school is
not in session, both program employees work regular office hours Tuesday through Saturday
in order to maximize participation in the program.

As increased numbers of younger juveniles have appeared before the court, a few juveniles
have been assigned to the program who are too young for jobs at work sites.  The court has
permitted them to receive tutoring in their school subjects as an alternative to a work
assignment.  Other juveniles in the program have provided the tutoring services as their work
assignment.

The program was readily accepted by juvenile court:  judges, prosecutors, and probation
officers.  It was praised by the general public, the juveniles, and their parents  all of whom
have commented that it is a good way to teach responsibility for one's actions.

Successes and Accomplishments

The program goal for 1990 was to reduce admissions to the long-term on-campus training
school programs of the Alabama Department of Youth Services by one-third.  That goal was
exceeded as admissions dropped from 66 in 1989 to 26 in 1990, a reduction of 61%.  The 123
juveniles who participated in the program in 1990 performed 7,021 hours of community
service, an average of about 57 hours for each juvenile.

The success of the program has continued in subsequent years with 20 admissions in 1991 (a
70% reduction); 24 admissions in 1992 (a 64% reduction); 48 admissions in 1993 (a 27%
reduction); and 28 admissions in 1994 (a 58% reduction).  In 1991, 155 juveniles performed
9,912 hours of community service; in 1992, 160 juveniles performed 10,876 hours of work;
in 1993, 196 juveniles performed 12,600 hours of work; and in 1994, 146 juveniles performed
12,225 hours of work.

Had Madison County continued to admit juveniles to the State training schools at the rate of
66 per year as in 1989, a total of 330 juveniles from the county would have been admitted
during the five-year period from 1990 through 1994.  Instead, only 146 juveniles were
committed to those programs, a reduction of 56% (184).  During the period cited, admissions
to ADYS training schools doubled from about 900 in 1989 to almost 1,800 in 1994.  Had
Madison County admissions increased at that rate, admissions would be up to 132 per year in
1994.

The cost of providing services to a juvenile in an ADYS training school is estimated to be
about $30,000 per year.  The cost per juvenile per year in the community service program has
averaged less than $275 per juvenile over the five years of the program.

The program has consistently served a very high percentage of minority juveniles in order to
reduce over-representation of minority juveniles in the State's training schools.  Minority
participation has been as follows:  in 1990, 88 juveniles (71%); in 1991, 105 juveniles (68%);
in 1992, 114 juveniles (71%); in 1993, 125 juveniles (64%); and in 1994, 88 juveniles (60%). 
The fact that there has been a significant reduction in admissions to the training schools and
that there has been a high participation of minority juveniles in the program confirms that the
number of minority juveniles admitted to training schools from Madison County has been
reduced during the last five years.

The program's success can be viewed from several perspectives.  At $30,000 per year for a
training school placement, the State has saved millions of dollars.  Community agencies have
benefited from 52,634 hours of community service work performed by the juveniles.  The
juveniles have benefitted the most by learning to be accountable and responsible for their own
behavior while acquiring job skills and establishing friendships with adult supervisors at the
work sites.

Some children have repeated the program, but the numbers have been low.  Recidivism rates
have not been tracked specifically, but rates have not gone up.  No specific offenders are
screened out; although certain groups  status offenders or those who only commit
misdemeanors  are excluded.

Staff selection has been difficult.  It is very important that staff want to work with kids and
be tough and charismatic.  The staff should have high expectations for youth.

Prospects for Replication

The Commitment and Supervision Alternatives program can be easily replicated in other
juvenile courts.  A community service program is an excellent community-based alternative
that can be effective in reducing admissions to State training schools and other correctional
facilities.  In order for such an effort to be successful, however, there needs to be cooperation
and support from the various juvenile court participants, including judges, prosecutors, and
probation officers.

Some jurisdictions might want to use this model for less serious offenders, although focusing
on more serious juvenile offenders and emphasizing alternatives to incarceration has been the
most fruitful approach for Madison County.

The next step is to develop restitution programs, so that juveniles not only do community
service and thereby give back to the community, but also give back to the victims of their
crimes.  By requiring the juveniles to pay back the community through service, the offender
learns responsibility and accountability for his behavior.Contact Information

James H. Davis, Ph.D.
Chief Probation Officer
Madison County Juvenile Court
Robert Neaves Center for Children
817 Cook Avenue
Huntsville, AL  35801-5921
(205) 532-0314
(205) 532-0326 faxArizona

Gang Intelligence and Team Enforcement
  Mission (G.I.T.E.M.)

Statement of the Problem

In 1993, Arizona Governor Fife Symington asked the State's Department of Public Safety to
develop a comprehensive approach to deal with the escalating gang problem in Arizona's
communities.  In response to this request and overwhelming statistical data that indicates that
the number of identifiable gang sets in the State had grown from approximately 380 in 1991
and approximately 9,000 gang members to more than 800 sets in 1993 with membership over
15,000, the Gang Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (G.I.T.E.M.) was conceived.

This unique program brings together law enforcement and prosecution agencies from State,
county, local, Federal, and tribal jurisdictions in a coordinated, intelligence-driven approach that
deals with gangs on a broad scale.  Traditionally, Arizona agencies had dealt with the gang
problem individually rather than collectively.  This resulted in displacement rather than focused
and directed enforcement efforts in the area of gang enforcement and identification.  The
primary benefit of the G.I.T.E.M. project is that it joins the involved agencies and those that
would ultimately be the recipients of the project's services to try to cripple gangs in the State
rather than just move the problems created by these gangs into adjoining jurisdictions.  The
G.I.T.E.M. program is at its roots a pure enforcement project designed to provide opportunities
for citizens to reassert their ownership over the community.

Goals and Objectives

The G.I.T.E.M. project is designed to deal a crippling blow to street and other gang elements.
The project seeks to accomplish this by:  (1) providing agencies statewide with a highly trained
and highly mobile rapid deployment force to respond to calls for assistance and services
directly related to gangs and gang-related problems; (2) franchising local agencies in the
development of enforcement and intervention strategies unique to both the gang and quality
of life issues present in their communities; (3) providing high quality, cost effective training
for criminal justice agencies and community groups statewide; and (4) providing all of the
listed services outlined herein in a nearly expense-neutral method.Program Components

The G.I.T.E.M. project comprises a ready deployment task force of nearly sixty officers and
supervisors from more than twenty different State, county, local, and tribal agencies.  These
personnel have been assigned to the task force on a full-time basis.  The agencies receive full
reimbursement from the project for all salary and employment-related expenses.  Additionally,
all equipment, with the exception of duty sidearm and body armor, is furnished to the assigned
officer, as well as any travel or overtime costs the officer may accrue.  In addition to the above
officers, agents from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms have been assigned to assist the officers of the task force
on a half-time basis.  The project is administered by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The task force is located in two deployment centers, in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.  From
these centralized locations officers can respond to requests for service from agencies throughout
the northern, central, and southern areas of the State.

The personnel in the task force employ a zero tolerance approach to the interdiction of gang
problems in their areas of responsibility.  This approach, which entails the strict enforcement
of all criminal and traffic laws in an area targeted by the requesting agency, has proven to be
highly effective.  This methodology also guarantees that issues of selective enforcement against
suspected gang members because of ethnicity are minimized if not eliminated, and ensures the
defense of such methodology in court challenges.  The program also has a prosecution
component.  Prosecutors associated with the program are specially trained to handle gang cases. 
They are aware of the gang culture and instructed not to bargain.

The project has an intelligence gathering and sharing component.  Some officers are located
in an intelligence unit within G.I.T.E.M.  These officers debrief prisoners and arrestees and
collect data to obtain search warrants to close crack and heroin distribution houses.

Another aspect of the program involves the G.I.T.E.M. Advisory Board.  This group comprises
representatives from local, county, State, and Federal criminal justice agencies as well as
representatives from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, the Arizona National Guard,
and the Governor's Office.  This is an oversight group whose tasks include the review of task
force activities and assignment of priorities if an interagency need arose that the task force
commander could not resolve.  Additionally, this group provides valuable feedback to the task
force commanders and the Department of Public Safety as to the level of service and success
the project is providing.

Another unique component of the project is the ability to pay for the assistance of other law
enforcement personnel which may be called upon to assist the task force in its endeavors.  Part
of this effort is a program called the Regionalized Anti-Gang Training Enforcement (R.A.T.E.)
program.  This program brings officers from four rural areas of the State to a 3-day training
session and two days working in the city.  With this configuration, the officers do not become
acclimated to city law enforcement that does not apply to rural areas.  Instead, they use their
training at home almost immediately.  This capability greatly reduces the financial strain on
assisting agencies, allowing many to assist their fellow agencies which would otherwise be
impossible.

Although the project is purely an enforcement effort at this time, it works with other groups
to provide preventive services.  The project trains school teachers, community groups, and
victims' groups to recognize gang activity and provide early intervention to gang-involved
youth.

The funding of the G.I.T.E.M. project in its introductory year was also noteworthy.  First, the
Governor and the Arizona Legislature appropriated nearly $900,000 directly to the Arizona
Department of Public Safety for the enhancement of its gang enforcement and intelligence
gathering capabilities.  Prior to this appropriation, the Department of Public Safety, which had
begun its anti-gang efforts in 1989 following an executive order from then Governor Mofford,
had relied exclusively on Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (R.I.C.O.) funds acquired
by the agency to support its efforts in this area.  This appropriation provided sufficient funding
for the addition of twelve officers, two sergeants, and one lieutenant to the existing sergeant
and six officers in the gang detail.  Following the regular legislative session, Governor
Symington, who continued to become more concerned with the burgeoning gang and street
violence problem in the State, called a special session of the Arizona Legislature in which an
additional $5,000,000 was appropriated to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, which
granted the same amount to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for initiation of the multi-
agency task force that is now known as G.I.T.E.M.

Results and Impact

Implementation Problems and Successes

The agencies in the State of Arizona displayed a tremendous willingness to involve themselves
in a new and innovative approach to deal with the problems associated with gangs.  In fact,
the desire of the agencies to participate resulted in the need to limit the number of officers that
any one agency could assign to the team to ensure equal participation opportunities for all
agencies.  However, there was a problem in that many of the agencies willing to participate
couldn't afford to send their personnel to a 30-day training course because of the lack of
personnel this would cause in small agencies.  G.I.T.E.M. shortened the course to three days
with a two day field component to make it more accessible.

A significant drawback to the full implementation of the plan on a statewide basis is the
continued delay of the Federal government in granting concurrent authority of the task force
on Indian reservations.  This is a major problem in Arizona because there is a documented
growth of gang sets on many of those reservations.  At the time of this writing, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, which has cooperated fully with the task force, is attempting to execute
individual interagency agreements between all the tribes and the task force.

Another problem that has been encountered deals with the availability and delivery of needed
equipment for the task force personnel.  Most of the problems in this regard have been
associated with contract provisions and not with the task force itself.

There has been a moderate displacement of crime and gang activity to other areas.  The
G.I.T.E.M. project tracks the gang members who move to new areas.  Eventually, the gang
members go underground in their home jurisdictions and discontinue their activities to avoid
arrest and prosecution by G.I.T.E.M.

Successes and Accomplishments

The G.I.T.E.M. task force has been funded since July 1994 and has been in full operation since
September 1994.  During its operational life, the task force has been immensely successful in
its mission of assistance.  To date, the project has provided assistance to nearly 50 agencies
statewide on more than 125 specific missions.  These missions have resulted in the arrest of
more than 2,200 adults and juveniles on criminal charges ranging from illegal possession of
alcohol to a variety of violent crimes including at least a dozen arrests for homicide.  Nearly
30% of those arrested were documented gang members, and the remainder of those arrested
were street criminals.  In addition, more than 400 firearms have been seized from suspects,
over 1,500 new gang members have been identified, and nearly 4,000 traffic citations have
been issued to violators.  The personnel in the unit have completed nearly 6,000 field
interrogation cards and have been involved in more than 8,000 other public or non-enforcement
contacts with persons in the targeted areas.

As impressive as these numbers are, the greater success of the unit has been its ability to regain
some measure of tranquility and normalcy in the targeted areas.  In one major city, the efforts
of the local officers and the task force reduced gang-related violent crime by more the 30% in
a 70 day period.  In a smaller central Arizona city, the task force and the local officers were
able to take enforcement action against the owners of a residence used for gang alcohol and
drug parties.  The attendees at these events were members of a major gang in that city and had
been involved in several confrontations with police when the officers attempted to intervene
in the illegal activities occurring at the residence.  As a result of the combined and focused
efforts of all involved, this location has ceased to be a problem or focus for gang activities.

The task force has been involved in the assessment of gang problems in a number of non-
metropolitan communities in the State.  In each of these communities, the personnel were able
to assist the local agency in identifying particular gang sets present and the extent of their
influence, and in co-developing appropriate enforcement and intervention plans.

In addition to the enforcement successes of the operation, one of the most active and beneficial
aspects of the project has been the training component.  This is staffed by one officer on a full-
time basis and by numerous others, both internal and external to the task force, on an ad hoc
basis.  The full-time officer is an experienced gang enforcement officer who holds a Masters
Degree in Education and has a corresponding level of experience in training both law
enforcement and lay personnel in gang enforcement.  To date, this officer has provided or
coordinated more than 80 training sessions totalling nearly 600 hours to more than 80 law
enforcement agencies and civic groups.  The number of personnel and citizens attending these
training sessions exceeds 4,100.

Prospects for Replication

The G.I.T.E.M. staff has already presented in-depth programs on the project to personnel from
a number of western states.  A number of other agencies have asked for and received basic
information on the project via letter and telephone.

The possibility of replicating this operation in other states is unlimited.  It is simply a matter
of commitment to global gang enforcement by agencies in any area and a willingness by those
agencies to abandon the territorial approach to dealing with a problem.  Such limitations and
parochialistic methods have proven detrimental, while interdependent and cooperative styles
have proven to be most beneficial in dealing with transient problems such as those posed by
gangs.

Contact Information

Captain Michael G. Denney
Arizona Department of Public Safety
2102 West Encanto Boulevard
P.O. Box 6638
Phoenix, AZ  85005
(602) 223-2000
(602) 223-2917 faxColorado

Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC)

Statement of the Problem

Substance abuse is a major factor driving Colorado juveniles deeper into the juvenile justice
system.  Recent studies indicate a higher than national percentage of substance abuse at the
time of intake into the system.  Despite this fact, intervention efforts for the substance abusing
juvenile offender are not adequately supported.  Community-based substance abuse treatment
is an effective approach to this problem.  The Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC)
program model has been shown to be helpful in reducing the incidence of substance abuse by
the offender population.  The TASC program, which coordinates the criminal justice and
treatment systems, works to provide incentives for offenders to enter community-based
treatment programs and matches offenders with the most appropriate treatment programs.

In most states, the preponderance of resources are in adult corrections, and the TASC model
is instituted for more adult than juvenile systems.  In many districts in Colorado, juveniles'
needs are not properly assessed, and the youths are ordered into treatment without a diagnosis
of substance abuse.  Without appropriate intervention, the substance abusing juvenile remains
within the juvenile justice system and eventually, the adult criminal justice system.

The First Judicial District is showing a rate of treatment-level youth committed to the Division
of Youth Services higher than the statewide percentage, based on youth committed between
July and December 1992.  This demonstrates a need for the TASC program, which has shown
to effectively reduce the incidence of substance abuse by the juvenile offender population.

Goals and Objectives

The first goal of the program is to implement the integrated TASC model in the First Judicial
District probation department.  To accomplish this goal the following objectives are necessary: 
to provide ongoing training to the probation officers of the First Judicial District during the 12
month grant cycle and to implement and maintain the TASC performance standards in the First
Judicial District Probation Department.

The second goal of the program is to increase the number of substance abusing juvenile
offenders who receive substance abuse assessment and treatment services.  This is
accomplished by administering 144 differential assessments within a 12 month period with a
target of 12 assessments monthly; enrolling 92 treatment-level juveniles in the TASC Program
within a 12 month period; matching juvenile probationers with appropriate community-based
treatment agencies and providing increased case management for these juveniles; and
continuing the expansion of the Adolescent Treatment Network (ATN) in the First Judicial
District to serve youth and their families.

The program's third goal is to establish continuity of treatment for substance abusing juvenile
offenders in the First Judicial District.  This is achieved through continued collaboration
between the First Judicial District Probation Department/TASC Project and the Division of
Youth Services; by reviewing and modifying agreements with the Division of Youth Services
Central Region to facilitate the transfer of drug and alcohol assessment and treatment
information to the Division of Youth Services at the time juveniles from the First Judicial
District are committed to the Department of Institutions; and through continued participation
in the oversight committees with representatives from the First, Second, Seventeenth, and
Eighteenth Judicial Districts, the Division of Youth Services, and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Division throughout the duration of the project.

The final goal of the program is to conduct a recidivism study for the purpose of evaluating
the effectiveness of treatment services.  This is achieved by defining data elements that will
need to be collected on all terminated TASC clients; collecting and recording defined data
elements from both first and second year client populations; and reviewing and collapsing
aggregate data.

Program Components

The project plan is to implement the Denver Juvenile Justice Integrated (DJJI) TASC model
in the First Judicial District in order to increase the number of substance abusing juvenile
offenders who receive substance abuse treatment services and to establish a continuity of care
model for these juveniles.

The following are the key elements of the Juvenile TASC model:

         a broad base of support within the justice and treatment systems with a protocol for
          continued and effective communication;

         an independent TASC unit with a designated administrator;

         documented policies and procedures for required staff training;

         a data collection system to be used in program management and evaluation;

         a number of agreed upon offender eligibility criteria;

         procedures for the identification of eligible offenders that stress early intervention;

         documented procedures of assessment and referral;

         documented policies and procedures for random urinalysis and other tests; and

         documented procedures for offender monitoring that include criteria for
          success/failure, required frequency of contact, schedule of reporting, and notification
          of termination to the justice system.

The TASC project staff consists of one full-time TASC Specialist who serves as the referring
link between probation and treatment, one part-time tracker for non-compliant offenders, and
one half-time clerical person.  All TASC staff and other relevant staff (i.e., judges, magistrates,
probation officers, district attorneys, public defenders, and Division of Youth Services
personnel) are provided initial and ongoing training.  In addition, the Operations Management
Team, which consists of mid-line supervisors, TASC Specialists, representatives from the
Division of Youth Services (DYS), representatives from the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division,
and treatment providers, was established to plan and discuss case management, programming
issues, and training issues, and to make recommendations.

The TASC model in the First Judicial District aims to provide identification, assessment,
treatment, and case management to substance abusing juvenile offenders who are on probation
or in community placement.  The process involves identifying the treatment level of the
probationer, assigning the case to a designated probation officer, making a referral to an
appropriate treatment provider, and following up on the compliance of the probationer.  TASC
clients who are not compliant will be placed on jeopardy status, a probationary period during
which they will be monitored more closely.  Clients have two chances, Jeopardy I and
Jeopardy II.  If they fail to meet Jeopardy contract requirements, they will be terminated from
the TASC project and referred back to the probation officer.

One strength of the Juvenile TASC model is the collaboration between community-based
treatment agencies and the project in order to bridge the treatment and juvenile justice
communities.  There are currently 20 treatment agencies that are members of the Adolescent
Treatment Network in the First Judicial District, and the network continually works to include
new members.  This network was created in the first year of funding to provide treatment
services to project youth.  This collaboration has also strengthened the relationship between
treatment providers and probation officers.  The feedback system provides information
regarding treatment progress or problems to probation officers.  The TASC Specialist facilitates
and coordinates the flow of information between treatment and probation.

The TASC Specialist has been integrated into Jefferson County's Cooperative Council.  This
Council comprises representatives who identify gaps in services to youth and strategize to fill
those gaps.  Council meetings provide insight into the county response to juvenile problems
and inform other county officials of the TASC model and its effect on delinquent youth.To ensure that service professionals are familiar with the project and the juvenile justice
system, the TASC Specialist coordinates ongoing training.  This training prepares service
professionals for eventual implementation of the program in other districts.

Representatives from the First, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Judicial Districts were incorporated
into the already existing TASC Management Team established by the DJJI TASC project.  The
Management Team also includes administrators from the Denver Juvenile Court, Department
of Youth Services, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, Office of Probation Services and TASC
Supervisors.  The team meets regularly to oversee planning and implementation of the TASC
model, advise program management, and provide policy direction.  Participants from all areas
discuss how to make the program most effective.

The project has also enhanced collaboration between the First Judicial District Probation
Department and the Division of Youth Services.  This link further helps to facilitate transfers
and provide the most effective services to youth committed to the Division.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

The success of the Juvenile TASC project can be measured both quantitatively and
qualitatively.  No one measure determines success or failure.  However, many performance
indicators considered collectively suggest the level of success this project can achieve. 
Performance indicators include:

         number of TASC Management Team meetings per quarter and frequency of TASC
          Management Team meetings per month and level of participation by agencies
          involved; 

         number of Operations Team meetings per quarter and frequency of Operations Team
          meetings per month and level of participation by members involved;

         type(s) of training provided and members participating in training session(s), number
          and frequency of training sessions per quarter, accessibility of training, quality of
          training manual and lesson plan, and knowledge and skill level of trainers;

         number and title of positions hired;

         level of communication between TASC Specialist and the courts and frequency with
          which the courts follow TASC recommendations;

         frequency with which the court orders substance abuse evaluations;

         number of referrals accepted from probation;

         number and appropriateness of differential assessment tools used and number of
          differential assessments completed;

         efficiency of feedback between TASC Specialist and probation officers on the
          outcome of the assessment and recommended treatment;

         number of juveniles identified to be at each Prevention, Intervention, Treatment, and
          Aftercare level;

         number of appropriate referrals made by TASC Specialist to treatment and type of
          treatment provided;

         quality of communication and information shared between the probation officers,
          TASC Specialist, and treatment agency regarding client cases, and level of
          communication between the TASC Specialist and the juvenile;

         number of juveniles served per quarter and ratio of needs identified to needs met;

         accuracy of documentation of Juvenile TASC referrals and client contacts;

         number and frequency of treatment summaries received from the treatment provider;

         number of progress reports from the TASC Specialist to probation officers;

         number of non-compliant juvenile offenders and clients placed in Jeopardy I status;

         level of parental involvement;

         number of clients needing TASC monitoring and the effectiveness of tracking;

         number of successful completions of the program versus number of terminations;

         service providers participating in the Adolescent Treatment Network (ATN) and
          number and frequency of ATN meetings per quarter;

         number of quantified service agreements received from all participating agencies;

         identification and description of gaps in service;

         number of meetings between the Chief Probation Officer and the Division of Youth
          Services (DYS) Central Region Director; and

         quality of information shared between DYS and TASC and effectiveness of the
          transfer process between TASC and DYS.

Implementation Problems and Successes

As a result of the smooth implementation of the program, the number of referrals to the project
was greater than projected.  Because of the development of other program components, the
TASC Specialist was unable to process the initial volume of cases at one time.  In response
to the high number of referrals from probation officers for assessment and the number of
juveniles referred to the treatment services, parameters have been set in terms of the maximum
number that the TASC Specialist can handle in a month.

One obstacle to successful implementation was the coordination between the different actors
in the program and their roles and the policies developed for the program.  The Management
Team helps to alleviate this problem by meeting to discuss policies and funding issues.

Successes and Accomplishments

Prior to the establishment of the Juvenile TASC program, probation officers had total discretion
in testing juveniles for illegal use of substances and referring them to substance abuse
treatment.  Differential classification based on assessment was not available to probation
officers, and monitoring was one of the numerous tasks the probation officer had to perform. 
As a result of the project's mandatory criteria for referral, the number of referrals to the TASC
project and the number of evaluations completed are well above expectations.  The project is
identifying youth substance abuse levels, referring them immediately into treatment, and
monitoring them in treatment on a consistent basis through a centralized approach.

The project has provided important information regarding the level of treatment as well as the
types of substances being used by adolescents on probation, making collaboration with service
providers more effective regarding appropriate treatment.  This information is communicated
on an ongoing basis in order to serve adolescents more effectively.  Furthermore, the courts
have been cooperative and seem to follow recommendations from the TASC Specialist.

The collaboration between community-based treatment agencies and the project has been
facilitated by the ATN, which provides treatment services to project youth.  The bi-monthly
ATN meetings have increased sensitivity to the needs of the juvenile offender population,
increased communication between treatment agencies, expanded services for juveniles and their
families, and increased accountability for client services.  The level of communication between
the TASC Specialist and the treatment agencies has been much better than originally expected.

During the first year of the project, 146 differential evaluations were completed, or 165% of
the stated goal.  A total of 68 youth were enrolled in the treatment level during the first year
grant cycle, or 136% of the projected goal.

By engaging the juvenile's family in assessment and treatment, TASC staff discovered that
many times the juvenile offender's parents have substance abuse problems as well.  With
awareness of this problem, the TASC Specialist can recommend treatment to the parents in
addition to their children. 

Prospects for Replication

Since its inception, this project has focused on replication of the critical elements of the
Juvenile TASC Model in other judicial districts.  The model implemented in the First Judicial
District was a replication project from the City and County of Denver.  Documentation of
policies and procedures addressing project components in the First Judicial District Probation
Department TASC Project have been utilized to replicate the model in two large judicial
districts in the Denver Metropolitan Area.  During Fiscal Year 1994 and Fiscal Year 1995, a
total of three replications have been realized.  Presently, the TASC Model is operational in the
First, Second, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Judicial Districts Probation Departments.  The
probation departments work together to ensure the integrity of the TASC Model.

Contact Information

James Greco
Chief Probation Officer
First Judicial District Probation Department
100 Jefferson County Parkway
Suite 2070
Golden, CO  80401
(303) 271-6354
(303) 271-6368 faxDelaware

Project Stay Free

Statement of the Problem

Many juvenile repeat offenders in Wilmington, Delaware come from the Ferris School, a
juvenile detention facility.  Prior to the development of Project Stay Free, the curriculum at the
Ferris School did not include a comprehensive aftercare component or preparation for release
from incarceration.  The establishment of Project Stay Free was based on the premise that
every youth incarcerated in a secure care program will eventually return to the community from
which they came.  Therefore, it is necessary to provide supportive services that are truly
grounded in the community and run by the community.  Project Stay Free identified this need
and has developed several programs targeted at this group of young people. 

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of Project Stay Free is to liberate the youth from the juvenile justice system
so they do not become repeat offenders.

Project objectives include:

         to provide intensive instruction, guidance, and supervision for 115 pre- and post-
          adjudicated males or females referred by the State Division of Youth Rehabilitation
          Services (DYRS).

         to operate the Project Stay Free transformation phase system  characterized by a
          high level of supervision and program control  to be progressively decreased as
          the youth displays a greater level of responsibility, respect, and discipline.

         to deliver or access a wide range of services guided by a continuously monitored,
          individualized service plan that focuses on instructing referred youth on the social
          and interpersonal skills necessary to maintain positive involvement with family,
          school, work, pro-social peers, and community institutions.

         to instruct, guide, and supervise the youth's family, where feasible, as a positive
          element of his or her support system.

         to instruct, guide, and supervise the development of relationships between the youth
          and law abiding persons/groups/institutions which can provide the following: 
          alternative role models; a source of rewards and sanctions external to the program;
          a network of community support; and a vehicle for disengagement from delinquent
          peer groups.

         to instruct and guide youth to develop competencies in the key areas of life skills,
          education, and employment, and to arrange and advocate for access to opportunities
          in these areas.

         to address the youth's individualized risk factors that impede functioning or pro-
          social attachments.

         to apply consistently a system of graduated rewards and sanctions that recognizes
          each youth's achievements and provides immediate accountability for violations of
          rules.

Program Components

Project Stay Free provides a combination of early reintegration and/or transition services for
youth released from institutional placements; intensive supervision and case management
services; and 24-hour on-call crisis intervention that gives the youth an opportunity to survive
and progress at home, in school, on the job, and in the community.

Each youth is expected to complete the four phases of a transformation process:  Phase I,
Intake and Assessment; Phase II, Instruction, Guidance and Supervision; Phase III,
Accountability and Self Discipline; and Phase IV, Liberation.  Expectations of length of
participation in the program range from ten to twelve months depending upon the needed
services and the overall progress of the youth.  All youth enter the program at Phase I and
advance to the next phase only after completing all responsibilities within the first phase.  After
the youth completes the four phases, he or she participates in a post-termination interview.  For
a period of 30 days the youth is monitored by telephone and receives follow-up support
correspondence and program resource referrals as deemed necessary.

From May 1, 1991 and June 30, 1992, Project Stay Free contracted to provide four core
services:  (1) Community Reintegration, (2) Diversionary Program, (3) In-Home Detention, and
(4) Probation and Aftercare Assistance.

Community Reintegration  The Community Reintegration Program emphasizes the
coordination of early reintegration activities and service preceding release from secure care. 
Intensive mentoring in the community emphasizing gradual re-entry and the development of
social skills helps to prevent criminal behavior.The project provides 90 days of intensive community interaction with the youth and their
families, including case management, family therapy, career preparation, and culturally
appropriate intervention.

The program is divided into two phases.  The institutional phase provides 30 days of
reintegration activities that focus on preparing students and their families for release from the
institution.  The community phase provides a minimum of 60 days of intensive supervision,
case management, and services at the community level.

Project Stay Free's program structure requires youth referred by Ferris School case
management staff participate in at least 30 days of programs and activities sponsored by the
Project Stay Free Consortium.  Programs and activities include daily African Rites of Passage,
sponsored by the People Settlement Association at Ferris School and one of the local
Community Centers; a weekly Computer-Based Learning at Edgemoor Community Center; a
weekly Career Awareness at West End Neighborhood House, Inc.; and the Project Aware
Program at the Delaware Correctional Center.

Upon release each youth is required to attend a minimum of three group counseling sessions
with Project Stay Free and to abide by a curfew enforced by the parent.

Diversionary Program  The Diversionary program was designed as an extension of the
reintegration services.  The focus of the program is to serve youth on probation or in aftercare
who are having difficulty adjusting at home, in school, or in the community.  Project Stay Free
utilizes the community phase of the project to divert youth from incarceration, and has
increased the number of slots available from five to fifteen.

In-Home Detention Program  The In-Home Detention Program is a non-secure detention
alternative for youth who require supervision and support to remain at home and meet all
court-ordered conditions of release such as scheduled appointments or court appearances. 
Youth accepted in the program are required to comply with all program conditions and are
supervised by Project Stay Free staff.  The objective is to provide the youth with the necessary
services to impact the judicial decision made during the adjudicatory and/or dispositional
proceeding to divert the youth from incarceration.  During the period of supervision, and prior
to formal case disposition, Project Stay Free develops a community service plan agreement to
keep the youth at home.  The plan makes individual assessments and identifies a combination
of State and community resources to address his or her needs.

Probation/Aftercare Assistance (Tracking)  The Probation/Aftercare Assistance Program
consists of three vital tracking services to ensure that referred youth abide by the conditions
of their probation or aftercare and receive the full compliment of services offered by the DYRS
and community.  The overall goal of the program is to reduce the number of technical
violations or arrests that result in incarceration.Upon request from the DYRS, Project Stay Free staff perform the following tasks:

         Surveillance consists primarily of contacts with assigned youth that include visiting
          schools to ensure attendance, visiting work sites, and checking curfews by telephone
          and in person.

         Monitoring youth activities at home and in the community includes overseeing
          community service placements and the collection of restitution; and assisting in
          implementing sanctions, such as an at-home restriction program for youth who
          violate their probation and/or aftercare.

         Transportation Assistance is provided to youth and families who are otherwise
          unable to keep scheduled appointments for referral services.

Programs and activities sponsored by the Project Stay Free include the following: 

         Project Stay Free Consortium  The Consortium provides a full range of
          community- and group-oriented structured services designed to develop a youth's
          daily living, social, leisure time, organizational, vocational, and community
          integration skills.  Each youth referred and accepted into Phase I or Phase II of
          Project Stay Free is required to participate in some of these programs and activities. 
          Organizations which participate in the Consortium include Latin American
          Community Center, Christina Cultural Arts Center, Edgemoor Community Center,
          West End Neighborhood House, and IAMBIEN Institute.

         Evening or Second City Program  Upon initial acceptance in the program all youth
          are required to participate in Second City workshops and evening activities for 30
          to 60 days.  This enables Project Stay Free staff to establish order and respect for
          the program and outline the youth's and parents' responsibilities and the youth's
          behavioral restructuring.  Project Stay Free established the Second City Program in
          direct response to the number of youth involved in violent acts and the drug culture
          after dark.  As part of Second City, Project Stay Free provides structured programs
          and activities, and intensely monitors the youth's activities at home, in school, and
          in the community between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. 

         HARAMBEE Center School Community  Accepted youth may enroll in the Day
          Program at the HARAMBEE Center School Community, in addition to Second City
          workshops, programs, and services.  The HARAMBEE Center School Community
          can serve a maximum of 25 students with a staff to student ratio of 1.5.  The
          IAMBIEN Institute is responsible for the overall design, planning, and coordination
          of the holistic educational curriculum, and management of the day-to-day operations
          of the HARAMBEE Center School Community.  Each youth enrolled in the school
          has an individual holistic education plan developed prior to the completion of Phase
          I.  Additional services and programs are coordinated between HARAMBEE Center
          School Community and Project Stay Free, with emphasis on making services gender
          specific and culturally appropriate.

Project Stay Free staff are geographically located throughout the city of Wilmington and parts
of New Castle County.  Each Intervention Specialist is assigned between five and ten youths,
for a period specified by the individual youth's needs and his or her ability to adjust.  Each
Intervention Specialist is responsible for assessing each youth, ensuring that he or she adheres
to the conditions of his or her service plan agreement upon release, monitoring youth activities
and behavior in the home and community, visiting the public schools or training programs
attended by the youth, and meeting with the youth's counselor, parents, or other school
personnel to discuss the youth's performance.  The Intervention Specialist also visits the
youth's place of residence at least twice a week; engages each youth in community center
programs, and monitors attendance (based on the needs assessment); accompanies the youth
to interviews, court appearances, and meetings with DYRS Case Managers; and conducts a
monthly adjustment report on each youth.

Also, Project Stay Free Staff are responsible for instructing and guiding youth to educational
and vocational achievement, adult skills building, conflict resolution and mediation skills,
manhood and womanhood training, computer-based learning, career awareness, and other topics
that will motivate and encourage a youth to be liberated from the program.  If individual or
family counseling services are needed, Project Stay Free contracts a professional licensed
therapist.

Results and Impact

Project Stay Free has evolved into a far more comprehensive program than originally imagined. 
Since May 1991, each year the program has expanded both in number of youth served and in
contract amount to accommodate the needs of youth who come in contact with the juvenile
justice system.

Performance Measures

The first full year of operation, May 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992, produced the following results. 
Project Stay Free served a total of 169 youth by providing a combination of reintegration
services for youth released from institutional placement; diversionary services for youth in
jeopardy of violating conditions of probation or aftercare; in-home detention services for youth
who could be better served in the community; and tracking services for DYRS clients.  Length
of stay in the program ranges from four to twelve months, depending on the needs of the youth
and his or her family.

Of the four core services Project Stay Free was contracted to provide from May 1, 1991 to
June 30, 1992, the following outcomes were recorded: Community Reintegration  Since May 1991, Project Stay Free has provided reintegration
service for a total of 77 youth prior to their release from Ferris School.  Realizing that the 90
day period was not enough time to provide a quality service, Project Stay Free extended
intensive supervision for many cases from a minimum of three months to nine months after
release.  While some contact with the system is inevitable for many youth, penetration into the
system can be minimized.  With the extended period of service, Project Stay Free has been
very effective in diverting youth from arrest or further formal court processing.

Thirty-one of the 49 youth were successfully discharged from the project, with no major
violations or incidents.  Fourteen students (29%) have been in the community for over 12
months.  Eight students (16%) have been in the community for nine months or more.  Seven
students (14%) have been in the community for six months or more.  Twenty students (25%)
have been in the community for three months or less.  Forty-nine (49) youth are still in the
community, twenty-nine (29) of which have been in the community for a period of six months
or more.

Diversionary Program  Since implementation in August 1991, 15 youth have been served 
nine are still in the community; five have been placed in other institutions (such as Glen Mills
and Ferris School); and the whereabouts of one is unknown.

In-Home Detention Program  Since February 1992, 17 youth have been referred to the in-
home detention program.  Through a cooperative agreement between the Family Court and the
DYRS, court scheduling for a youth in-home detention order was expedited and referred to
Project Stay Free for services.  Eleven youths were placed on probation or continued aftercare;
one youth received a seven day commitment to Ferris School; four youths were securely
detained for violating court-ordered conditions and program conditions; and one youth was
found non-amenable.

Probation/Aftercare Assistance (Tracking)  Since the inception of the tracking program in
January 1992, Project Stay Free has provided services to 60 DYRS clients.  Transportation
services were provided to 36 youth; a combination of surveillance and monitoring services
were provided to 17 youth; surveillance services were provided to four youth; and a
combination of transportation and monitoring services were provided to three youth. 

Implementation Problems and Successes

Although the original proposal clearly identified services to be provided and outlined a
methodology to measure results, it did not address some major obstacles and barriers:  How
to effectively coordinate and utilize all project resources outlined in the proposal?  How to
implement a program that relies on the assistance and support of an institutional staff that has
undergone considerable transition and scrutiny?  How to motivate and prepare youth who have
been institutionalized for transition?  How to maintain community compassion for those youth
who commit serious and violent offenses?  The Consortium understood that these questions
were not going to be answered in a three, six, or even 12-month period.  However, a seed has
been planted; there is a reason for optimism and change.

The attitude toward Project Stay Free after its initial implementation, changed dramatically
from skepticism to acceptance and outright enthusiasm.  As a result, the relationship that exists
between Project Stay Free and Ferris School staff, and in general the Division of Youth
Rehabilitative Services, has provided a better understanding of the problems that exist within
the system and a renewed spirit to address each problem in a constructive manner.

With the support of the State Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services and a budget of
$854,000, Project Stay Free has created a balanced and more structured approach in providing
alternative community-oriented services for youth.

Successes and Accomplishments

Project Stay Free is the first community-oriented program that is maintained in and operated
by the community.  It has implemented the only African Rites of Passage and Manhood
Training Program in an institutional environment in the country.  It is recognized by the City
of Wilmington as an appropriate community-oriented intervention strategy for the city's youth. 
It has raised over $600,000 to complete renovations of a building that will enable Project Stay
Free to be open seven days per week from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.  Since May 1991, the State
supported the Consortium's efforts to expand, and increased its capacity to serve more youth
who come in contact with the system.  In addition, the State of Delaware awarded a contract
to provide electronic monitoring for high-risk youth, established the Second City Program in
direct response to the number of youth involved in violent acts and the drug culture, and
increased staff size from four to a total of 20 full-time employees who live in the community. 
All staff are trained and knowledgeable in the area of youth development and are able to deal
with the unique and sensitive needs of each youth.  Project Stay Free has assisted the City of
Wilmington in establishing a Youth Intervention Unit in the Police Department.

The Consortium, the State of Delaware, and the community realize that Project Stay Free is
an appropriate intervention strategy for youth to remain in the community.  Subsequently, the
Consortium is in a position to supplement and intensify the most appropriate services offered
to youth in the custody of the State, while proactively influencing the way services are
coordinated and administered to youth in the institution and community.  Project Stay Free
continues to advocate State institutional program standards conducive to the treatment,
education, and counseling needs of all youth.

In order to sustain itself past the formative years, Project Stay Free has undergone a
reevaluation and a renewal process.  This has forced the Consortium and the State to realize
that an impact analysis is necessary to validate the achieved aims of the project.  As a result,
Project Stay Free has outlined an evaluation design scheduled to be implemented in July 1995.Contact Information

Tyrone Jones
Director
Project Stay Free
Kingswood Community Center
2300 Bowers Street
Wilmington, DE  19802
(302) 762-8229
(302) 762-5785 faxFlorida

PACE Center for Girls, Inc.

Statement of the Problem

Historically, institutionalization has long been a cornerstone of the juvenile justice system's
response to troubled girls.  Commitments of girls to detention centers have declined somewhat,
although girls are still more likely than boys to be incarcerated for status and minor offenses. 
Many girls in correctional settings have experienced physical and sexual abuse; nearly four out
of five are runaways.  Not surprisingly, most report that their first arrest was for running away
from home (for the physical and sexual abuse that was occurring there) or for larceny theft. 
Studies of the conditions in the nation's detention centers and training schools indicate that
rather than protecting girls, many neglect their needs and often victimize them.

There are few programs at the State or national level designed to deal with this problem.  Since
troubled girls rarely become armed robbers, they are easier to ignore, and thus they often
choose self-destructive alternatives.  The transition to adolescence is a time of great
psychological risk for girls, during which they are vulnerable to contracting sexually
transmitted diseases, early childbearing, substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, suicide
attempts, and dropping out of school.  By the time they leave high school, 52% of teenage
women have had sexual intercourse.  The rate of STDs and AIDS is increasing among
teenagers, especially females, and the STD rate is 2.5 times higher for females than for males. 
Among women aged 15 to 20, AIDS is the leading cause of death.

Every day in America almost 3,000 girls become pregnant.  There are an estimated one million
teen pregnancies every year.  In addition to the multiple health risks of teenage pregnancy,
there is the increased likelihood that teen moms will drop out of school, thus lowering their
chance for productive employment.  Daily in this country over 1,500 teenage girls drop out of
school, and every 35 seconds an infant is born to a mother who is not a high school graduate.

Florida, like the rest of our country, has not addressed the needs of at-risk young women
despite clear evidence of the connections between abuse, neglect, teen pregnancy, delinquency,
high school dropout rate, substance abuse, and other destructive behaviors.  Florida has the
nation's highest youth suicide rate, and ranks fourth in the nation for teen pregnancy and
parenting.  Ninety percent of Florida's teen mothers are not in school.  Not surprisingly, less
than half of the teens who are parents before the age of 18 graduate from high school (Florida
Demographic Conference, 1990:  Florida Center for Children and Youth, 1990).  PACE
[Practical Academic Cultural Education] Center for Girls, Inc., is a unique gender-sensitive,
nonprofit, nonresidential, community-based, educational and therapeutic intervention program
designed to address the needs of at-risk girls.
Goals and Objectives

The goal of PACE Center for Girls, Inc. is to improve the quality of life for at-risk girls.  The
purpose of the program is to prevent juvenile delinquency referrals, status offenses, high school
dropouts, foster care referrals, and teen pregnancies.  This is done by empowering young
women to further their education, build self-esteem, and develop personal/social and family
relationship skills so that they may become productive citizens.

To achieve this goal, PACE provides accredited high school completion and basic skills
education; develops and implements career placement plans; prevents substance abuse through
education and counseling; prevents teenage pregnancies; teaches cultural awareness; enables
young women to choose a safe environment free from violence and abuse; teaches responsible
health choices; and encourages involvement and volunteerism in the community.

Program Components

PACE was incorporated in 1983 with a board of directors made up of five community
volunteers.  These volunteers were dedicated to making changes in the juvenile justice system
as it related to the treatment of girls.  The program opened in a donated room at the Snyder
Memorial Methodist Church in downtown Jacksonville, Florida in 1985.  PACE Center for
Girls, Inc. currently serves nearly 300 girls daily throughout Florida at seven program sites
(Jacksonville, Bradenton, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tallahassee, and Pensacola).  An
additional 729 students are served daily through the aftercare/follow-up component.

PACE Center for Girls provides educational, counseling, and case management services to
teenage girls aged 12 to 18 who are labeled status offenders, delinquents, runaways, truants,
ungovernables, dependents, dropouts, incorrigibles, and unwed teen mothers.  Services include
enrollment in a fully accredited high school credit or General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
program; gender-sensitive life management curriculum; individual, group and family
counseling; and community service volunteer experience.

Referrals/Intake  PACE has an open referral process, and enrollment is voluntary.  Referral
sources include juvenile judges, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services counselors,
Department of Juvenile Justice personnel, community service agencies, school personnel,
parents, family members, friends, and the students themselves.  Students are accepted without
regard to race, creed, or socio-economic background.  PACE has designed a comprehensive
intake process that is designed to determine individual needs.  Staff utilize a wide range of
resources during the assessment phase, including interviews, home visits, psychosocial
assessments, psychiatric evaluations, and educational placement testing.Comprehensive Education  Education is the core of PACE.  It is the key to addressing girls'
broken homes, poverty, and low self-esteem.  Each girl attends school while at PACE, and
works toward her high school credit diploma or GED.  The PACE staff/student ratio in
academics is 1:10.  PACE is a fully accredited high school credit program which includes
remedial, high school credit, GED (if applicable) examination, and college preparation.  PACE
has a scholarship fund to assist the girls with continued education after they graduate from
PACE. 

Life Management  The PACE curriculum features a gender-sensitive curriculum designed
specifically for its students.  SMARTGIRLS! (Students Making a Right Turn) consists of four
modules that address the development of healthy choices.  SMARTALK! assists girls in
learning the importance of using appropriate language in varying situations, while ICE
(Inclusive Cultural Education) focuses on the appreciation of cultural differences.  PINK SLIPS
highlights career awareness and the employment process, and SOS (SAVE OUR SISTERS)
encompasses healthy lifestyle choices in regard to sexual activity, nutrition, and drugs.

Counseling  PACE treatment plans are specifically tailored to each student.  Individual, group,
and family counseling sessions are conducted regularly (weekly and monthly at a minimum). 
Often a girl's success is dependent upon family involvement.  PACE strives to improve a
family's commitment to their daughter.  Staff is on call 24 hours a day.  Each student is
assigned an advisor who is responsible for compiling an individualized treatment plan,
including monthly visits with parents or guardians, and documenting weekly progress toward
short- and long-term goals.  The advisor/student ratio is 1:10.  Individual, group and family
counseling sessions are conducted regularly.  Specialized therapeutic interventions include crisis
counseling, grief and loss counseling, peer support, and cultural diversity groups.
 
Community Service Projects  PACE requires each girl to participate in at least two different
community service projects while enrolled.  Community service projects were initially a way
to repay the community for their support.  However, they also proved to enhance self-esteem
and promote self-worth, which are integrally related to pride and involvement in a community. 
Community service projects allow the girls a unique opportunity to see themselves as
individuals who are needed by others.  Community service projects include serving lunch to
the elderly, working with disabled and abused children, and working in homeless shelters.

Aftercare/Follow-up  PACE has developed a comprehensive three-year aftercare/follow-
up/placement component for all students, whether they were successful or unsuccessful at
PACE.  This component consists of a one-year intensive aftercare program for students needing
that service.  Intensive aftercare includes individual treatment plans and comprehensive case
management services.  Education groups and therapeutic counseling services are also available. 
Follow-up consists of regular telephone contacts made with girls at three-month intervals
during the second year after exit, and every six months thereafter to ensure that students
continue with their education and employment.Although the average length of stay is six months, the program is based upon individual needs,
so length of stay varies.  Girls are eligible for graduation after they have successfully
completed their individual treatment plans.  These plans typically include the completion of
two community service projects, maintenance of a 92% attendance rate, demonstration of
improved academic functioning (by receiving a high school diploma or advancing a minimum
of one grade level and re-enrolling in their home school), and completion of life management
courses.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

Semi-annual quality assurance reviews of all programs are conducted to ensure compliance
with all grant and government mandates, as well as the minimum standards established by the
PACE, Inc. Board of Directors.  Personnel Policies and Procedures and Program Policies and
Procedures are used as reference tools for all programs, to ensure the delivery of quality
services.  The quality assurance assessment is also designed to accomplish the following: 
assure the credibility of PACE programs through the provision of quality services; assure that
the services provided by PACE are safe and effective and that they are meeting the needs of
at-risk girls and their family members; assist in the identification of training and technical
assistance needs; assist in inter-program education and the exchange of ideas among PACE
programs; and assess pattern/trends related to young women and gender issues.

The following table represents the programmatic measurable objectives for PACE programs:

Programmatic Measurable Objectives

State Standard                    Standard based on Years of Operations
                                  0-1 Yr               2-4 Yrs             Over 4 Yrs
          
Monthly Attendance                87-89%               90-92%              93+%
Average Daily Enrollment          20-30                30-40               40-50
Favorable Exits                   60-64%               65-69%              70+%
Favorable Placements              60-64%               65-69%              70+%
Number of days in Program         225                  225                 225

Implementation Problems and Successes

As PACE has grown from serving ten girls in the donated room of a church (1983), to serving
over 1,000 girls daily in programs located across Florida in 1994, many challenges have been
encountered.  It has been a continuing challenge to balance honoring funding contracts and
simultaneously meeting the needs of at-risk girls.  The development of involved, local boards
of directors has proven to be a key element, not only in the long-term success of the program,
but particularly in the viability of the program during the critical first year.  Staffing also
presented challenges, as PACE has broken the traditional mold for teachers.  Developing
teachers into "teacher/advisors" (a teacher/social worker hybrid) has presented its own set of
training, development, and supervisory challenges.  Geography has also presented challenges: 
the State Office in Jacksonville provides assistance to programs located as far as 400 miles
away.

Creative and dedicated board members and staff have been the solution to the challenges that
growth and expansion have brought about.  People whose vision is to provide excellent
services to girls are those who have "met the challenges," turning them into positive
experiences.  Staff work diligently to balance girls' needs with contract compliance.  The State
Office staff, under the direction of State Director, Dr. LaWanda Ravoira, has made board
development and technical assistance to new programs high priorities.  The role of
teacher/advisor continues to grow and change.  Several programs have adopted a dual
component model in which an academic program manager and social services manager work
under the direction of the executive director.  The geographic challenges are being met with
creative solutions such as training local program staff to co-facilitate training, and holding peer
staff meetings and quarterly administrative meetings at program locations around the State.

Successes and Accomplishments

PACE Center for Girls has provided comprehensive services to over 1,800 young women since
its inception in 1985.  This year, as PACE celebrates ten years of successful work as a major
voice and service provider for troubled girls, it continues to boast a documented 75% success
rate.  Identified by the University of Michigan Center for Youth Policy as one of the most
promising girls programs in the country, PACE was the 1987 winner of the Juvenile Judges
Award for Most Outstanding Dependency Program in Florida.  PACE was featured as a
successful model on the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw (1993), and profiled in the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention National newsletter.  PACE has been
highlighted in the National Coalition of State Juvenile Justice Newsletter, and the Miami
Herald wrote an editorial endorsement of PACE in 1992.  In March 1995, Attorney General
Janet Reno highlighted PACE's success during a news conference.  Recently, the PACE Center
for Girls received the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's 1994 Gould
Wysinger Award, given to outstanding programs throughout the country.

PACE has also entered the arena of public advocacy, convening the first National Girls'
Caucus in Washington, DC; co-chairing the State of Florida Girls' Initiative; and delivering
Congressional testimony to U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor, Human
Resource Subcommittee which resulted in the inclusion of girls in the Reauthorization of the
1992 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.Prospects for Replication

The positive effect of the PACE program was quickly evident as requests for expansion began
pouring in from other areas of Florida.  Based on the success of the Jacksonville program,
PACE has been replicated in Bradenton (1989), Orlando (1991), Fort Lauderdale (1992),
Miami (1992), Tallahassee (1993), and Pensacola, Florida (1993).  PACE has also received
numerous inquiries for national expansion. 

In response to this expansion, a detailed replication manual was designed to document the
critically important development process, program elements, and funding requirements.  The
manual offers information about the formation of local boards, organizational structure,
facilities, budgeting, staffing needs, fundraising, and public relations. 

The key to any PACE chapter's success is the combination of elements that makes the program
unique:  a blending of academic and social services, home visits, 24-hour availability of staff,
individual treatment plans that honor the PACE mission statement, a holistic spectrum of
services, and a staff-wide, statewide, organizational commitment to girls.

Contact Information

Karen Bugler
Director of Programs
PACE Center for Girls, Inc.
100 Laura Street
Suite 100
Jacksonville, FL  32201
(904) 358-0555
(904) 358-0660 faxIllinois

The Midtown Educational Foundation

Statement of the Problem

Forty-nine percent of Chicago's kids drop out of high school, and only 14% attend college. 
Instead of finding challenges in the classroom, many Chicago youth have been finding them
on the streets and have created major challenges for the nation's third largest city.  Murder
rates, violent crimes, and gang activity are at an all-time high.  Drug abuse and unwed
motherhood continue to spiral out of control.  The magnitude of these challenges will continue
to increase as each generation reaches maturity.

Character education helps students to conquer the at-risk conditions that surround them. 
Growing up in playgrounds and street corners, urban youth are ill prepared to courageously and
wisely confront the many moral decisions that assault them every day:  cheating on a test, lying
to a parent, shoplifting, etc.  Going beyond personal behavior, character education also prepares
one for success.  Doug Heath, an author and ethics consultant, has conducted research that
demonstrates that personal virtue, not academic grades or SAT scores, predicts success and
well-being.  Youth who live by values and principles have greater self-esteem and personal
happiness, and they have it as a consequence of their good behavior.

The Character Education Partnership (CEP) has been tracking the success of character
education curricula in different school districts throughout the country.  CEP is "dedicated to
developing civic virtue and moral character in our nation's youth as one means of creating a
more compassionate and responsible society."  Another example of the growing concern about
helping youth to develop good character was a recent interview given by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development, Henry Cisneros.  He argued that most of the problems his
agency deals with cannot be solved without finding a way to reconstitute families and, in
particular, to instill a sense of responsibility in young men.  "One of the most important things
we have to do is to find ways to re-engage fathers in the lives of their children," he noted.

Goals and Objectives

The Midtown Educational Foundation (MEF) aims to equip students for long-term success and
happiness.  This is done through four principal objectives:  (1) motivating young people to
strengthen their academic skills; (2) encouraging personal growth and development; (3)
instilling a vision of service to the community; and (4) giving support and guidance to parents.

Program Components

MEF is now entering its fourth decade of service to Chicago inner city youth.  It operates two
resource centers for youth, with after-school, Saturday, and summer hours:  the Metro
Achievement Center for girls and the Midtown Center for boys.  Its students come from
neighborhoods that frequently dominate the news.  Ninety percent of MEF kids are
African-American or Hispanic, and almost 70% of MEF families are in the "very low income"
group.  Participation in the program is voluntary.

How does an after school program with a small core staff and a consistently low
cost-per-student affect the academic performance and personal behavior of 800 at-risk youth? 
MEF's programs are centered on supplementary education.  Its distinguishing characteristic is
a highly effective character development program that imbues and enriches every activity of
the centers.  Crime, drugs, gangs, and teen pregnancy all involve moral decisions.  Because of
these challenges, there is a need to help young people develop good character so that they
know and act upon values such as honesty, compassion, responsibility, and respect for self and
others.  This means delivering a consistent and clear message that is reinforced through the
behavior of every staff member and volunteer.  It means having a personal mentor for every
child so that students can effectively integrate these values.

MEF staff and volunteers act as positive role models.  There is a permanent staff of 16 who
recruit and train a volunteer corps of 375 people.  Most of the latter are young professionals. 
Everyone involved with the centers is carefully selected to assure that they can project the
virtues that are being communicated to the students.  Moreover, ongoing training is given.

Walgreens One-on-One Program (4-6 grade) - Young professional volunteers act as
individual tutors/mentors for students.  Weekly sessions aim to encourage good attitudes toward
learning, assist students with homework, present positive role models, and develop in students
the study habits associated with high achievers.  In addition to tutoring, participants attend
character development classes, athletic programs, and recreation and receive counseling.

Midtown/Metro Achievement Program, MAP (7th & 8th grades) - Math, science, and
English courses prepare students to enter a college preparatory high school, and ultimately,
college.  Character development is strongly emphasized.  Individual mentors are provided.

College Orientation Program, COP (9th to 12th grade) - Through this program, students
build strong math and science skills by participating in a series of technically-based courses. 
They prepare for college entrance exams and explore college options.  They participate in
enriching activities such as Junior Achievement, Museum of Science & Industry Science Club,
and Toastmasters in order to develop confidence and promote constructive ways to use free
time.  Individual mentors are also provided in this phase of the program.

As stated earlier, there is a strong character education component in each of these programs. 
Each student has an adviser/mentor who meets with him/her individually on a weekly basis. 
The adviser chats with the student, encouraging him/her to set realistic study goals, use time
wisely, be a good son/daughter and sibling, and get along with other kids.  Each week, the
goals are reviewed and built upon.  Students attend dynamic talks on values such as honesty,
compassion, responsibility, cheerfulness, generosity, order, and respect for self and others. 
Volunteer service projects, including visits to elderly shut-ins and distribution of food to poor
families, are made available to students.

MEF views parents as partners in the scholastic and character education of children.  It offers
parents opportunities for enrichment, guidance, and support in their parenting role.  Classes and
seminars in parenting strategies, as well as personal interviews with their child's
adviser/mentor, provide chances for parents to share experiences, service, and friendship with
other families.  Parents are expected to assure regular program attendance by their children,
cooperation with program requirements, and payment of a nominal fee for services.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

Tangible measures include outstanding high school and college graduation rates, student
attendance, and avoidance of criminal or self-destructive behavior.  There have been third-party
evaluations by authorities such as the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of
Chicago.  In addition, there are testimonials by parents and tutors that provide many anecdotal
examples of the small "miracles" being worked in students.

Implementation Problems and Successes

Most recently, efforts at improvement have been made in three main areas:  improving and
expanding parenting programs; strengthening high school programs; and increasing contact with
students of all age groups.  The biggest obstacle is recruiting good volunteers.  The program
needs more volunteers to spend more individual time with the kids.  According to Midtown
Educational Foundation Executive Director Jim Palos, "people are the key" to the success of
the program.

The programs are based in the target neighborhoods.  The downside of this is the segregation
of Chicago neighborhoods, which hinders the integration and socialization of the kids.

Successes and Accomplishments

Phone surveys of MEF graduates indicate that 95% graduate high school and 64% go on to
college.  The percentages for all Chicago students are, respectively, 51% and 14%.

In a 1992 review of the Walgreens One-on-One Program, Dr. Joan Costello of the University
of Chicago wrote, "the One-on-One program at Midtown Center exudes vitality.  It is a strong
mentoring program that fosters academic and character development through relationships, one
by one.  In short, it gives one a hopeful sense of what can be done when a capable
organization helps one adult and one child to become friends and grow stronger together."  In
her conclusion she noted that it "is an exemplary mentoring program, not a traditional tutoring
program.  Tutor/mentors in One-on-One serve as guides and role models who encourage
academic achievement and character building through a relationship that goes well beyond
homework help or teaching academic skills.  Students have the opportunity to develop
relationships with educationally and occupationally successful adults whose involvement with
them on a weekly basis provides individual attention, interest and encouragement that few
children, especially inner-city children, usually enjoy."

Attendance at the Walgreens One-on-One Program is high, 87% for students and 78% for
tutors.  This has been attributed to the personal relationships that develop between students and
tutors, the commitment of parents, and the staff's emphasis on reliability.

To lead the parenting program, a full-time Parenting Coordinator was hired.  Both Midtown
and Metro have been increasing the frequency and quality of their parenting sessions.  To
increase contact with students, 1995 will be the first year that high school programs will run
through the summer.  Also, relationships with local universities are being strengthened to
expand the resources available to high school students.

Midtown has received commendations from corporate heads, U.S. presidents, Chicago mayors,
and education experts.  In addition, the One-on-One Program was chosen in 1993 as one of
only 44 programs worldwide to join YouthNet, an initiative of the International Youth
Foundation.  These programs were selected from more than 2,000 applications for their
excellence in meeting the needs of disadvantaged youth.

Prospects for Replication

Programs modeled on Midtown and Metro have begun in four cities:  Boston, the South Bronx
(NY), Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee.  Some Midtown and Metro staff now work at these
programs, and MEF has acted as an ongoing consultant to them.

MEF is sharing its knowledge and experience in other ways.  A class in character education
for teachers is beginning this summer at the Metro Achievement Center.  This graduate-level
course is accredited by the University of Illinois at Chicago and will be offered through the
school's education department.  In 1994 the Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan
awarded a grant to document the MEF character building model.  Six other youth-serving
agencies requested that such a manual be developed so that these character building activities
could be integrated into their programs.  MEF personnel take part in education conferences and
seminars, and MEF's Executive Director, Jim Palos, sits on the Illinois State Board of
Education.

Contact Information

Jim Palos
Executive Director
Midtown Educational Foundation
718 South Loomis Street
Chicago, IL  60607
(312) 738-8301
(312) 738-8306 faxMaryland

Living Classrooms:  Fresh Start and Tico
  Enterprises

Statement of the Problem

Many young people in Baltimore, particularly those who have repeatedly been in trouble with
the law, have very little job experience.  These youth typically come from very low-income,
high-crime neighborhoods within the city.  These areas lack social stability and offer few
legitimate economic opportunities.  Not surprisingly, they are also areas that are notorious for
drug trafficking.

Consequently, there is a need for economic development and job training, for youth in general
and delinquents in particular, that are not getting the job training they need to survive.  They
need opportunities to complete their high school education or General Equivalency Diploma,
and to receive training in employability and vocational skills.  They also need to experience
success and the enjoyment of learning.  Living Classrooms seeks to provide these experiences
in an employment model to help youth establish goals and turn their sense of hopelessness into
one of opportunity.  Living Classrooms' employment and entrepreneurial training programs
serve juvenile offenders and other high-risk youth, aged sixteen to twenty, from Baltimore,
Maryland.

Goals and Objectives

The goal of Living Classrooms is to provide at-risk and delinquent youth a chance to be
productive members of the adult work force, thereby increasing self-esteem through hard work
and accomplishment.

The objectives of the Living Classrooms program are to:  provide high-risk youth with a
technical skills base in carpentry and the marine trades; provide these youth with training and
practice in appropriate work-world behaviors and attitudes; set up a business with graduates
of the vocational training program and train these youth in business techniques necessary for
legitimate business enterprises; and establish a network of support among local companies,
social service agencies, and community business leaders for the entrepreneurial training
program.Program Components

On average, the participants in Living Classrooms have a history of eight to ten arrests, have
dropped out of school after the first year of middle school, and live in the urban areas of
Baltimore, which has a serious heroin problem.  Students are on probation throughout the
program and afterwards.  Living Classrooms does not take murderers or sex offenders.

Fresh Start and Tico Enterprises are two of 23 programs the Living Classrooms Foundation
operates.  The principles of Living Classrooms stem from a commitment to project-based
education.  The program employs the Socratic method throughout all activities to teach and
reinforce important values and lessons.  Instruction goes on throughout projects; it is not out
of textbooks.

Fresh Start  Fresh Start takes in seven kids (and hopes to graduate five) five times per year. 
Sometimes probation officers refer clients, but programs are open to the community as well. 
Both men and women may participate.  This first phase is a nine-month carpentry and boat
building vocational program designed to teach broad-based employability skills, along with the
trade and academic components.  It is designed to mirror the workplace by placing students
in small groups with an instructor acting as a supervisor.  While there are opportunities for
Fresh Start students to practice business skills (e.g., constructing a boat for a client), the second
phase is entirely based on the concept of business training.

Tico Enterprises  This second phase is a student company program, Tico Enterprises, Inc. 
Tico Enterprises is a for-profit business operated by students with staff advisors providing
business training.  Tico Enterprises has its own Board of Directors.  Students at present are
aged 20 or older.  Fifteen-year-olds are not accepted, and only some sixteen-year-olds may
join, because Living Classrooms wants graduates to be able to enter the work force as soon as
possible once they have completed the course.  Very quickly during training there is a
divergence between those who rise to the challenge and those who drop out within eight
weeks. 

Tico Enterprises has participated in Baltimore's application to receive Empowerment Zone
funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Tico Enterprises has
business contracts worth $260,000 per year.  Tico had a Harvard MBA volunteer for two years
who helped design the business, Black and Decker has supplied Tico with equipment, and a
pro bono corporate lawyer helped Tico secure a registered trademark.

Students negotiate prices and sell boats on their own.  Stipends are not offered; only cash for
work is allowed.  The students design their own projects, make their own calculations, and
conduct profit-sharing directly.  The program is small and flexible; if a student is skilled at
computers and not wood work, then an attempt is made to find the student a position in the
front office.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

A measure of success is to have 80% of Fresh Start graduates enter employment and/or further
education upon completion of the program and not be rearrested.  Another anticipated result
is that Tico Enterprises will be a profitable business and continue to provide the opportunity
for high-risk youth to receive business training.  Tico associates will, hopefully, gain skills and
contacts that will be helpful to them in the future, and will earn a living through legitimate
enterprises.

There are seven criteria by which the success of the students is determined:  punctuality,
cooperation, self-motivation, efficiency, professionalism, completion of tasks, and quality of
work.  Violence is not tolerated.

Implementation Problems and Successes 

Problems in Fresh Start result from students' living situations.  Most students live in a
dormitory residence run by Juvenile Services.  These students receive transportation to and
from the site as well as excellent care from a staff that is united with Living Classrooms staff
in terms of program objectives.  However, the program has always struggled with a shortage
of staff and bed space at the residential facility.  The program also enrolls some youth who
come from their homes, who are difficult to retain in the program.

The student company  Tico Enterprises  was initiated in 1992 to respond to our Fresh
Start graduates' further needs for jobs and training, and to their interest in becoming business
owners.  Since that time, the company has named itself, developed a logo, become legally
incorporated, written bylaws, and developed and marketed products.  The company provides
full-time employment for four associates (students) and three staff advisors, and has a Board
of Directors with eleven members.  One of Tico's great successes has been in networking with
local business people.  Many of these people have a sincere desire to help our youth and are
delighted to serve on the Board of Directors, and provide consulting, pro bono legal assistance,
office equipment, and business contacts.  Tapping into the business community as opposed to
depending solely on grant monies has widened our ideas on creating sustainable programs that
are a real part of the community.

One of the problems in implementing Tico has been the difficulty of balancing the business
with the educational program.  In order for the program to be successful (i.e., to provide a real
business environment as a teaching platform) significant energy and time has to be spent in the
nuts and bolts of operating the business.  The obvious "Catch-22" is that there is less purely
instructional time than anticipated.  There have also been problems for the staff in trying to
instill in students the consistent motivational drive that is necessary for entrepreneurship.Successes and Accomplishments

Fresh Start has been in operation since 1990.  Of the 30 graduates, 22 are presently holding
jobs.  Those in regular employment are role models for others still in the program.  Participants
know that if they work hard, they will earn the reward of paid work.

This program has been consistently funded by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services
to provide employment training for delinquent youth.  The program's success stems from a
talented and caring staff working in small groups with students, and from a high integrity level. 
The no-violence policy has led to a completely safe workplace.  Students are held to high work
and behavioral standards, which in turn demonstrates a belief in their ability to reach those
standards.  Within the last year, Baltimore City schools placed two certified high school
teachers on site, allowing better academic service to the students.  The program developed a
project-based curriculum in academic subject areas as well as in GED preparation.

Success of participants is measured by using the Harter Scale, as well as in-house technical
assessment.  Through Ph.D. evaluators, Living Classrooms has developed a tool to evaluate
development of desired characteristics in graduates, such as empathy and anger management
skills.  Often students are functionally homeless during and after the program.  This program
helps them to find a place to live in the area.

One success story from Fresh Start concerns a young man who had a drug problem.  He
stopped using drugs and was admitted to Fresh Start.  As a result of his commitment to staying
drug free, the rest of his family eventually stopped using drugs.  All six family members are
now working.  That the Fresh Start student became clean and employed created change within
his family system.  When one family member breaks the dysfunctional system, it creates an
environment for the development of a healthy family system.

Obstacles have arisen primarily in dealing with mental health and human services professionals. 
Living Classrooms does not get enough referrals from them, because information does not
travel through systems efficiently.  We are very active in recruiting participants.  In fact, we
call probation officers regularly to recruit candidates.

Prospects for Replication

Living Classrooms has been given a three-year demonstration grant for both phases of this
project from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Family and Youth Services
Bureau.  Since the beginning of the project, Living Classrooms has documented activities,
problems, and significant findings in narrative quarterly reports.  At the end of the three years,
a manual detailing the entire project will be made available nationally.  Independent evaluators
are also working on ongoing and final evaluation reports.  This entrepreneurial model is highly
replicable elsewhere.

Contact Information

Edmund Snodgrass
Director
Education Programs
Living Classrooms Foundation
The Lighthouse, Pier 5
717 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD  21202
(410) 685-0295
(410) 752-8433 faxMississippi

Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center Project

Statement of the Problem

Although all victims of crime benefit from therapeutic support and treatment, child victims are
often forgotten, either as a result of system neglect or because families do not have the
resources needed to get help for their children.  The trauma suffered by children at the hands
of others can cause lifetime impairment including emotional, psychological, and physical
problems.  Of particular concern are child victims of sexual abuse who may suffer a plethora
of symptoms ranging from physical complaints, difficulty forming and maintaining
relationships, lack of trust, broken homes, guilt, shame, decreased self-esteem, nightmares, and
numerous other behavioral problems, such as increased aggressiveness, alcohol/drug abuse,
inappropriate sexual behavior and promiscuity, numbing of emotions, difficulty concentrating,
school problems, running away, depression, withdrawal, and self-injurious behaviors.  If these
victims are treated soon after the crime occurs, the child sexual abuse victim has a better
chance of healing and developing into a healthy and productive citizen.  If untreated, a child
victim may grow into a depressed and maladaptive person or a perpetrator him/herself.

Many child victims of familial sexual abuse fear retribution by the perpetrator or by other
family members who do not believe that the abuse occurred.  Thus the time when the victim
needs family support the most becomes the time when the family can not cope enough to
support the child.  Often these factors and the stress within the family cause the child sexual
abuse victim to recant his/her abuse disclosure, making prosecution almost impossible.  In
order to provide services for the victims of child sexual abuse, emphasis needs to be placed
not only on the child, but also on the non-offending family members.

Professionals working within the system need to coordinate their victim service efforts.  Often
children are interviewed many times throughout an investigation by criminal justice and child
protection agencies, causing the child to relive the trauma of the event(s) over and over again,
typically increasing the child's fear of the system as well as his/her apathy toward the
professionals involved in the case.  The problem is intensified by professionals who either have
inadequate interview training or none at all in interviewing the child sexual abuse victim.  This
creates an atmosphere in which there is a strong risk of alienating the child victim and
frustrating both the child and the professional when information is not adequately obtained.Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center (MCAC) is to protect and
rebuild the child sexual abuse victim.  Another goal of the MCAC is to create a
multidisciplinary approach to the handling of child abuse cases and to facilitate a support
system for the child throughout the criminal court process.  Currently the MCAC is able to
provide services to the child victim and the criminal justice system in the form of free, therapy-
based forensic interviews and psychotherapy.

Based on the experience of MCAC to date, it appears that there are four problem areas related
to serving the child victims of sexual abuse that must be met to achieve the MCAC's goals. 
First, hard data needs to be collected on the victims.  Hard data is defined as psychological
inventories and tests that show the behavioral and psychological difficulties that the child
victims are experiencing.  This is typically lacking for the child victim of sexual abuse.  As
a result, expert testimony often relies on the expert's opinion, which may not be sufficient to
convince a judge or jury.

Second, non-offending parents need to be educated on the dynamics of child sexual abuse,
methods for coping with abuse, ways to deal with the child victim, and ways to handle the
court system.  Groups need to be formed to prepare non-offending parents/family members for
what to expect from their child victim and how to better handle their own stress as well as
problems that arise.

Third, the child victims need to be prepared for participation in the criminal justice system. 
They need to be briefed on the processes of the court system and the realistic outcome
possibilities of their case, in terms that they can understand.  A child who must face the system
with no understanding of it can break down or recant his or her disclosure of abuse.  The court
system's officials and prosecutors seldom have time to prepare victims and witnesses properly.

Fourth, to prevent the child from being revictimized by the system, professionals involved in
the child's case need to be educated on the dynamics of child abuse, how to interview and
relate to children, and how to form and use the multidisciplinary approach to cases.

Program Components

The Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center is centralized and coordinated within the
community to oversee the treatment of child victims and insure that children receive counseling
and support and are not revictimized by the system.  This central unit provides training and
support services to law enforcement, district attorneys, social workers, and other professionals
involved in the process.  This center uses the multidisciplinary team approach to serve the
needs of the child sexual abuse victim.  The MCAC was established not only to provide
counseling and support for child victims of sexual abuse, but to serve as a liaison between
other professionals involved in the case, so that information is exchanged freely between
professionals. 

Currently, the MCAC provides services for approximately 400 children per year.  Roughly
95% of these children are possible victims of sexual abuse.  The therapists at the center provide
forensic interviews that can be forwarded to the child protective service worker, law
enforcement, prosecution, and the judiciary.  These therapists provide therapy for child sexual
abuse victims on a short-term basis.  Within the past fiscal year, over 50% of the cases that
have been referred to the MCAC have been substantiated cases of child sexual abuse, closely
matching the national average.  While most of these cases go to the Youth Court, only a small
percentage result in criminal prosecution.

Many activities are performed under the MCAC project.  Psychological hard data is collected
on children who have been determined to be victims of child sexual abuse, have a supportive
non-offending parent or guardian, and may testify in court.  The parent or guardian fills out
the Child Behavior Checklist, a Conner's Rating Scale, and a Child Sexual Behaviors
Inventory.  The child's primary teacher is asked to complete the Conner's Teacher Rating Scale
to provide corroborative data.  The child victim completes a Child Depression Inventory and
a personality inventory.  This data is scored and analyzed for each child, and the results are
included in the child's clinical summary report.  Summary data on cases is compiled and kept
as a database for reference.

The psychologist at MCAC develops the curriculum and recruits members for the non-
offending guardian group.  Group members are accepted from the MCAC caseload and through
referrals from community and criminal justice agencies.  Group members must be willing to
attend meetings and read all distributed materials.  A questionnaire is completed upon entering
and exiting the group to assess the knowledge gained.

The psychologist develops the curriculum and recruits members for the court preparation group. 
Child victims who are required to testify in court are selected for this group.  The group lasts
several weeks and includes:  actual courtroom visits with the child; age-appropriate education
on the court system; a forum for exploring fears about the legal process and how to overcome
those fears; parent-child sessions to exchange ideas and educate parents on what they can do
to support their child; and a class about what to expect on the trial day.  Prosecutors,
victim/witness coordinators, and judges are invited to speak to this group.

Training is provided for professionals working with child victims of sexual abuse.  This
training includes learning successful interviewing skills, speaking the language of children, and
running multidisciplinary processes.  Training is given on using the Children's Advocacy
Center.

The Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center staff consists of two full-time therapists, one part-
time therapist, a program director, and an administrative assistant.  Collegiate-level interns in
related fields are used when available.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

The areas outlined for this project are evaluated as follows:

         the number of child sexual abuse victims who have completed the data
          requested and the number of completed clinical reports for these same
          children;

         the results of non-offending guardian groups is counted and based on
          entry and exit questionnaires;

         the results of the Court Preparation Groups are recorded;

         the surveys assess the effectiveness of the two types of groups; and

         a summary of each training program is prepared indicating attendees and
          their backgrounds, along with a rating questionnaire to assess training
          effectiveness.

Implementation Problems and Successes

One problem with the program was a lack of collaboration.  Another problem was opening the
educational system to volunteer information about the children to the court system or the
psychologist.

Successes and Accomplishments

The impact to date for this project has been extremely pleasing.  The MCAC helped implement
and participates in a multidisciplinary team in the three metro counties that make up its primary
service area.  Training and consulting has provided improved handling of child victim cases
in the child protection and criminal justice fields.  There is a fluid line of communication with
area law enforcement to respond to their needs related to investigations.  There are at least 25
hard data cases evaluated in a project year to meet objectives and provide a foundation for the
creation of a data base.

Prospects for Replication

The program, one of 140 centers across the country, is easily replicated.  To be successful, a
center must meet the needs of its community.  Each center is slightly different to accommodate
each community, but the goal to create a multidisciplinary environment that supports the
abused child is the same.  A full member of the National Network of Children's Advocacy
Centers is required to make a site visit to a proposed member center, perform an evaluation,
and present the evaluation findings before the Board of Directors of the Network before a
center is accredited.

Contact Information

Jeff Johns
Deputy Director
Children's Advocacy Center
P.O. Box 5083
Jackson, MS  39292-5083
(601) 969-1995
(601) 969-7111 faxMinnesota

The Eden Statewide Children's Chemical Health Services
  Project

Statement of the Problem 

The available chemical abuse treatment services for children age 14 and younger are extremely
limited in Minnesota.  Moreover, there continues to be a lack of public and professional
awareness, information, and training on how to serve chemically abusing children, including
where and how services may be acquired.

According to the 1992 report to the governor and people of Minnesota from the Action for
Children Commission, Kids Can't Wait:  Action for Minnesota's Children:

         since 1980, the number of single parent families in Minnesota has grown by 42%;

         one child in five now lives in poverty in Minnesota, and from 1979 to 1989, child
          poverty increased 78% compared to a national increase of 26%;

         approximately 69,000 children have no health insurance, making up 18% of the
          State's 370,000 uninsured people;

         65% of the 50,000 Minnesota families that turned to food shelves for help in 1990
          included children under 18 years of age;

         approximately 50,000 Minnesota children aged five to twelve have no adult
          supervision after school, and children who are regularly home alone after school for
          11 or more hours a week are more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs;

         on a daily basis, children spend less time with caring adults than ever before, and
          the average time parents spent with their children decreased by ten hours per week
          from 1960 to 1986;

         alcohol use is widespread among Minnesota teenagers, but is often ignored or
          sanctioned by parents and other adults;

         children of color are experiencing greater feelings of exclusion from their schools
          and from the larger community in which they live; and         the 1990 dropout rate for African American students in Minnesota was 13.1%,
          12.4% for Native Americans, and 9.9% for Hispanics compared to 2.8% for white
          students. 

The Minnesota Department of Education conducts a Minnesota Student Survey every three
years of students in grades 6, 9, and 12.  Survey results reveal that three out of four high
school seniors have used alcohol at least occasionally during the previous year, as have almost
half of the ninth-graders.  Twenty-two percent of the seniors and 15% of the ninth-graders have
used at least one drug other than alcohol or tobacco during the previous year.  Among the
sixth-graders, one in ten students has used alcohol or drugs during the previous year.  The
author concludes:  "High school seniors who started drinking before the age of 14 have a 40%
probability of problem use compared with a 10% probability of problem use if they started
drinking at age 15 or older."

The Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research, in Fort Collins, Colorado, conducted a drug
and alcohol use survey of the Northeast Minnesota Native American reservation school students
in September 1990 utilizing the American Drug and Alcohol Survey.  Of the 4th through 6th
grade students who completed the survey, lifetime prevalence results show that 24% have used
alcohol, 10% have been drunk, 27% have smoked cigarettes, 13% have abused inhalants, and
8% have smoked marijuana.

Young people who are abusing alcohol and other drugs require levels of service unheard of in
the human services ten years ago.  They are experiencing a myriad of problems that require
much more time, energy, and attention.  Many Minnesota communities have programs that
demonstrate strong collaboration and partnerships, which ensure that families receive the best
services possible.  Most services, however, are designed to "fix" problems with little
appreciation or understanding of the child/family's cultural or ethnic background.  Family
needs are different, and family problems have changed dramatically over the years.  The
current system does not have the capacity to respond fully to current family needs.  Many
times family members participate in several different programs with little or no coordination. 
Too often, the system requires clear family trouble before it can get help.

Alcohol or other drug abuse is only one of the many serious and longstanding problems
confronting families who come to the attention of the children's welfare or corrections systems. 
For many, chemical abuse arises in the context of poverty, substandard housing or
homelessness, the absence of community and family support services, and pervasive feelings
of alienation and hopelessness.  Oftentimes, chemical dependency occurs in areas that lack
needed services and are "run down" and sometimes dangerous.  These areas often are rejected
by the larger society, and the families who live in them experience that sense of rejection. 
Chemical abuse and dependency add to the sense of powerlessness and social isolation that
these children and families experience.  To adequately address and deal with children's
chemical use, children and families must have access to a wide range of preventive and
supportive services including alcohol and drug education, medical care, parental support, parent
education, employment and educational counseling, assistance in locating adequate housing and
transportation, and access to income resources.

The Eden Children's Project was developed in 1989 through a grant from the Minnesota
Department of Human Services to address these and other issues related to children's use of
mind-altering chemicals.  It is the only program of its kind in Minnesota. 

Goals and Objectives

The goals of the project are to:  (1) decrease chemical use among children, aged 14 and
younger, through case management, community education, and networking; (2) maximize use
of available community resources on behalf of children who are using mind-altering chemicals;
and (3) increase professional service providers' knowledge and skills regarding children's
chemical use prevention, intervention, and treatment.

Program Components

The Eden Statewide Children's Chemical Health Services Project provides case
management services to children abusing chemicals aged 14 and younger.  The project includes
a Project Director and three Children's Intervention Specialists (CIS) including:  1) a Native
American whose sole responsibility is to provide services to Minnesota Native American
families; 2) a Chicana who provides services to Hispanic families in central Minnesota; and
3) a CIS from the general population to provide services for children who are abusing
chemicals.  These Children's Intervention Specialists provide services in two areas:  Direct
Case Management and Education, Consultation, and Training.  Children's Intervention
Specialists are familiar with the particular cultures they are dealing with are bilingual, are
familiar with child development, chemical dependency, and alcohol abuse, and are able to work
well with people.

Direct Case Management  The Children's Intervention Specialists provide case management
services to chemical-abusing young children and their families.  The case management services
include on-site, in-home, culturally-sensitive, community-based intervention, treatment, and
referral services that address both the child's chemical use and underlying problems that give
rise to dysfunctional patterns.  The primary strategy is to stabilize the child and family, creating
new services as well as utilizing existing community resources.

Education, Consultation, and Training  The Project Director and three Children's
Intervention Specialists network with and provide education and training to community service
professionals including child welfare workers, school personnel, chemical dependency
counselors, probation officers, police, community groups, and other identifiable groups working
with children in areas related to substance abuse among children.  The purpose is to develop
collaborative strategies to begin reexamining and restructuring existing children and family
services.

In providing intervention, referral, and counseling services to children, the Children's
Intervention Specialists counsel, advocate, and guide children and their families to be proactive
and responsible.  They coordinate existing community services and obtain the necessary
support to alleviate the problem of chemical abuse and other problem areas as needed.  They
meet with families in the community and in their own homes as they work to educate, support,
and empower families in their own prevention plans.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

A great deal of data from both the direct service component and the education and training
component of the project is collected and analyzed.  In order to evaluate the progress of the
child and other family members, an initial assessment and follow-up assessments are completed
at six-month intervals.  In order to evaluate improvement of professionals' knowledge and skill
levels at the education and training seminars, participant self-assessment forms are distributed. 
Additionally, parent satisfaction and service satisfaction forms are collected at various intervals
to obtain opinions on project activities.

A file is maintained for each child which includes the child's chemical health assessment, a
child and family needs assessment, a case management record, a Strickland Nowicki Locus of
Control assessment, a Louisville Behavior Checklist, a Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept
Scale, treatment plans, progress notes, a case contact sheet, and other data pertinent to the case. 
Monthly written reports are completed by the Children's Intervention Specialists.  The Project
Director submits a written Quarterly Progress Report to the State of Minnesota. 

An independent professional evaluation expert was contracted in 1992 to develop the project's
evaluation instruments.  The evaluator also analyzed the case management records for 1994 and
prepared a summary report of the findings.

Implementation Problems and Successes

The project has been highly successful and well received by all sections of the State.  The
project is regularly featured in television and print media.  Requests for services are received
daily.  Staff burnout is a consideration due to long hours, extensive travel, and the need to deal
continually with highly dysfunctional families.  Staff turnover within county social service and
probation departments is challenging.  There is high staff turnover, so that project staff are
continually having to introduce themselves to new staff who are not familiar with the history
of their inherited caseload.  This rapid staff turnover is especially disruptive for the family. 
In order to ensure the retention of project staff, a generous salary and benefits are provided.Successes and Accomplishments

Sixty case management records, based on the initial assessment of the family needs, were
completed by the Children's Intervention Specialists during the 1994 project year.  A follow-up
case management record assessment was also completed for 48 of the 60 families.  The
children ranged in age from 8 to 17, with half of the children 12 years old or younger.  Fifty-
eight percent of the children had used inhalants during the thirty days prior to referral to the
project, about half had used tobacco, half had used alcohol, and about one-fourth had smoked
marijuana.  Other than the use of chemicals and inhalants, the most common issue was social
isolation and withdrawal followed by nutrition, court involvement, depression/suicide,
hostile/violent behavior, irrational behavior, lack of organized recreational activities, and
absence from the home.  The quality of parent-child relationships was usually poor.

Three-fourths of the parents used alcohol at least once during the thirty days prior to the
referral and 10% had smoked marijuana.  Thirteen percent of the mothers and 29% of the
fathers had received chemical dependency treatment in the past.  The parents typically lacked: 
recognition of problems; motivation to solve problems; support from friends and family;
support from agencies; self-esteem/confidence; and housing stability.  The project's evaluation
results reveal that:

         the children's use of tobacco, alcohol, and inhalants decreased between the
          assessment at referral and follow-up:  78% of the children did not use alcohol during
          the thirty days prior to the follow-up assessment, compared with 51% at the time of
          referral to the program;

         of the 26 children who had used inhalants during the 30 days before referral, 73%
          of these children had not used inhalants during the 30 days prior to the follow-up;
          and

         the children showed improvement regarding social isolation/withdrawal, relationships
          with their parents, parent involvement in school, and school behavior.

Eighty-eight percent of the parents reported that the project was "a lot" of help to their
families.  Three-fourths of the parents also indicated that they received "a lot" of help
regarding:

         understanding better the needs of their children;
         getting through difficult times by being able to talk about their concerns;
         helping their children work through some of their concerns;
         improving communication with their children;
         finding community agencies that give families support; and
         setting goals and finding ways to change their behavior.A pre-test, post-test, and six-month follow-up participant self-assessment evaluation form is
          used for the education and training seminars.  Twelve all-day training seminars were conducted
          throughout Minnesota in 1994.  Training participants included chemical dependency treatment
          staff, county social services, mental health, and corrections staff, police and sheriff's
          department personnel, school teachers and counselors, and various other service professionals. 
          Two hundred and forty pre-test, 224 post-test, and 47 six-month follow-up participant self-
          assessment forms were collected.  Pre-test data revealed that less than half of the participants
          reported good/excellent knowledge or skill level in the 18 areas measured.  Post-test data
          revealed a marked increase in knowledge and skill level, and follow-up data indicated that
          training participants integrated their learned knowledge and skills into their professional and
          personal lives.

The project was instrumental in the passage of new State legislation regarding the sale and use
of inhalants by children.  More than 1,000 Education and Training Seminars have been
conducted since June 1989.  Project staff have presented at numerous major Minnesota
conferences as well as national conferences.  The project is a member of the National Inhalant
Abuse Prevention Coalition and an associate member of the Regional Alcohol and Drug
Awareness Resource (RADAR) Network consisting of resource centers in more than 1,200
locations around the nation.  The project is connected to the Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention's (CSAP) computer-based message and information service used to exchange ideas
and information around the nation.  The project developed a school-based inhalant abuse
prevention curriculum which is utilized throughout Minnesota as well as several other states
and Canada.  Thousands of K-12 Minnesota school children have attended the inhalant abuse
prevention class.  Hundreds of Minnesota teachers and school personnel have been educated
and trained in the use of the curriculum.  Several children's inhalant abuse prevention
information pamphlets have been developed in three languages.  The project has provided
direct services to more than 200 families with children who are abusing chemicals.

Prospects for Replication

This project can be implemented within any community/State with ease utilizing the established
written program materials.  Successfully implementing the project requires the support of a
State agency.  Developing an advisory committee consisting of key individuals including
representatives from the Department of Human Services, the Department of Corrections, the
Sheriff's Office or Police Department, the school system, the community, and a social worker
is a must.  Securing long-term, consistent funding from more than one source is recommended. 
Establishing the project via a grant program is also recommended to buffer the staff from State,
County, or local politics.  Staff must be self-starters, motivated, culturally-sensitive, flexible,
and committed.  The Project Director must be open-minded and totally enthusiastic in the
project's mission.Contact Information

Mark Groves
Director
The Eden Children's Project
1035 Franklin Avenue East
Minneapolis, MN  55404
(612) 874-9441
(612) 874-0023 faxMontana

Rocky Top Academy

Statement of the Problem

Drug abuse and violent crime statistics are dominated by young males.  While statistical
models show correlations between arrests and community poverty and urbanization, personal
conditions become relevant as the individual adolescent begins to seek chemical and violent
solutions to his problems.  Family and school problems accelerate, usually associated with
rejections of authority, grades drop, involvement in physical recreation declines, job attendance
becomes uneven, and diet changes radically.  In addition, the potential suspect makes a willful
change in his patterns of friendship, and he often cultivates a group of adolescents with
behavior like his recently affected behavior.

It is at this point in the youth's social decline that Rocky Top Academy, a special purpose
private school, receives its students.  At this point, conventional school and the youth's parents
feel they can no longer control the student and that he is headed for a serious encounter with
the legal system.  Rocky Top Academy is a place to rebuild a life that may be thrown away
without intervention.

Goals and Objectives

Rocky Top Academy has as its goal the restoration of the troubled adolescent to the healthier
academic, physical, and social habits he had before he embraced poor behaviors.  While it may
be true from a psychiatric standpoint that negative behavior patterns are merely symptomatic
of a deeper problem, it is the behavior that creates legal problems.  It is also true that a
productive life is more conducive to a sense of well-being than a life that is destructive.  Rocky
Top Academy's goals are three-fold:  to restore mental and physical health; to rebuild the
connection between the alienated youth and the rest of the physical and social world; and to
return the student to his home and school, in regular classes, at an age-appropriate level.

The staff and consultants of the Academy have developed specific objectives to support these
goals:  (1) to construct a surrogate "extended family," in order to provide an immediate
working model of a community; (2) to replace the artificial stimulation of drugs with the real
excitement of challenging physical activities, supported by a wholesome diet, in a clean
outdoor setting; (3) to initiate study habits leading to conventional academic discipline; (4) to
teach experiential education that promotes confidence and self-esteem; (5) to introduce the
youth to responsibility within his school and community; and (6) to re-establish constructive
contact with his family.
Program Components

The program is a residential school which deals with disruptive behavior, learning disabilities,
and drug, emotional, social, and authority problems.  The school accepts only males age 12 to
18.  Students may have been declined at other boarding schools and at military school because
of discipline problems.  Students enter at different times of the year and stay nine to 12
months.  Some students stay until high school graduation.  The program costs approximately
$2,000 per child per year.

Positive Peer Pressure  Rocky Top uses the positive peer group model as the primary method
of discipline.  In order to participate in the numerous recreational activities available in the
program, the entire student body has to earn the privilege as a group.  When a single student
decides not to cooperate, it is up to the other students to give that student the direction,
assistance, encouragement, and motivation needed.

Positive peer pressure is also evidenced in group meetings addressing conflict resolution,
community building, student organization, and self-improvement.  In order to demonstrate the
interconnection of authority and community, most decisions regarding individuals or the group
are made by a committee including students, staff, teachers, administrators, and mental health
professionals, when necessary.  The group is charged with devising practical and agreeable
solutions to accomplish established goals.  Students enforce their decisions with discussion and
cooperation and are discouraged from referring to artificial external authority to solve
problems.

Nutrition for Healthy Bodies and Minds  Food is cooked by professional staff with the help
of students.  Food service is one of the occupational training options for students, but all
students share in kitchen chores.  Meals are served family style.  Students and staff clean up. 
A balanced diet is selected, avoiding processed foods, simple sugars, and preservatives.

Academic Discipline:  Failure is Not an Option  At both the high school and middle school
levels, the academic program at Rocky Top Academy is individualized.  Through evaluation
of school records and informal and standardized testing, a starting point is determined for each
incoming student, and an educational plan is designed to make up for the lack of basic skills
or courses needed to bring the student to the age-appropriate level and to progress from that
point.  Each concept is worked upon until it is mastered, allowing each student to work at his
own pace.

To monitor progress to the ninth grade, basic skills checklists are used that combine those skills
outlined in the Brigance Inventory of Basic Skills, the Curriculum Guide of the State of
Montana, and other lists of competencies drawn from State curriculum guides and textbook
publishers.Part of the high school curriculum is based upon the University of Nebraska design, where
each course has its own syllabus providing both instructional and testing components.  Self-
check tests are conducted at the end of each unit along with instructor-administered tests.  The
remainder of the curriculum takes place in a group setting.  This includes literature, social
studies, foreign language, and current events.  The group setting is used to increase the
involvement and interaction of the student in the matter being studied.

Experiential Physical and Emotional Education  To make the connection between human
endeavor and the real world, students' physical exercise is integrated with the social and
physical environment and connected with academic studies.  For example, in summer 1994 the
faculty directed student projects toward regional issues:  ecology, exploration, Native
Americans, resource industries, animal conservation, and geology.  An all-school trip to
Yellowstone National Park incorporated outdoor adventure, abundant exercise, and
opportunities to advance their studies, with the enthusiastic cooperation of the National Park
Service staff.  Physical and emotional education is tied with academic advances.  After the
classroom preparation for the Yellowstone expedition and the field trip itself, each student
wrote an additional project paper.  The thesis of each paper was to answer the question:  "What
is my place in what I have seen?"  Students learn first-hand the rewards and the excitement
of being competent and connected.

Recreational Program  The recreation program at Rocky Top Academy plays a major role
in the building of self-esteem.  It also establishes a framework in which students can practice
the setting and meeting of goals, expansion of potential, and positive group interaction.

As part of the recreational program, organized noncompetitive sports activities are designed to
enhance the well-being of students.  The goal is to get all students excited about participating. 
Using the peer group approach, with a team only as strong as all of its members, there is a
place for everyone, regardless of athletic abilities.  Each team works to help all students
compete intramurally.

One of the highly effective aspects of the recreational program is that martial arts are taught
to students with histories of violence.  Social violence is often a function of the feeling of
powerlessness and the lack of discipline.  Every boxer, wrestler, or student of karate learns to
fight on command and to stop on command, execute learned techniques in a chaotic
environment, and think while fighting.  This discipline is the reason competitive combative
athletes almost never fight outside their sports, and why the students cease fighting as soon as
they start training.

Juvenile Delinquent Judo:  Make the Irresponsible Responsible  In the real world,
Academy students were not responsible for misbehavior.  At the Academy, they are given
authority over the areas where they are deficient.  If they do not satisfy the demands, their
peers are quick to redirect the leader's efforts, since they and the offender suffer privilege loss
if goals are not met.  This is one of the most expedient, direct, and effective programs.

Close Encounters:  Rediscovering the Family  Students are encouraged to phone their family
members, especially their parents.  More useful in the experience of Rocky Top staff is the
practice of regular letter writing.  Not only are academic purposes served, but there is an
integration of newly learned reasoning, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills at an
appropriate and temper-reducing distance when family issues are committed to paper.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

Some of the means to measure the success of this program are the number of completed school
assignments and raised grades; the added physical skills, willingness to participate, and reduced
combativeness; the successful completion of school and housekeeping tasks, avoidance of
friction, and cooperation with others; and the visits, letters, and scheduled activities with family
of each student.

Successes and Accomplishments

The students achieve competence at conventional academics.  Graduates return to regular
school, not special programs.  On their return to their own schools, graduates typically earn
grades of A and B in the classes they had previously failed.  Combining the record of Rocky
Top Academy and its predecessor program, 64% graduated the program in an average of nine
months.  Of those graduates, 79% (51% of total enrolled students) graduated from an
accredited college or university.  Recidivism of previous negative behavior patterns has been
almost non-existent.

Graduates understand and act on the connection between themselves, others, and social
institutions, which is the source of discipline.  This is demonstrated by their performance in
higher education.

Graduates return home.  All Rocky Top graduates, and nearly all program participants, return
to their homes.  Graduates do not go to foster homes, group homes, or public institutions but
to their own homes.  Most graduates forge a new, healthier relationship with their parents.

Prospects for Replication

To replicate the program, there is a requirement for facilities similar to those of the Rocky Top
Academy Galen Campus and for adequate faculty and recreational staff resources.  Location
is essential to program success.  It must be physically separate from surrounding communities. 
A variety of outdoor recreation must be close at hand.  Zoning of the surrounding area must
be appropriate to the student farming and building programs which release tension, teach
academic and vocational lessons, and allow students to support themselves.

Contact Information

Tom Gregory
Director
Rocky Top Academy
P.O. Box 1349
Anaconda, MT  59722-1349
(406) 693-2277
(406) 693-2434 faxNebraska

MAD DADS

Statement of the Problem

During the last three years, Lincoln, Nebraska has experienced a significant increase in the
number of youth involved in criminal activities.  Statistics from the Lincoln Police Department
reveal that 2,431 juveniles were arrested in 1990.  In 1993 that number increased 28% to
3,101.  Factors contributing to this problem include an increase in the availability of drugs, an
increase in drug use by youth, child abuse, an increase in gang activities, a lack of positive
supervision by parents, and a lack of activities available for youth at night.

Gang problems from Omaha are filtering into the City of Lincoln.  In 1992, a representative
from the Omaha MAD DADS (Men Against Destruction - Defending Against Drugs and
Social-disorder) contacted Reverend Don Coleman about starting a MAD DADS chapter in
Lincoln as a preventive measure against to the growing problem of gangs and youth violence. 
Reverend Coleman met with law enforcement officials, the county attorney, and the mayor to
receive their input about starting a MAD DADS chapter in Lincoln.  Strong support was
received for this idea.

Goals and Objectives

The goal of the program is to create a safe, drug-free, recreational environment where youth
receive positive support and encouragement.  "It's all about getting the child to start feeling
good about himself again," said Reverend Coleman.  "I want every child, every child to feel
`I am somebody.'...I want a child to have that pride, that self-esteem in himself or herself." 
To meet this goal, the following objectives are used:

         increase the number of recreational activities available in the downtown Lincoln area
          for youth ages eight to 18;

         decrease the number of youth congregating on the streets in downtown Lincoln;

         increase the number of positive presentations against drugs, alcohol, and tobacco;
          and

         discourage sexual assaults, thefts, and other crimes.

Program Components

MAD DADS began in Lincoln with 25 members.  Membership included the Mayor, City
Council, Chief of Police, County Attorney, Sheriff, State Patrol Commander, local business
leaders, and grassroots community members.  Membership is open to the community. 
Members of MAD DADS pay a membership fee of $10 per year.  Individuals can sign up for
areas of service including communications, education, and economic development.  A monthly
meeting is held for volunteers to coordinate activities.

One of the first problems that MAD DADS addressed was the need for street patrols as a result
of the rape of two women in the downtown area.  To address this problem, the MAD DADS
decided to patrol the streets in a program called Moonwalkers, to ensure safety in the
downtown area at night.  Ten citizens patrolled the downtown streets in groups of two from
10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. on weekend nights.  The volunteers are equipped with radios to report
any illegal activities to police.

The patrol groups were surprised to encounter large numbers of youth ranging in ages from
eight to 18 years who were unsupervised and unruly in the downtown area so late at night. 
Youth would gather in parking lots of businesses, creating disturbances.  As a result of the
youth congregating in the downtown area, there was an increase in fights, shoplifting, auto
thefts, car break-ins, vandalism, and confrontations between youth and the adults leaving bars
after closing.  An outlet needed to be found to release this energy and control the movements
of the at-risk youth.  The citizens patrol groups visited with the youth to determine why they
were in the downtown area at night and what they would like to do if they had a place to do
it.  It was found that the youth were in the downtown area to meet with their friends because
there was no place available for them to assemble, and they didn't have anything else to do. 
The cost of available activities was a problem for some of the youth, but for the most part
there were no activities available at night.

The local newspaper published an article about the MAD DADS.  In the article, Reverend
Coleman spoke of this problem.  As a result of the article, the Director of the YMCA called
Reverend Coleman and offered the use of the YMCA.  The YMCA offers a variety of
activities, such as swimming, basketball, volleyball, boxing, weight-lifting, racquetball, music
and dance, and space for youth to visit with their friends.

The MAD DADS printed flyers about the Teen Nights at the YMCA, held every Saturday
night from 7:30 p.m. to midnight.  Flyers were distributed to the youth on the street, in Lincoln
Public Schools, at the Police Department, at all community-based organizations, and through
the media.  The program was also advertised on the radio.  Volunteers, including the Lincoln
Police Department, provided the needed supervision during Teen Nights, and area businesses
provided food and music.  The volunteers working with the at-risk youth are helping them to
develop self-esteem and self-worth.  Conflict resolution, anger control, and problem solving
are being taught during Teen Night.

To maintain order, youth who attend the Teen Nights are given identification cards as their
pass to get in.  Each Teen Night includes information about the negative effects of drugs,
alcohol, and tobacco.  Such information is provided both formally and informally.

MAD DADS has several different programs.  One program, GIRLS (Genuine Individuals
Reaching Levels of Success), promotes community involvement of young women and girls
who are residents of group homes or who are in at-risk situations.  Girls from WICS (Women
In Community Services) and Youth Services programs help make lap robes for seniors while
learning about self-respect.  Another program is the JAIL program (Juveniles Against Illegal
Lifestyles).  In this program, youth ages 11 to 16 who have minor misdemeanor violations are
paired with MAD DADS members to paint over public graffiti, tour the State penitentiary and
talk with inmates, tour police and sheriff's departments, watch courtroom hearings, and work
with business owners.  Other programs whose goal is to make every child feel that "I am
somebody" include:

         Kids to Kids - high school students are selected to be guest speakers for MAD
          DADS at middle schools and create a program in a call-in talk show format for
          public radio and television;
         Driving Miss Daisy - a program senior citizens may call for transportation;
         Lawn Mowing - students can borrow mowers to earn extra money during summer
          months and learn the skills of small-engine repair;
         Reach Out - teenagers 16 and over are paired with employers who are seeking extra
          help during the summer months;
         Moonburn - all-night festivities held in the spring once a year;
         Parent Patrols - parents monitor school property to ensure fights or gang-related
          activities cease before, during, and after school;
         MAC-DADS Kids - MacDonald's donated 500 t-shirts to be used in an attitude,
          drug, and gang awareness campaign for fifth and sixth graders; and
         Workshops - automotive workshop to teach maintenance skills for teenagers who
          drive and a computer skills class.

An outgrowth of MAD DADS is MAD DADS Kids, a group of 40 Culler Middle School
students who wanted to make a difference and prevent gangs.  One of their activities is to
remove graffiti all over the city.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

To assess the success of the program, the following items are measured:  the number of
recreational activities available to youth; the number of youth participating in those activities;
the number of youth congregating on the streets of downtown Lincoln; and the number of
presentations discouraging the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

Implementation Problems and Successes

Implementation problems were minimal because the downtown community realized the need
for action.  The major problem became transportation for those youth who did not frequent
downtown late at night but were in their communities late at night causing problems.  The
program is working on obtaining a van to transport the kids.

Financial support is a basic element to the success of the program and has been the hardest to
maintain.  The cost to operate the program averages approximately $10,000 a year.  The funds
are used primarily for janitorial services, staff of the YMCA, and food.  Due to the loss of the
program's basic financial support, the operation of the program was changed.  This change has
had a positive result in that the City's Parks and Recreation Department has taken a more
active role in the program by opening up their facilities around the city at night.  This allows
youth to participate in the program but within close proximity to their homes.  The YMCA still
provides its facilities one Saturday night per month.

Parental support is vital and also hard to maintain.  Parents are pressured into participating by
articles in the paper that state that there isn't enough parental support for the program.  In
addition, pictures in the paper of parents and kids together at MAD DADS' activities motivate
parents to attend activities.  It helps to get parents to network with each other to build
community and maintain their support.

Successes and Accomplishments

There were numerous successes in implementing this program.  One key success was the
support and active involvement of the community, without whose active involvement the
program would not have succeeded.  Crime rates decreased 15% due to Teen Night.

The most important factor in the success of the program was that the youth bought heavily into
the program.  Approximately 132 youth attended the first Teen Night, and there is city-wide
participation of youth which crosses all economic, cultural, religious, school, and age
boundaries.  By the end of the fourth week of the program, 300 youth were attending regularly,
and there have been as many as 400 youth attending the program in one night.  One
participant, when asked what he would be doing if he were not at Teen Night, said, "Probably
out getting drunk.  I had an offer."

Law enforcement support provides a strong role model for youth.  As part of the Community
Policing program, law enforcement greatly contributes to addressing a major problem in the
city and provides youth with the opportunity to develop friendships with law enforcement and
see them in a different light.  Involvement of local colleges and other civic organizations has
had a significant impact on youth as it has given them additional positive role models and
provided encouragement to achieve educational goals.Prospects for Replication

Replication of this program is possible as long as there is community support for the program,
which includes volunteers for supervision of activities, mentoring and tutoring, and friendship
building, and the donation of supplies, food, music, and other items.

Establishing rules, parameters, and standards that youth are required to abide by is vital.  Youth
need to know the rules, boundaries, and standards they are expected to follow and that they
will be held accountable for failure to comply.

Often kids say, "There's nothing to do and no place to go."  If they have a place to go,
something to do, and positive adult influences, youth will rise to the expected level of success.

Contact Information

Reverend Don Coleman
President
MAD DADS - Lincoln Chapter
P.O. Box 80732
Lincoln, NE  68501
(402) 436-1301
(402) 436-1540 fax
(402) 475-3237 MAD DADSNebraska

YouthNet Community Based Evaluation -
  Douglas County

Statement of the Problem

Youth arrests for status offenses, misdemeanors, and delinquent acts have risen over the past
three years in Douglas County, Nebraska.  Arrested youths ages ten to 18 are sent to the
Douglas County Youth Center.  Status offenders are often placed in foster care, a community
program, or hospital to await a Juvenile Court hearing.  Depending upon the seriousness of
his/her crime, the youth could also be sent to a youth center in Kearney or Geneva, Nebraska. 
Community-based evaluations have been mandated by Nebraska law to lessen overcrowding
in youth centers.  Family Service's YouthNet Community Based Evaluation (YCBE) Program
originated out of this mandate.

Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the YCBE Program is to provide a quality, comprehensive youth
evaluation within the youth's community with a 30 to 40 day turnaround time.  This evaluation
gives the juvenile court officers and judges the best insight into the youth's strengths and
weaknesses.  This information is used to plan the most appropriate treatment or intervention.

The following are 1995 objectives to support this goal:

         reduce youth center evaluations of status offenders by 50%;

         reports of 75% or more of the youth and families being served by the YCBE
          Program being actively involved in the YCBE treatment plan process in determining
          appropriate solutions for the family; and

         reports of 75% of the juvenile probation officers and juvenile court judges satisfied
          with the quality of the YouthNet Community Based Evaluation report.

Program Components

The Assessment  The 1994 program consisted of one half-time Therapist II, one half-time
YouthNet outreach worker, and one half-time secretary.  Agreements with a Clinical
Psychologist for psychological assessments, a physician for medical and dental screenings, the
youth's school counselor for a school progress assessment, and a drug/alcohol counselor for
a drug screening rounded out staff needed to produce a comprehensive assessment of the youth
within his/her family and neighborhood environment.

The assessment is done in six parts.  The therapist meets with the youth and his/her family and
explains what is required of them to complete the evaluation.  The therapist helps the youth
and family set up appointments with the clinical psychologist, the Charles Drew Health Clinic,
and the Family Service chemical dependency evaluator.  Releases are signed by the youth's
parent(s) for the above services, the youth's school counselor or teacher, and the YouthNet
outreach worker.  The YouthNet outreach worker meets the youth and his/her family either
with the therapist at the initial intake visit or separately at another time.  The YouthNet
outreach worker will do a recreational time usage assessment and provide transportation for
those families who need it.

The therapist receives five evaluations from the other agencies involved and conducts her own
three home visit evaluations on the youth and family.  Strengths and weaknesses of the youth
and his/her family support are summarized into one report.  The original six reports are
attached for reference.  The reports are given to the Juvenile Court Judges, Juvenile Probation
Officer, the youth's defense attorney, and the County Attorney.  A written follow-up
questionnaire is given to the Juvenile Probation Officer and Juvenile Court Judge for program
evaluation.  The parents and the youth are called by phone and asked to answer a four-question
follow-up report.

Cooperation of Douglas County Agencies  The source of referrals for the YCBE Program
is the juvenile probation officers and juvenile court judges.  The source of the comprehensive
assessments are the Charles Drew Medical Center, Woodhaven Counseling Center, Omaha
Public School counselors, YMCA, and YouthNet outreach worker.  The Family Service
counselor's role is to coordinate, troubleshoot, and problem solve among all these agencies to
ensure a quality product and keep referrals flowing.  In 1994 cooperation was good, with the
exception of one juvenile court judge.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

One of the 1994 goals of the program was to reduce the number of institutional evaluations
by 50%.  The second goal was to provide equal numbers or improve upon the 90% Geneva
family participation in the evaluation.  The third goal was that 50% or better of families served
by YCBE report less disruption.  The fourth goal was that 50% or more of families and
individuals served by the program report being involved in the YCBE treatment plan process
to determine appropriate solutions for their family.Implementation Problems and Successes

One problem was that the lead Juvenile Court Judge refused to allow program staff to talk to
the other judges about the YCBE program.  She stated that she preferred Geneva evaluations. 
The solution was for Juvenile Court probation officers to discuss the YCBE program
informally during court with the other judges.  After a while, the court began to send referrals
to YCBE.

Another problem was that extra communication was necessary by the YCBE therapist when
a youth was a ward of the State and had a NDSS caseworker as well as a juvenile court
probation officer.  This problem was solved by checking the NDSS status of the youth upon
receiving the referral and immediately notifying the NDSS caseworker of the court-ordered
evaluation.

The program also experienced problems with collaboration.  Getting different systems to work
together was difficult.  The solution was to convene team meetings, especially with agency
executives.

Successes and Accomplishments

In 1993, 49 Douglas County status offenders were evaluated at the Geneva Youth
Rehabilitation Center.  In 1994, 25 Douglas County status offenders were evaluated in Geneva,
and YCBE performed 34 evaluations in the county.  The program met or exceeded all four of
its goals.  Due to the availability of the YCBE program, 58% of youth who completed
evaluations for the court were done in Douglas County.  The YCBE program had 100% family
participation.  Ninety percent of the families reported less family disruption.  Ninety percent
of the families reported feeling involved in the YCBE treatment plans.

During the first quarter of 1994 a part-time therapist, a part-time YouthNet outreach worker,
and a part-time secretary were hired, oriented, and trained.  Policies and procedures were
developed, and evaluation forms were created.  YCBE staff met with the juvenile court
probation officers and networked with the juvenile court judges, prosecutors, and public
defenders.

During the second quarter, evaluations began and by July 1, 1994, 11 evaluations were
completed.  The parents' follow-up questionnaire was developed, and positive feedback was
received from the contacted parents.

As a result of seven agencies working closely together, the Juvenile Court Judges and the
Probation Department are learning more about what Omaha agencies can do and how many
other programs for youths and families Omaha has to offer.

Thirty-four youths were given comprehensive evaluations, with their families closely involved
in the assessment process.

Prospects for Replication

To be successful, the program must be specific in determining how a family can best be
helped.  In order to facilitate Nebraska-wide community-based evaluations, YCBE has
requested funding to train eight other communities in the evaluation model during the 1995-96
funding period of the Nebraska Crime Commission.

Contact Information

Peter Tulipana
Executive Director
Family Service
2240 Landon Court
Omaha, NE  68102
(402) 345-9118
(402) 345-3902 faxNew Jersey

Project CORE

Statement of the Problem

Alternative management of juvenile offender populations has gained acceptance over the past
decade as a response to increased juvenile crime and incarceration rates.  These factors,
combined with the growing costs of facility construction, have prompted criminal justice
officials to seek non-incarcerative correctional options for juveniles.  At the same time,
increased emphasis is being placed on reducing recidivism through the development of
meaningful offender programs.  Faced with these issues, New Jersey is in the process of
developing and testing new forms of offender programming for its juvenile population.

Recognizing the need to establish effective aftercare programming, particularly in
disadvantaged communities, the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office, Division of Criminal
Justice, approved the creation of a pilot juvenile aftercare program in 1993.  Working
cooperatively with Rutgers University, the New Jersey Department of Human Services
(Division of Juvenile Services) implemented Project CORE (Communities Organized to Regain
Their Environment) in early 1994.

Project CORE is located in Newark, New Jersey and serves adjudicated Essex county males
aged 15 to 18.  Newark was chosen as the site of New Jerseys first juvenile aftercare program
based in part on community need.  With 37% of its children living below the poverty level,
Newark is one of the most severely disadvantaged of all New Jersey communities.  The city
is 78% non-white with a teen death rate 133% above the State average.  Essex County
consistently ranks last among all New Jersey counties in terms of overall child well-being. 
Further, the countys juvenile arrest rates and commitment rates are well above the State
average, ranking 19% and 107%, respectively, above the norm in 1993.  Recent studies have
found that children growing up in such communities are far more likely to be exposed to
violence, do less well in school, become unmarried teen parents, and fail to make a smooth
transition to work.  This is particularly true for juveniles who have been previously adjudicated. 
All too often these children, without the tools and guidance necessary to establish and maintain
a crime-free lifestyle, are as likely to return to the criminal justice system as they are likely to
make a successful transition back into the community.
 
As a community-based aftercare program, Project CORE is unique within New Jerseys
criminal justice system.  Through the provision of transitional support to court-adjudicated
youth, the program is designed to address many of the inadequacies of the current system
recently identified by the Governors Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice.

Goals and Objectives

The program seeks to reduce juvenile recidivism rates through the development of community-
based programming.  This programming is designed to provide increased employment
opportunities and job training, ongoing relationships with positive community mentors, life-
skills training, and a commitment to community service.  Project CORE is targeted at Essex
County youth who have been adjudicated for auto theft and related offenses such as drug
charges.  CORE provides these juveniles with aftercare services in an effort to meet the
following objectives:  to reduce juvenile recidivism rates; to increase levels of educational
achievement; to provide job training and placement services; and to increase community
involvement and awareness.

Program Components

Specific program activities include:

         enhancement of basic skills and abilities in mathematics, language arts, and
          computer literacy through applied skill development activities;
         provision of vocational, interpersonal and coping skills necessary for successful job
          placement;
         development of a framework which challenges youth to discover their personal
          career and educational goals, and empowers them to successfully attain these goals;
         reintegration of youth into the community through community service and team-
          building activities;
         improvement of youth self-esteem through opportunities for meaningful and gainful
          employment; and
         provision of hands-on experiential education applied to urban life, issues, and
          environment.

Attainment of these program goals requires staff involvement with participants, the students
family, and the impacted community.  By offering ongoing assistance to the student, while
strengthening external support systems, CORE strives to provide participants with the guidance
necessary to develop and maintain a crime-free lifestyle. 

Because Project CORE is operated in conjunction with Rutgers University and located adjacent
to its Newark campus, juveniles are able to benefit from many of the academic offerings of the
school.  Students regularly participate in instructional programs led by University faculty, make
use of University facilities, and interact with University students.CORE is designed to be a 12-month program broken down into three phases of approximately
equal length.  The total program time, however, can vary depending upon the needs of the
individual participant.  Ideally, potential program candidates are interviewed by a selection
committee shortly after adjudication.

Phase I involves allowing eligible juveniles interested in participating in CORE to be placed
in one of three residential facilities for approximately four months, depending upon student
behavior and total term length.  During this time, students are familiarized with the CORE
program, work with staff in developing a program plan, and participate in selected CORE
activities.

Phase II begins with a week of transition during which participants are involved in CORE
activities during the day and return to the residential facilities in the evening.  As a group,
second-week students engage in an "Outward Bound" type experience in order to build
teamwork and self-esteem.  For the remainder of the second program phase, participants are
involved in a flexible mix of educational and personal enrichment activities.  Client
participation is key in determining which enrichment activities will work.  Staff work with
students on an ongoing basis, monitoring individual progress and assisting in the development
of educational and employment goals.  Working with staff, each participant identifies and
receives an appropriate educational and/or employment placement.  Juveniles participate in
regular CORE programming when not involved in placement activities. 

The following program components have been developed and implemented as part of Phase
II:

Applied Basic Skills Development  An individualized education plan is developed for each
student entering CORE.  The plan is developed and implemented by the CORE educational
staff and based on standardized testing, student observation, and academic records supplied by
the residential centers.  CORE, like all residential juvenile facilities in the State, is required by
the Department of Education to provide participants with minimum levels of educational
instruction.  Beyond these requirements, CORE staff endeavor to design educational programs
suited to each student's individual learning style, educational needs, and interests.  Specific
attention involves providing instruction relevant to student goals, training pupils for General
Equivalency Diploma or Scholastic Aptitude Test testing, and integrating learning experiences
into all components of the program.

Life Skills and Urban Issues  CORE works with community contractors to provide training
in life skills and urban issues.  Classes cover a variety of topics including computer literacy,
conflict management and resolution, personal finances, and minority history/culture.

Educational and Career Placement  During the early stages of CORE, efforts are made to
assess each student's abilities and interests.  In addition, participants are exposed to a wide
variety of educational and career options throughout the program.  Efforts are made to identify
settings which are challenging and provide an opportunity for growth.

Community Service  Participants perform community service work on a weekly basis.  The
community service component of CORE is designed to provide an opportunity to contribute
to the community, build pride through accomplishment, and develop a sense of community
responsibility.

Vocational Training  The vocational training component of the program is designed to expose
participants to a variety of vocational employment opportunities.  This training is expected to
offer an understanding of the various vocational opportunities available, while providing
sufficient skills to allow participants to seek entry-level employment upon completion of Phase
II of the program.

Mentoring  The mentor program is designed to provide CORE participants with positive adult
role models.  They assist their CORE participants in acquiring the skills necessary to function
effectively, and independently, in their communities.  Because many mentors are recruited from
the university community, their influence may also serve as a positive inducement for juveniles
to explore higher education and aspire to careers beyond their own current expectations.

Following successful completion of Phase II, students enter the third and final stage 
monitoring.  During Phase III, on-site program participation is no longer required, though
placement activities continue to be monitored.  Monitoring is done by providing youth with a
strictly enforced curfew.

Daily CORE operations are supervised by the Project Director located in Newark.  Other
positions include Program Coordinator for Student, Family and Community Affairs, Basic
Skills Instruction Program Coordinator, Placement Program Coordinator, Court/Intake Program
Coordinator and Project Team Leaders.  Project Team Leaders are responsible for the day-to-
day supervision of CORE participants and for monitoring and assisting in the progress of
participants assigned to his caseload.

Results and Impact

Implementation Problems and Successes

As a pilot program, CORE is continuously modifying and improving its programming. 
CORE's initial program evaluation identified a number of problem areas including:  participant
selection and classification procedures; a system of graduated incentives and sanctions and the
imposition of enforceable conditions; case documentation and record-keeping; placement
procedures and monitoring; and community service opportunities. 

As a result, numerous program changes have been implemented and are planned.  For instance,
residential programming and aftercare were separate and are now integrated.Successes and Accomplishments

CORE has been successful in efforts to make meaningful educational and employment
placements, to complete numerous community service projects, to establish a community
mentoring network, and to involve participant families in program activities.  Twenty-four
participants are currently enrolled, and the program adds eight or nine new youth each month. 
Fifty youths completed the program thus far.  There is a high staff to client ratio.  There are
no outcomes to report at this time, although a formal evaluation by Rutgers University will be
conducted.

Prospects for Replication

The initial assessment of Project CORE documented program components and identified areas
in need of modification.  As a result of the study, sufficient program documentation has been
developed to allow successful program replication.  With the development and implementation
of a planned program monitoring and reporting system, prospects for program replication
should be excellent.

Contact Information

William Curry
Deputy Director
Department of Human Services
Division of Juvenile Services
CN 701
Trenton, NJ  08625
(609) 588-4553
(609) 588-4544 faxNew Mexico

Talking Talons Youth Leadership

Statement of the Problem

A 1993 survey of Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) and other school districts in New Mexico
measured youth involvement with alcohol and drugs and other high-risk behaviors.  This
survey and other reports showed:

         alcohol is the drug of choice for most New Mexican students:  43% of New
          Mexican high school students reported episodic heavy drinking, the highest rate in
          the nation;
         the percentages of New Mexican students ever using marijuana (41%) and currently
          using marijuana (18%) were also the highest in the nation;
         26% of APS fourth graders have experimented with beer, wine, or wine coolers;
         75% of APS seniors drink alcohol;
         27% of APS seniors mix alcohol with other drug use; and
         29% of APS seniors drive after drinking.

During the 1980s, substance abuse prevention strategies gradually changed from focusing on
short-term individual-oriented interventions to an emphasis on looking beyond the school to
the community.  Research began to identify the risk factors for youth problems, but truly
effective prevention strategies for actual risk reduction remained unclear.  Recently the
emphasis has been placed on the development of resiliency in youth, examining "protective
factors" that appear to alter or even reverse predictions of negative outcome.

Traditional drug-education prevention programs exist in the Albuquerque area and in the State. 
Well known are the Drug Awareness Response Education (DARE) program and a University
of New Mexico-based program.  The programs are effective in educating directly about
substance abuse and its negative effects, including long-term morbidity, associated vehicular
trauma, and violence.  Yet problems of violence and drug abuse continue to escalate.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of Talking Talons Youth Leadership is to motivate students through self-
esteem enhancement by instilling empathy and confidence in students.  This is done by
providing public speaking opportunities for students.  At-risk youth were originally targeted,
but all youth are now included, because protective factors need to be enhanced in the general
population as well as for high-risk youth.

Specific goals of Talking Talons include:  motivating youth toward academics and community
service; instilling positive attitudes and confidence in interpersonal relationships; increasing
awareness about community problems such as substance abuse, gang violence and graffiti;
building resiliency in youth by enhancing protective factors; and instilling leadership and
values.

The primary objectives of Talking Talons are to increase protective factors through a positive,
peer-taught, engaging, entertaining, and proven method, as measured by professional
evaluation.  The protective factors include increasing a youth's positive self-esteem, self-
efficacy, communication skills, and connection to community.  One way to accomplish this is
by providing an opportunity to involve the entire community  law enforcement professionals,
families, schools, churches, businesses, and other groups  in a collaborative, holistic method
to meet the needs of youth.  Talking Talons also emphasizes a preference for long-term goals
over short-term or immediate needs  in other words, instilling a sense of purpose and future. 
Finally, Talking Talons provides the availability of a strong support person or team.

Program Components

Talking Talons Youth Leadership (Talking Talons) is a nationally recognized, award-winning,
501(c)(3) youth development program incorporated in New Mexico in 1990.  Talking Talons
provides leadership and public speaking training free of charge to students aged five to 17
within three APS schools, and creates public speaking teams of youth which provide
educational outreach to thousands each year throughout the State.  The concept is original and
professionally-proven to be successful in enhancing protective factors against drug abuse and
violence. 

The program involves injured or orphaned wild animals, which, like youth, often come with
a history of injury, neglect, and abuse.  Initially, the children's incentive for participating in
Talking Talons is to get out of school twice per week and to play with the animals.  Strong
leadership roles are internalized after the children become "hooked" on the program through
the educational animals.  Children take on attitudes of commitment and caring about animals
and their environments and preserving health and habitat.  Students are then introduced to the
expanded role that we expect of them, that of examining their own world to determine how
best to combat negative, self-destructive, and community-destructive behaviors such as
substance abuse, violence and vandalism.  They are invested with the Talking Talons role of
becoming peer leaders and ambassadors for responsible citizenship.  With live animals, student
public teams educate people of all ages about these subjects.

Through their involvement with the program, students are trained (generally biweekly within
their schools) in public speaking, environmental science, public relations, interpersonal
communication, health education, and law.  Their activities teach them responsibility, restraint,
accountability, and respect  for themselves, for other humans, for animals, and for the earth
itself.  Students recognize their personal growth as the result of participating in the program
and commit themselves to the goals.  Placement in the program is largely by school
administrations, based on the children's direct need and interest.  A portion of the Talking
Talons students is intentionally placed in the program to be models for others.  This is
important so that there is no stigma associated with Talking Talons.

The overall philosophy of the program is exemplified in a Code of Ethics and Code of
Conduct.  The underlying philosophy is to maintain a positive attitude.  Honesty is expected
at all times.  Young people are trained to enhance their own esteem while building that of
others.  Within the world of Talking Talons, children find themselves surrounded by caring
people who provide an atmosphere of security, comfort, stability, acceptance, and trust. 
Research shows that a caring and supportive relationship remains the most critical variable
throughout childhood and adolescence, and that this basic sense of trust appears to be the
critical foundation for human development, bonding, and resiliency.

Inter-agency cooperation is intrinsic to the concept of Talking Talons.  Ongoing collaborations
have been established with many agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the New Mexico
Department of Game and Fish, and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. 
Talking Talons is subcontracting with the museum to provide science presentations throughout
rural New Mexico, especially to Indian nations.  District 23 Toastmasters International provides
ongoing public speaking training.  The City of Albuquerque Graffiti Removal Services
sponsors Olive the Anti-Graffiti Drug-Free Baboon presentations.

Community Leadership outreach prevention education is specially designed to combat youth
violence, drugs, and vandalism in an entertaining and positive way.  Talking Talons provides
Community Leadership presentations to group homes, treatment centers, schools, and hospitals. 
"Olive" serves as a role model who teaches how to say "no" to alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs,
which captures the imaginations of youngsters.  "Dash," a peregrine falcon, is used to illustrate
negative effects of toxins on health.  (The peregrine is endangered due to inappropriate
chemical usage.)  Through the use of Olive and Dash in presentations, a strong message of
compliance with law and avoidance/resistance of peer pressure is delivered.

To extend direct activities to youth and to enhance experiential learning activities, Talking
Talons is opening the Talking Talons Leadership Center.  The center is a rented house in rural
Tijeras, New Mexico, next door to an animal hospital.  Three veterinarians donate medical
services to the animals.  Students and classrooms will visit the Talking Talons Leadership
Center and participate in projects designed to enhance their learning.  They will be given the
opportunity to help prepare the diets of birds and bats, and to see the veterinarians and wildlife
rehabilitators in action at the animal hospital.

The large living room will be the presentation and work room.  The kitchen will be used by
children to prepare animal diets.  Students will be able to learn business ethics and simple retail
procedures by working with adults in the gift shop/art gallery.  The gift shop will sell bird
houses and bat houses built by youngsters in the workshop in the back shed.  One room
includes a research library.  An insectivorous bat room will house educational bats.  Tropical
fruit bats will be housed inside, in heated and humidified enclosures.  In the back yard and side
yard the hawks, owls, and falcons will be housed in state-of-the-art facilities.  An organic
vegetable garden in the back will be maintained by the adults and youngsters to grow food for
the animals.  A terraced hummingbird garden of flowers will attract many birds and provide
a restful spot for solitude.  Students will be the docents for public tours of the educational
facility.  Many high-risk youngsters will find themselves participating in a lifestyle to which
they had never previously been exposed, namely to Talking Talons.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures 

The program has been evaluated by the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of
Education, Department of Counseling and Family Studies, supervised by Wayne Maes, Ph.D. 
He measured outcomes by conducting pre-test and post-test evaluations of 80 to 100 students
per school year in a random experimental design with an adolescent social efficacy test.  One
group of high-risk adolescents at an inner city middle school showed statistically significant
improvement in self-efficacy, and another group comprising high-risk elementary students,
many living in a group home and/or victims of sexual and child abuse, showed a statistically
significant increase in general self worth.

Since 1991 Talking Talons has engaged the College of Education for ongoing professional
evaluations.  In 1992 and 1993 two evaluations of Talking Talons have been a part of the
research on examining the protective factors which seem to create healthy development in
young people.

The evaluation design of the 1995 evaluation, under Dr. Maes, includes the measurement of
both outcome and process variables.  A pre-test and post-test control group design will be
employed in assessing the outcome variables.  Eligible students will be randomly assigned to
control and experimental groups.  Individuals in each of the two groups will be tested prior to
the beginning of the Talking Talons program on each of the outcome variables.  Post-tests on
each of the outcome variables will also be administered on the same individuals at the
conclusion of the program.  Statistical tests will be run on the data to determine the impact of
the Talking Talons program on the members of the experimental group.  The 1995 evaluation
seeks to identify proneness to substance abuse and violence.  These process variables will be
assessed through direct observation of the treatment program (participant observer method) by
a graduate student from UNM.

Implementation Problems and Successes

The primary difficulty faced by the program is that the outreach program has been an all-
volunteer program with no staff funding.  It is a testament to a core of extremely dedicated
volunteers that accomplishments have been achieved.  To date there is only one full-time paid
employee.  Thus, the true potential of the program and its ability to touch the sensitivities of
youth and thereby to become a major educational force in all communities lie largely untapped.

Successes and Accomplishments

The program has close to a zero drop-out rate, even with high-risk youth, and a long waiting
list of youngsters and schools wanting the program.  Although public speaking is generally
recognized as the number one fear of adults, Talking Talons has a success rate of 100% in
placing all students into public speaking, including the use of a microphone.

The rewards of the program are entirely intrinsic.  There are no merit badges, no point systems,
no grades, and no graduations.  To participate in public speaking events, students must contract
to make up all missed work.  Animals are the vehicle through which program staff successfully
reach, teach, and motivate youth to serve their worlds.

In 1994, approximately 122,000 New Mexicans were reached by the public speaking teams of
Talking Talons, the equivalent of eight percent of the population of New Mexico.  The
popularity of the program and the demand for the presentations is a major factor making the
children feel so important to their communities and world, and why the program has seen
statistically significant changes in the self-efficacy and self-concept of young people.

Awards received include the New Mexico Research and Study Council's First Place Quality
Education Award, and the Renew America's Special Merit Award from the National
Environmental Awards Council, 1992.  This was one of six awards nationwide in the category
"Community Environmental Education."  Governor Bruce Kings office hosted the ceremony
and declared December 2, 1992 Talking Talons Youth Leadership Recognition Day.

Public Speaking Outreach has dramatically increased since the incorporation in 1990:  1990,
7,000; 1991, 13,500; 1992, 44,400; 1993, 57,500; and 1994, 121,700.

Prospects for Replication 

National replication is a goal of Talking Talons Youth Leadership.  The specific plan for
replication includes use of the developed methodology and curriculum of Talking Talons, and
extension of developed partnerships with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State game
departments, and Toastmasters International.

Over the past five years the efforts of Talking Talons have focused on solidification of the
program, not direct expansion.  Numbers of students have been held at approximately 80 to
100 each year, with in-school training at two middle schools and one elementary school.  Plans
are to expand to six to ten schools within APS in 1995-1996, assuming adequate funding.  A
pilot out-of-State program operating out of a Leadership Center similar to the facility described
above will be a subsequent extension.

Contact Information

Wendy Aeschliman
Executive Director
Talking Talons Youth Leadership
P.O. Box 2020
Tijeras, NM  87059-2020
(505) 281-1133
(505) 281-1100 faxNew York

Riverhead School District:  Anti-Violence Project

Statement of the Problem

The Riverhead School District is representative of the rural and suburban school districts of
America which have increasingly become the scenes of violent and disruptive behaviors.  The
Suffolk County Department of Social Services reports that the Town of Riverhead accounts for
50% of the families in the region receiving public assistance; 41% of the students in the target
schools receive free or reduced price lunches.  The median income is the lowest of all Long
Island towns; it is 32% lower than the median for Long Island.

The Riverhead High School is the target school for this project.  Over the past several years
the high school has been the scene of increasing incidents of violent and disruptive acts.  The
community has experienced a growth in crime committed by young people.  The extent of the
problem is indicated by statistics from the Probation Department.  In 1993-94, there were 2,315
new probation files for individuals under the age of 21.  During the first half of 1994 there
were 1,484 new cases.  The rate of increase over the past three years has been between 24%
and 26%.

During the spring of 1993, 25% of Riverhead High School's population received an out-of-
school suspension.  A total of 478 suspensions were administered during this period.  The
following are the most common causes for suspension:  truancy and class cutting,
insubordination and refusal, disorderly conduct, and fighting.  In addition, there were
suspensions for:  weapons possession, harassment, menacing, unlawful assembly, assault upon
teachers and students, and drug possession.

During the 1993 school year there were 17 assaults committed by pupils on teachers.  There
was increasing community and parental concern.  A Newsday article, "Riven in Riverhead,"
captured the amount and degree of community concern.  The stage was set to develop, adopt,
and implement a comprehensive and systematic program dedicated to eliminating school
violence and disruption.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of the Riverhead project is to decrease the incidents of violent and disruptive
behavior in the Riverhead High School and to create a safe environment which is conducive
to learning.  This goal is supported by several program and performance objectives which
represent the comprehensive and systematic orientation of the project:

         to develop and/or review and revise Board of Education policies and building level
          regulations to establish a safe school;

         to decrease incidents of violent and disruptive behavior in the High School and
          increase the achievement, self-esteem, and compliance with rules and regulations of
          at-risk pupils through participation in the Alternative High School program;

         to reduce the drop-out rate for the Riverhead High School by 80%;

         to achieve gains in the pupils language arts and mathematics skills and achievement
          in credit courses through instruction, mentoring, and counseling;

         to increase the knowledge, skill, and understanding of staff in dealing with
          disruptive students through a comprehensive in-service program which addresses
          awareness of anti-violence education, methods for coping with and diffusing
          violence, and techniques for handling critical incidents, and to achieve a 75%
          decrease in teacher requests for administrative or security guard intervention in
          discipline incidents;

         to develop a planning model for police and school interaction and action which
          addresses the mutual aims of eliminating violence and disruption in the school and
          community;

         to empower administrators to understand, through continuing in-service training and
          expert consultation, the dynamics of pupil disruption so that they may develop
          strategies and tactical capability to interdict, intervene, and prevent such unsafe
          behaviors;

         to increase the precision and evaluation of anti-violence program planning, through
          the development of a Safe School Data Base and Management Information System,
          thereby increasing the effectiveness of program planning and the efficiency with
          which staff accomplish data-dependent tasks;

         to foster in the pupil the ability to cope with stress, anxiety, frustration, and anger,
          and to deal in a nonviolent way with problems through the development and
          delivery of prevention programs targeted at the development of coping skills;

         to empower parents to work with their children through the development and
          delivery of in-service education programs which will better equip the parent to
          become a partner in the processes of decreasing teenage violent behavior and
          becoming proactive in school and community substance abuse intervention activities;
          and         to design and install a video surveillance system for the outside perimeter of the
          building and for undersupervised areas in order to monitor the school environment
          and provide documentation for prosecution in drug-related and violent behaviors. 

Program Components

The Riverhead School District Anti-Violence Project applies comprehensive and systematic
planning strategies and tactics to the problem of school violence.  It exploits what is known
about youth violence and the importance of establishing a structured environment for the
violence mitigation effort.

The comprehensive planning effort involves the identification of roles, groups, and resources
within the school and community that are affected by school violence and can contribute to its
mitigation.  The project targets a constellation of factors which impact violence mitigation. 
Among the areas targeted are Board of Education policy and its application in the school
buildings; administrative tasking and training; teacher training in coping with disruptive and
violent persons; the development of police and community liaison; the development of anti-
violence curriculum for pupils; the establishment of an Alternative High School program for
those pupils who are unable to profit from regular school and whose behaviors are disruptive
to the safe and orderly education of others; parent training and empowerment in coping with
their children; the application of technological solutions to surveillance; and the development
of tactical response and interdiction plans to violent situations (Critical Incident Response
Teams). 

At the initiation of the project, the Riverhead School District contracted with District and
School Safety Services, Inc. (DSSS) to assist with project implementation.  Project staff were
recruited from among existing district staff.  Assistance was also obtained from the New York
State Division of Criminal Justice Services, which provided active technical assistance; the
New York State School Boards Association in respect to policy development; and the New
York State Education Department, Division of Cultural Education, which provided statistical
background and program information.

The project's specific components include: 

Board of Education Policy  All policies relating to the issue of school violence including
weapons, substance abuse, discipline and consequence codes have been reviewed and/or re-cast. 
Special attention was devoted to the issue of congruence between the Board's policies and the
administrative regulations applied to the high school.  A committee composed of teachers and
building-level administrators worked on the building regulations; formulated a code which
detailed universally applied consequences; and promulgated these regulations to staff, pupils,
and parents.Data Base Development  Early in the project there was recognition that a data base needed
to be constructed to record and measure progress in reducing violence and drug use.  This
system has been designed not only to access pupil data but also to provide an incident
information system which supports the administration in tactical planning, scheduling, and the
assignment of personnel.

Staff Training  A comprehensive staff training program has been developed and implemented. 
The mission of this program is to empower staff to become proactive in the process of building
control (interdiction), intervention, and prevention of violence.  For the vast majority of
teachers and administrators, this represented their first discrete introduction to the field.  The
content for the in-service program has been drawn from the disciplines of education, law
enforcement curriculum, sociology, psychology and law.  The programs include an Awareness
Program aimed at introducing the staff to the issues of personal safety, the functions of police,
and security; defusing violent and disruptive encounters; management of incidents; the laws
affecting search and seizure; anti-violence prevention programs; gangs and the occult; substance
abuse, etc.  In addition, there is a program entitled Coping with and Treating Violence in the
School which concentrates on prevention and intervention strategies and tactics for the
educator.  A Crisis Management or Critical Incident Planning Course is offered to both
administrators and teachers.

The significant effect of this training has been to permit the teacher to become more effective
in actively supervising pupil conduct.  With training, teachers are more likely to assume or
reassume the function of supervision beyond their classroom and into the hallways and
transition spaces, where violent incidents are likely.

Critical Incident Planning and Critical Incident Response Teams  Over 30 strategic and
tactical plans have been developed to cope with incidents with the potential for personal injury,
significant loss of property value, or disruption of the institution.  In addition, a Critical
Incident Response Team composed of teachers, security guards, and administrators has been
trained to respond to critical incidents.  The existence of this team has bolstered the school's
confidence in its ability to manage student and teacher safety. 

Alternative High School Program  An Alternative High School Program has been established
for those pupils who exhibited an inability to function in or profit from attendance in the
regular high school.  In approximately 70% of the cases, these pupils' behavior had been
violent.  The Alternative High School is based on flexible scheduling, career path education,
mentoring, and a strict code of conduct.  The preliminary indicators of success for this project
have been positive.  This program serves approximately 50 students.

Security Guard Structure and Training  The District currently maintains four security guards
in the High School.  These guards have been provided with 60 hours of training and 40 hours
of supervised field service.  Their roles are defined by rules, procedures, and post orders.  The
function of the guard has been communicated to staff, and the guard has been integrated into
the high school team.  At the initiation of the project, there were eight guards, but with the
advent of teacher training, the need for guards decreased.

Substance Abuse and Parenting Program  A Substance Abuse Program with a parenting
component has been initiated.  The Neighborhoods in Action Program has been introduced and
is scheduled for full-scale implementation.

Police Liaison  The introduction of a mechanism for regular meetings between members of
the Riverhead Police Department and project personnel, the discussion of roles, shared training,
and the development of a shared data base have all facilitated the development of a Police
School Liaison officer.

Surveillance  A component of the project is the application of video surveillance hardware and
techniques to the monitoring of the perimeter of the facility.  This equipment has been installed
and monitors parking lots, remote areas of the building, and the cafeteria.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

The project design includes an evaluation component.  The evaluation design has been
developed to document and measure the efficiency of the project activities and the effectiveness
of the project in meeting its stated objectives and goals.  Descriptive statistics are gathered
documenting incidents of violent and disruptive behavior.  In addition, questionnaires have
been developed to gather perceptions of school climate.  Pupil academic achievement and
attendance data is gathered.  Current evaluation results demonstrate that the activities are on
schedule and the project is meeting the stated objectives.

Implementation Problems and Successes

There have been remarkably few problems in program implementation since the project's
inception.  The support of the Board of Education and the Superintendent cleared a path for
project implementation and provided necessary and emphatic visibility for the project.  Training
is a critical component in this project, and as a result most change was dependent on
prerequisite training.  The initial scheduling of courses was difficult.  The Superintendent
provided conference days for staff training to accelerate implementation of the project.

Successes and Accomplishments

The fundamental measure of project success addresses the question of whether or not there has
been a decrease in violent and disruptive behaviors in the High School.  A major evaluation
study is currently being undertaken.  Preliminary findings point to the dramatic impact of the
project.  Interim findings demonstrate the following in respect to the numbers of pupils referred
to the school administration for disciplinary reasons:

Set I (pupil behaviors consistent with violent behavior):  pupil fights have decreased over 68%;
pupil assaults on pupils have decreased 66%; assaults on teachers have decreased 100%;
display and threat to use a weapon has decreased 63%; refusals to follow teacher direction have
decreased 93%; and incidents of harassment have decreased 42%; and Set II (incidents which
are indicative of staff initiative and activity):  seizure of weapons by staff increased 56%; and
drug/alcohol use and possession incidents increased 89%.

Questionnaires administered to staff indicate an increased comfort level with the safety,
security, and climate of the school after the institution of project activities.  Over 90% of staff
participating in the in-service course reported that they felt more confident in their own security
as well as their own abilities to intervene in pupil discipline matters as a result of the training.

Prospects for Replication

From the initiation of the project there has been a commitment to document, validate and
demonstrate the effective elements of this project.  Initial and interim evaluation results are
positive.  Components of the project have been demonstrated in several New York State School
Districts and at workshops sponsored by the New York State Education Department, New York
State School Boards Association, and others.  There has been a great deal of interest expressed
by schools, parent groups, and governmental agencies.  This project is an excellent candidate
for replication.

Contact Information

Edward J. Swensen
Project Manager
District and School Safety Services, Inc.
135 Fourth Street
Greenport, NY  11944
(516) 477-0181
(516) 477-5081 faxNorth Carolina

School Resource Officer Program

Statement of the Problem

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's 1991-1992 survey of all school systems
within the State of North Carolina reveals that 59% of the districts reported an increase in
violent behavior over the past five years.  More recently, the Annual Report on School Violence
1993-94 Baseline Year published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
reports 6,683 incidents or criminal acts occurring on school property including two
kidnappings, four armed robberies, and four rapes.

A number of profound social and demographic changes, which are statistically correlated with
youth violence, are underway.  In the past 35 years a demographic shift from the nuclear
family of the 1950s to an ever increasing proportion of single-parent families has taken place. 
The rate of illegitimacy has grown.  Many new families are headed by females who are at or
just above the poverty line.  Moreover, in those families where mother and father are present,
the dual income family is becoming the norm, producing a generation of latchkey children who
turn to peers and media for advice before they turn to family.

One clear consequence of the demographic trends is a diminished capacity of many families
to deal with the problems of adolescent development.  In fact, some of the factors previously
mentioned are themselves predisposing factors of delinquency:  poverty, single parent homes,
and lack of adequate parental supervision.  In other words, inadequate child rearing practices
are strong predictors of delinquent behavior.  Children must learn from their families the ability
to exercise self control and defer gratification in favor of long-term projects or prospects.  The
diminished capacity of the family to instill these values in some children produces enormous
pressures on public schools.  Clearly, some of these pressures are felt in terms of students who
are unmotivated to learn and difficult to discipline, and some are ultimately released in the
form of school violence.

While researchers in the area of youth violence differ on the causes of youth violence, almost
all agree that youth violence is better addressed early.  In other words, youth violence in its
more extreme expression  assault, robbery, rape  is usually preceded by a pattern of
earlier, less serious incidents such as truancy.  The earlier society can intervene to divert at-risk
youth from violence, the better the chances are that more serious violence later will be averted. 
This early intervention approach is more effective and ultimately less costly.The current concern about school violence underscores the inherent incompatibility between
real learning and school violence.  No educator would disagree that violence is contrary to the
order required for learning to take place.  To underscore this point, the mission statement of
the Charlotte, North Carolina schools reads:  "Education is the primary purpose of the public
school.  In order for teachers to teach and students to learn, an atmosphere conducive to
learning must be consistently maintained."  At a minimum, an atmosphere conducive to
learning requires that students, teachers, and administrators be safe and perceive that they are
safe while at school.

Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the School Resource Officer Program is to maintain and improve the
safety of the learning environment in the schools through the reduction and prevention of
school violence.  To accomplish this goal the following objectives are used:  establish a
WEBNET or a network of existing community agencies to catch children who will otherwise
fail due to diminished capacity of their families to provide adequate socialization; assign an
officer to schools from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; and establish a juvenile task
force which provides referrals.

Program Components

A school outreach program begins with a multijurisdictional task force which has
representatives that bring together decision-making authority and resources that directly affect
juvenile issues.  Representation includes law enforcement, education, courts, the district
attorney, social service agencies, parents, students, and the community.  The task force is
responsible for determining the best way to address school violence for their community.

By involving representatives of all interested parties in the assembly of a community-wide
group of leaders, the fact that school violence in a community is just like other violence in the
community is recognized.  This recognition leads to ownership of the problem of school
violence by the entire community and the desire to address the problem.  It is made
manageable because the problem can be addressed school-by-school or district-wide depending
on the resources and attitude of the community that tackles the problem.  Many programs are
available for consideration by such a task force.  Research by the Governor's Crime
Commission determined that a School Resource Officer (SRO) Program, operating under the
umbrella of a task force, is a very successful approach.

A School Resource Officer Program is a community policing approach practiced in a school
environment.  The school is the officer's beat.  The exclusive focus on the physical and social
territory of the school is an important aspect of the SRO concept.  Unlike the police officer
who responds to school problems as a result of a 911 call by the principal, the SRO regards
the school as his or her community.  He knows its physical design and layout and is aware of
who belongs on campus and who does not.  The officer is required to wear both his uniform
and his weapon while on duty to reinforce his role as an actual police officer in the school. 
He is the center of many school activities and extra curricular events and is a classroom
resource to teachers in his areas of expertise.

One expression of this approach is the Robeson County School Outreach Program (RCSOP). 
The RCSOP places a sworn law enforcement officer in targeted high schools in Robeson
County.  Unlike many other SRO programs nationwide that place uniformed officers in the
schools, the RCSOP reflects a much more comprehensive policy focus that includes an
integration of the resource officer's function with the existing social network of the community
including the Department of Social Services, juvenile courts, the public schools, and law
enforcement.  The RCSOP is a community effort to provide juvenile intervention before court
action becomes necessary.  It is based on a premise that school violence is simply juvenile
violence that takes place in a school setting.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

The ultimate desired outcome of an SRO Program is to maintain and improve the safety of the
learning environment in the schools through the reduction and prevention of school violence. 
The best way to measure whether an SRO Program is achieving this desired outcome is to ask
those who are directly involved in such a program  the students and teachers in the schools. 
Surveys of students and teachers are important tools to measure program effectiveness.

Although difficult to measure, one way to explore violence and crime prevention effectiveness
is to examine incident numbers, such as the number of fights in schools. Incident numbers for
schools and the community at large should be compared before and after program
implementation to determine the impact of the SRO on youth crime outside the school.

One way to set the amount of savings related to the SRO initiative is to use the SRO's own
assessment of his interactions with students to determine how many of his student contacts
actually prevent court petitions.  He can then link these numbers to costs associated with such
petitions.  The reduction in the number of petitions is determined to be a savings in court costs
directly attributed to the SRO's actions in the school.

Implementation Problems and Successes

Research shows that not all schools with sworn officers on campus have an effective SRO
Program.  To be of maximum effectiveness, the SRO must be integrated into the school
community with a much larger role than just an officer.  Specifically, the roles of the SRO are
threefold:  peace officer, counselor, and resource officer.

When the program was first introduced, there was a strong social consensus that the police and
their weapons did not belong on campus.  Once the program was established and the officer
was trained and performing his function correctly, the community sustained the program.

Many of the SROs were not comfortable with the different types of law enforcement required
on campus, including traffic and drug law enforcement, and with the transition from being a
street cop to being a lecturer in the classroom.  Their training included lectures on these topics.

Successes and Accomplishments

Approximately 80% of the eleventh and twelfth grade classes at two high schools in Robeson
County were surveyed.  Respondents were asked, "Would you say the School Resource Officer
has helped reduce the amount of violence since he or she has been at your school?"  "Yes"
responses came from 71.1% of the students who remembered their school before the SRO's
presence.

If the definition of effectiveness is expanded to include effective or efficient use of resources,
an SRO Program offers communities an efficient means to combat crime and violence.  If the
SRO Program is effective, it involves very few additional costs for a community.  In fact, if
hidden costs are investigated, an SRO Program actually pays the community.  General costs
of a program include personnel costs, training and associated travel costs, supply and
equipment costs, and administrative costs.  Because many of these costs already exist
independent of an SRO Program, the additional costs of such a program are less than those
categories suggest.  These additional costs essentially involve opportunity costs or a redirection
of resources with the placement of already existing and trained officers into the schools, rather
than the expenditure of additional monies.

Two additional effects come from SRO coverage at the schools:  (1) violence prevention, and
(2) savings within the criminal justice system.  The savings to the criminal justice system
occurs when cases end as petitions.  When SROs bring juveniles to court, the quality of cases
increases so that judges dismiss fewer cases.  Before SRO presence in schools, juvenile cases
that made it to court were often dismissed because the quality of evidence was not acceptable. 
The municipality incurred court costs with no tangible benefit for the community nor the
juveniles involved.  Moreover, as one judge stated, such dismissals gave the juveniles involved
the message that they could "beat the system."  It became a badge of honor for youngsters to
go to court, have their case dismissed, and return to school to brag about the adventure.  With
SROs, the quality of evidence is such that case dismissal is less likely to occur.

Another savings to the criminal justice system from an SRO Program is related to training
school admissions.  Court officials in Robeson County attribute a reduction in the number of
training school admissions to the Robeson County Juvenile Task Force (RCJTF) generally and
the SRO Program specifically.  According to court officials, each admission to training school
has an annual (1994) cost of $42,000.  The average number of annual admissions to training
schools decreased in Robeson County since the introduction of the RCJTF in July 1991.

Prospects for Replication

To create a School Resource Officer Program, the local leadership must be identified and
formed into a community-wide task force with members who represent all segments of the
community, from law enforcement to social services.  This group will assess the needs of the
community and ascertain community leadership support.  This group will also establish goals
and objectives and identify the target population and funding sources for the SRO Program. 
A board of interested parties in each jurisdiction and school site chooses the SRO.  Successful
resource officers are well integrated and well trained using a proven curriculum.  The SRO
must be connected to a network of services so that he/she can provide all the services
necessary to the children or refer them to the appropriate services.  To institutionalize the
program, the initial task force should continue to hold meetings, and the results of the program
should be quantified.

Contact Information

James Klopovic                           Michael Vasu, Ph.D.
Policy Analyst                           Professor
The Governor's Crime Commission          NCSU
3824 Barrett Drive                       Box 7801
Suite 100                                Raleigh, NC  27695
Raleigh, NC  28609                       (919) 515-3791
(919) 571-3647                           (919) 515-7856 fax
(919) 571-3645 faxOregon

OREGON TOGETHER!:  Communities That Care

Statement of the Problem

All across the country, adults concerned about the health and development of young people are
searching for answers to the adolescent problems of violence, alcohol and other drug abuse,
delinquency, school drop-outs, and teen pregnancy.  Although the problems have existed for
a long time, there is a renewed sense of urgency now, more than ever, to cultivate the best
potential of young Americans.

Until recently, society has responded to these problems with treatment and rehabilitation
services.  Such attempts, at best, do not change the behaviors but only deal with them after
they have surfaced.  Dealing with adolescents once they have exhibited problem behaviors has
shown only modest success and is costly.  Understanding underlying conditions that exist in
the lives of young people is the first step toward identifying effective means of prevention.

This particular program effort, OREGON TOGETHER! (OT!), provides local planners and
service deliverers with a means to head off such problems long before they begin to drain the
community of its economic and human resources.  It focuses on those issues and concerns
which research proves predict such problems.

Research accumulated over the past 30 years or so has demonstrated that there are a number
of risk factors that increase the chances of adolescent problem behaviors.  Equally important
is the evidence that certain protective factors can help shield youngsters from problems.  If we
can reduce or buffer the risks that youngsters face, while increasing protection throughout the
course of their development, we can prevent these problems and promote healthy, pro-social
behaviors.

Goals and Objectives

The major goal of the OT! project is to mobilize communities throughout the State to reduce
risk factors and to increase protective factors that predict adolescent alcohol and other drug
abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, school-drop out, and violent behavior.

The key objectives of the OT! project include the following:

         to involve a minimum of 50 Oregon communities in the OT! process, including
          completion of the three major stages of the process;

         to institute risk/protective-focused prevention approaches throughout the State with
          particular emphasis on collaborative efforts to reduce adolescent and youth problems
          and those related to families;

         to cooperate with other states, and federal-level agencies as well, in the initiation of
          effective and research-based approaches, based on this risk/protective factor
          framework, in order to more completely assess its effectiveness; and

         to institute State- and community-wide approaches to scientific measurement of the
          quality and success of such efforts, in order to provide an opportunity for others to
          replicate such approaches, where appropriate.

Program Components

OREGON TOGETHER! is based on the David Hawkins and Rick Catalano Communities That
Care model developed at the University of Washington.  Listed below are the key elements
and components of the OT! process.

Involvement of Key Leaders:  Key Leader Orientation  The purpose of the orientation is
to create an understanding of the risk/protective factor prevention framework, its basic
premises, and the essential involvement of key leaders who should include the Sheriff and/or
Police Chief, Mayor, District Attorney, School Superintendent, and business leaders. 
Organizers should try for diversity in ethnicity and spheres of influence.  Involvement of key
leaders is critical to success.

This orientation prepares key leaders to:  develop a vision of common goals for the community
and forecast the community's capacity for change; decide whether or not to pursue the
risk/protective factor prevention framework in their local community and whether or not to
commit to a comprehensive, multifaceted, long-term undertaking; and decide whom to invite
as members of the community board or task force.

Formation of a Community Planning Board  If the key leaders decide to launch the program
in their community, they invite members of their community to participate.  The community
board is the main mechanism for carrying out the day-to-day operations of the effort, and some
key leaders may be somewhat less involved as these board members assume a greater level of
responsibility.

The board members typically represent diverse groups and areas in the community.  Law
enforcement, schools, and local government are among those likely to be represented.  These
boards often include existing community coalitions, parents, human service agencies, crime
prevention providers, service providers, youth, representatives of local businesses, service and
civic organizations, religious and cultural groups, recreational organizations, and the media.

Conducting a Community Risk and Resource Assessment  The third step in the process is
for communities to conduct a local assessment of the risk and protective factors related to
adolescent problem behaviors.  Communities gather information on prevention programs and
activities that are currently being offered in order to assess their effectiveness in reducing
critical risks or building protective factors in local young people.

In assessing risk/protective factors and local program delivery, the community is asked to focus
primarily on outcomes  the extent to which local programs are having an actual impact on
the key risk/protective factors identified in the local assessment.  In contrast to many situations
in which communities rush to implement a program, this process will help focus on those parts
of the community that are at highest risk and outline strategies that will address the major risks
they identify.

Community Risk and Resource Assessment Training prepares communities to:  understand risk
and protective factor research, apply the Social Development Strategy, conduct a community
risk assessment, and examine local programs targeting adolescent problem behaviors for
effectiveness.

OT! training materials include a compilation of Social Indicator Data for each Oregon county
and the State, which help community board members assess risk factors according to different
areas of a child's life (family, school, community, peers).  This research assists communities
in creating the profile of their community and identifying the most salient risk factors.

Planning the Program and Deciding on Evaluation Methods  Once the community board
has completed an assessment of the community's most prevalent risks and understands what
programs/activities exist that meet evaluation criteria, the next step is to initiate program
planning.  The focus of the Promising Approaches Training is on developing connections
between identified risk/protective factors and effective strategies that address them.  The
community can then develop an action plan for implementing programs.

The Promising Approaches Training assists communities to:  prioritize the most salient
risk/protective factors in the community; select appropriate strategies from a menu of programs
that have been tested and evaluated for effectiveness in addressing problem behaviors; develop
goals and objectives for an action plan in response to identified risks; identify obstacles to
carrying out the plan and resources for overcoming those obstacles; and establish appropriate
program evaluation methods.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

There are two basic performance measures for the project.  The first is the assessment of
changes in the risk/protective factors identified by each local community planning board. 
Second is the viability of the key leader and community board within the community. 

         Changes in the Risk Assessment Data  A community collects updated information
          and assesses changes in data.  Progress is determined by a reduction in the incidence
          of risk.  For each risk factor there are multiple sets of information.  Communities
          are encouraged to collect more than one set for each risk factor.  As of February
          1995, the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs provides each OT! member
          with archival social indicator data, comparable on a county-by-county basis. 

         State Student Alcohol and Drug Use Survey  The biennial adolescent alcohol and
          other drug use survey of over 11,000 students statewide conducted by the Office of
          Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs measures overall trends in prevalence of all
          intoxicating substances.  In 1994, for the first time, this survey of sixth, eighth, and
          eleventh graders measured various risk/protective factors.

         Viability of Community Board  Presty and Wandersman, Goodman and Steckler,
          Pentz, and other researchers have clearly shown that effective prevention efforts
          require a sustained involvement of a community.  The University of Washington
          TOGETHER research staff and OT! staff, in concert with the above cited
          researchers and others, have preliminarily identified criteria to assess a community
          board's status.  They have identified thirteen criteria necessary to ensure the
          community board's long-term survivability.

Implementation Problems and Successes

In 1990, the goal of the OREGON TOGETHER! project was to involve 25 communities from
throughout the State.  The project has far exceeded this goal.  As of January 1995, there are
55 OT! communities, with another six being formed.  Some of the issues and concerns the
project continues to face include the following:

         The sustainability of community coalitions.  Keeping the momentum alive is
          difficult, particularly in rural communities where a few volunteers do everything. 
          Limited resources for the OT! communities and limited staff are also barriers. 
          Encouraging key leaders to stay involved is of vital importance.

         How to more effectively measure and evaluate success.  Because of the largely
          volunteer nature of the OT! coalitions, keeping people informed, trained, and
          motivated to continue collecting risk assessment data is staff intensive.

Successes and Accomplishments

Project staff are very pleased with the support of the Oregon Criminal Justice Services
Division, which has provided three years of funding to support the OT! project.  This year OT!
communities are applying individually for Edward Byrne Memorial Grant funds through the
Oregon Criminal Justice Services Division to implement risk-focused prevention strategies at
their local level.

         Currently 55 Oregon communities have been trained and actively participate in the
          risk-focused prevention approach to reduction of adolescent behavior problems.
       
         Thirty-five communities successfully completed implementation plans for their
          strategies and receive $4,000 mini-grants to aid in their efforts.
          
         Through a grant from MicroSoft, Inc., OT! members have been trained in and given
          software to aid the ongoing risk assessment process and evaluation of strategies.
       
         Oregon Office of Drug Abuse Prevention was awarded a grant from the Center for
          Substance Abuse Prevention to provide a data analyst to profile the sixteen risk
          factors in every Oregon county by assessing common archival data and survey data. 
          Additionally, the Department of Human Resources division heads and staff are now
          being trained to utilize the risk factors in their daily work with clients.
          
Additionally, we have had significant success in getting other social service agencies and
providers to consider the risk/protective factor framework in efforts to serve a variety of clients
and consumers.  Those adopting such an approach, at least in part, include local commissions
on children and families; the Oregon Department of Education, which administers 70% of the
State's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities funds; Reduce Adolescent Prevention
Problems project of the Department of Human Resources; Oregon National Guard efforts in
drug demand reduction; Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon (TOFCO); and Department of
Human Resources Risk/Protective Factors Task Force.

Included here is a brief profile of one OT! community effort to impact its salient risk/protective
factors.

Beaverton Together! efforts have been led by a strong group of key community leaders
including the Superintendent of Schools, Mayor, local police officers, county sheriff's office,
business leaders, school personnel, faith community leaders, youth, and others.  Key leaders
describe Beaverton Together! not as a "program," but as a group that links and facilitates
programs to address the risks facing young people.  The Together! Board conducted an
assessment of risk factors in Beaverton by collecting archival data and conducting a phone
survey.

Juvenile vandalism and loitering in city parks was becoming a problem for this suburban
community.  A city police officer approached Beaverton Together! about launching a Friday
night basketball program to draw in gang members and juveniles with nothing to do.  Night
Court, a midnight basketball program for seventh to ninth grade youth, was launched at three
middle schools in Spring 1994.  This program is attracting over 500 young people each Friday
night and has recently expanded to six sites.  City police officers run the program assisted by
the local park and recreation program and Boys and Girls Club staff.  The school district
provides the open gyms and a janitor, youth civil patrol help monitor parking lots, and Cellular
One provides free phones for emergency calls.  This project exemplifies model collaboration.

In another project involving youth from the Beaverton Intermediate Schools and the Beaverton
Police Department, Beaverton Peer Court, was launched in February 1995.  As modeled in
other peer court projects from around the country, peer court utilizes students as jurors, defense
and prosecuting attorneys, and bailiffs.  Only misdemeanor cases are heard by Peer Court juries
at each week's sessions.  A local judge serves as the presiding officer of the court. 

Prospects for Replication

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has supported many of the research efforts
of the David Hawkins and Rick Catalano work at the University of Washington in Seattle.  The
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has also provided resources to local
communities and states investing in this approach, as has the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The work of a Six-state consortium has allowed ongoing communication between professionals
implementing the risk/protective factor framework into their statewide prevention efforts. 
Those states (Kansas, Maine, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah and Washington) have received
some limited assistance from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to continue this work
together.  As they continue this collaborative effort, they have begun to reach out to other
states and organizations nationwide, providing key information and guidelines for
implementation.

Contact Information

Judy Cushing
Project Coordinator
OREGON TOGETHER!
Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention
500 Summer Street NE
Salem, OR  97310-1016
(503) 945-5764
(503) 378-8467 faxRhode Island

Tides Family Services

Statement of the Problem

There is a need to develop a consistent, unified strategy and plan to effectively (therapeutically
and financially) deal with runaway, truant, substance abusing youth at the community level
rather than refer these youth to Family Court and, potentially, to the Rhode Island State system. 
As a result of the lack of coordinated services at the community level, youth run the risk of
initially being "ignored" for behaviors (truancy, running away, substance abuse and beyond-
control behaviors) that are symptomatic of potentially more serious delinquency, and then are
prematurely removed from their communities and placed in a State system.  On a local level,
there is a need to seek out and provide accessible family services.

Researchers agree that early identification of problems and early intervention are key to
reducing later negative outcomes.  Problem behaviors are precursors of more potentially serious
behaviors.  Youth involved in these behaviors respond best when they and their families are
offered a range of services and there is multiagency collaboration.  Emphasis needs to be on
empowering both the youth and the family.  Use of strategies based on the traditional mental
health model (50 minute clinical hour office visit) consistently demonstrates little success with
this group of youngsters.  Empowering families means reaching out to them in their homes,
schools and community, and experiencing their world.  Parents and youth are more cooperative
when they know you understand the environmental pressures they are facing. 

Evaluation of the human services delivery system in Rhode Island consistently paints a picture
that is not family friendly, that lacks the financial resources to respond to the needs of the
families and youth, and that is fragmented.  The limited menu of services and delays in service
delivery reduce the likelihood of success.  Family Court, with its ability to "order" funding for
treatment, is one avenue to access services.  This is a "Catch 22," since placement frequently
becomes the treatment of choice, due to long waiting lists for essential services and the lack
of preventive alternatives.  Thus, a youth who is causing trouble at home, in school, or the
community can be petitioned to Family Court to "solve the problem" and, if uncooperative, can
ultimately be incarcerated at great expense to the taxpayer.  Research is inconclusive about
whether or not the threat or actual incarceration of juveniles prevents or enhances the
possibility of further involvement with the juvenile justice system.  Given the current mentality
of "zero tolerance" for inappropriate behaviors, the threat of incarceration is very real.Goals and Objectives

The goal of the Tide Family Services program is to intervene with youth who are most at-risk
of becoming involved with the juvenile justice system.  These youth are the most likely to be
petitioned to Family Court on charges of truancy, wayward/status offenses, or delinquency. 
Traditionally, these youth are difficult to engage and not receptive to treatment.  Although
isolated attempts are made to find these youth, there is little or no consistent follow-through
until the youth is petitioned to Family Court.

Specifically, the objectives of the program are to:

         Improve the availability and coordination of local services related to runaway, truant,
          substance abusing, and beyond-control youth by identifying them and their families
          and insisting that they become involved in the services; and providing a model for
          legislative initiatives for the purpose of mandating appropriate family outreach
          counseling and advocacy services to wayward/status youth and their families prior
          to allowing a Wayward/Status Petition to be filed on a youth in Family Court.
          
         Provide a therapeutically sound and cost-effective continuum of services for youth
          at risk of being placed outside of the home and referring youth in the fifth, sixth,
          seventh, and eighth grades to the project when a pattern of truancy begins;
          aggressively identifying these youngsters who continue to be truant or suspended,
          and, when possible, bringing them to the project during the school hours; insisting
          that the parent(s) participate in services with other parents at least one night a week
          at the community center where community service providers will be present and
          available to help families; and developing a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week intensive
          tracking program with the capacity to service 50 youth in the target area for a
          maximum of six months.

         Provide a culturally sensitive program by ensuring the capability of communicating
          and understanding the various ethnic/cultural issues through networking with and,
          when possible, accessing services provided by the various ethnic groups and
          associations involved in the community; and hiring bilingual staff when possible. 

         Provide information and training regarding issues related to the illicit use of alcohol
          and drugs and teaching refusal skills and nonviolent conflict resolution skills by
          developing a series of individual, family, and group counseling programs to
          maximize awareness of the dangers of illicit alcohol and drugs, and teaching refusal
          skills and nonviolent conflict resolution.Program Components

The program structure is a collaborative working arrangement involving the police, the youth's
school, and Tides Family Services.  In each of the target areas, a TEAM is established
composed of a juvenile or community police officer, a school representative, and a family
outreach worker from Tides Family Services.  Tides Family Services seeks out these youth and
families on home visits and initiates family counseling and advocacy.  The TEAM meets
regularly to monitor and attempt, with parental permission, to secure appropriate preventive
services.  Before petitioning the youth into court, which can be filed by either the police or
school authorities, the TEAM must attempt to secure services for the youth within her/his
community.  Even when the youth is petitioned into court, the Family Court Diversionary Unit
becomes involved in the project and works with the TEAM.  The Family Court Diversionary
worker can informally dispose of the petition provided the youth cooperates.

Tides Family Services staff work directly with representatives of the schools, police
jurisdictions, and Family Court.  The concepts used in the original project have been refined
and an intensive 24-hour, seven-day-a-week tracking program has been added.  An Hispanic
outreach/counseling component has been operational for one year in the Pawtucket and Central
Falls area.  There are also significant Portuguese and Cape Verdian populations.

If a youth is known to the police or school authorities as a runaway, a substance abuser, a
truant, and/or is beyond the control of the parent(s), a referral is made to Tides Family
Services.  The Tides family worker will arrange an initial meeting at the youth's home to
explain the program and conduct a family assessment.

If the parent(s) or the youth refuses to allow the Tides family worker to come to the home, the
truant or juvenile officer will arrange a meeting either at school or in the police station.

If a referral comes to the police, the juvenile officer might choose to refer it to the Juvenile
Hearing Board or to the Tides Family Services project.  The initial meeting might take place
at the police station with the parent(s), youth, juvenile officer and Tides worker, or at the home
with the Tides family worker.  In either case, the family worker begins the assessment at the
home.  The treatment team, at this point, is the school representative, the juvenile officer and
the Tides family worker.  Based upon the assessment, the team develops and approves a
treatment plan.  It is the responsibility of the Tides worker to see that the plan is implemented.

The Tides family worker is expected to work with the family on all issues relating to the
family and the family's involvement within the community.  The minimum services include
family, individual, and group counseling.  Ancillary services include advocacy work, helping
to secure additional resources (e.g., AIDS testing, fuel assistance, arranging General
Equivalency Diploma classes, job training, etc.).  If there are school-related problems, the Tides
family worker and school team member are expected to work with the family to develop an
appropriate school program.  If the school cannot initiate a program, the family begins an
appeal process.  The family worker would be expected to advocate for the family.

The Tides family worker can recommend that the youth be evaluated for learning disabilities
under Public Law 94-142.  If the youth is determined not eligible for these services, the family
worker can request that the youth be considered eligible for program adjustments under section
504 of the Rhode Island Education Law.  At any stage of the process, the team, in conjunction
with the parent(s), may utilize appropriate community resources.  This can involve referrals to
the local Child and Adolescent Service System Program, Alcoholics Anonymous or Alanon
meetings, parent support groups, or Brother to Brother (family violence counseling).

If the youth is a runaway or homeless, the team uses the services offered by the Rhode Island
Runaway and Host Home Network.  If the problem is still unresolved, the appropriate petition
is filed with Family Court and the team requests that the case be sent to the Family Court
Diversionary Unit.  One member of this unit is assigned to the target area.  The court diversion
worker is part of the team (social service worker, school representative, and juvenile officer)
and attends regularly scheduled meetings.  The team attempts to resolve the issues and work
on a quasi-probationary contract.  If the youth or family still refuses to cooperate, the team
may recommend that the case be placed on the court calendar.

At the pre-trial hearing, with permission from the parent(s), the members of the team present
a report prepared under the leadership of the Tides family worker to the Judge.  The report
includes a brief social history, description of services provided, and specific recommendations
for that youth.  Removal of the youth from the family is the last option considered.  If the
judge orders a short-term placement, the Tides family worker remains involved in the case,
with the approval of the court.  This facilitates a more expeditious return of the youth to the
family.

Results and Impact 

Performance Measures

The innovative focus of this project is that it has the capability of effecting a change in the
current system that is used to deal with runaway and homeless youth.  Currently, there is no
organized or coordinated statewide approach to servicing these youth.  Neither the police nor
the truant officers were able to assess and treat the problems that the youth and their families
presented, and their knowledge of the services within the human service community was
limited.  Their only function was to make the referral to court.  With the involvement of Tides
Family Services as the lead social agency, crisis intervention, assessment, and counseling are
available prior to the youth being referred to Court.

Implementation Problems and Successes

In the original target area (Kent County), the overall implementation went smoothly.  The
police, school and Family Court readily agreed to become involved with the project.  The
TEAMS were quickly established and referrals were processed.  Statewide, the difficulty was
the number of referrals.  In January 1995, with a total of five full-time staff processing cases,
there were still 71 cases on the waiting list.  Parents were calling requesting services and
youths were cooperating.  Many of the youth resided in the same areas and their friends were
either involved with this project or in other Tides programs. 

The Tides workers' main function is to find and engage these families in the community.  The
expectation for the original project was that with three full-time staff, the program could
service a daily average of 70 youth and their families.  The maximum length of service would
be six months.  The plan was to service 200 families in the original project during the first year
of operation.  The project used college student interns to work under the supervision of the
regular staff.  This accounted for approximately 200 hours a week of volunteer services from
college students.

Although staff were very successful at finding the participants and convincing them to return
to school, staff nevertheless spent considerable time advocating on behalf of parents and youths
with school administrators and teachers to provide an appropriate educational program.  The
youths frequently fell into a pattern of detention, suspensions and, eventually, exclusion.  When
not in school, the youths were caught up in the cycle of staying up very late at night and
sleeping during the day.  This pattern frequently involved alcohol and drug use/abuse and
sexual promiscuity, indicating a high potential for more serious delinquent behaviors.  It was
very difficult to break this pattern.

Although Rhode Island is a small state, there are 39 municipalities, and each is independent,
so that creating a legislative change is much more difficult then originally anticipated. 

Successes and Accomplishments

The teams are operational in Kent County, the original target area.  Petitions for truancy and
Wayward/Status offenses are referred to the Tides Family Services.  Youths and families have
basically cooperated.  Although it was beyond the scope of the research component to measure
success, the cooperation of the police, school, and Family Court personnel was very
encouraging.  As a result, a number of youth were diverted from the Family Court.  Those
petitioned to the Family Court in a number of cases were referred back to Tides for counseling
services, and were able to continue to live at home.

Two professional conferences have been conducted:  one for professionals from across the
State and one for the Kent County area professionals.  The purpose of these conferences is to
help communities assume "ownership" for their children.

On a program level, in her report entitled Runaway Reunification Project:  Program Evaluation
(October, 1994) Lenore Olsen, Ph.D., noted the following: 

         This program model incorporates many of the elements that have been found to be
          successful with this population of high-risk youth.  It offers a range of services to
          youth and their families and has developed strategies for multiagency collaboration.

         Early identification of problems and early intervention are key to reducing later
          negative outcomes.  This program has components for identifying at-risk youth, and
          providing early intervention services.

         Social skills training, which was offered to most youth, is another component of
          successful early intervention programs.

         Reviews of successful programs also repeatedly emphasize the need to empower
          both the youth and their parents.  Suggestions for empowerment include involving
          clients in cooperative case planning, peer support and education, involvement in
          agency and community policy making, experiential sharing, and involvement in
          advocacy and outreach efforts.

         Such groups (peer support) have been demonstrated to be particularly effective in
          dealing with drug abuse, anger management, and social skills development.

Tides Family Services has a Latino Outreach Component.  This has helped considerably in
reaching this population, especially in Pawtucket and Central Falls.  The workers are in direct
contact with Progresso Latino and Proyecto Esperanza, the two major Hispanic agencies in
Rhode Island.  The Hispanic population is the largest minority group in the State.

Prospects for Replication

Tides Family Services began in 1983.  The DHHS grant enabled Tides to focus more closely
on the issue of preventing youth from being removed from their families.  The project is in the
process of being replicated in a second target area.  The intensive outreach component begun
in October 1994 in the second target area provides intensive tracking.  The hope is to add
another component which will allow Tides workers in conjunction with the truant officers and
police to seek out truants and bring them to a central location.  This new component is the
final step in a total network of services for truant, runaway, substance abusing, and beyond
control youth.

Tides Family Services is currently attempting to secure funding and a legislative mandate to
seek out truants and bring them to the Barton Street Community Center in Pawtucket, Rhode
Island.  Tutorial and counseling services will be provided for the youth, and the parent(s) will
be expected to attend family and group counseling sessions.Contact Information

Brother Michael Reis
Executive Director
Tides Family Services
1599 Main Street
West Warwick, RI  02893
(401) 822-1360Virginia

An Achievable Dream

Statement of the Problem

Thousands of children in Newport News are shut out of the "American Dream" because they
are at-risk for school failure.  Factors contributing to the risk include:  poverty, single parent
homes, violence in their environment, lack of successful role models, a pervasive street culture
that degenerates education, and low opportunity for exposure to academic/cultural enrichment
opportunities.

In Newport News, more than 30% of ninth graders fail to complete high school with their
entering class.  Dropouts have little hope of competing for jobs, which require technical
knowledge, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.  The solution is
education.  This is the Achievable Dream:  that these children stay in school and obtain the
education needed to become contributing citizens.  The vision is that many will attend college
with help from the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program and others will go to technical and
vocational schools after completing high school.

To compete in a global economy, educated workers must be readied for the technically
demanding industries that will drive the economy.  If the United States is to compete
successfully in this global marketplace, all of its children, including those at-risk, must be
prepared to be productive.

Goals and Objectives

An Achievable Dream Magnet School is committed to the academic success of children grades
three through eight who are identified as being at-risk of school failure.  An Achievable Dream
Magnet School provides a challenging educational environment including social, emotional, and
academic support which enables students to take full advantage of educational opportunities
leading to success as educated, employable, and highly responsible citizens.

The overall goal of An Achievable Dream Magnet School is to provide an exciting but highly
structured educational environment.  This environment must challenge and motivate the
academic and social skills of children who risk not realizing their full educational potential due
to the presence of multiple negative socio-economic factors.

This rigorous academic program is offered year-round and emphasizes self-discipline.  The
self-esteem, aspirations, and skills students develop while a part of An Achievable Dream
Magnet School will lead them to stay in school, pursue an education beyond high school, and
become productive citizens.  As students develop respect for themselves and for the value of
their education, they will begin to understand, appreciate, and value others.  Responsible
patterns of socialization will unfold, making involvement in crime, delinquency, and substance
abuse unlikely.
 
The specific objectives of An Achievable Dream Magnet School are to:

         provide a creative, motivating, and exciting program to ensure academic success and
          improve school attendance;

         develop positive attitudes about school and the relationship education plays in
          success;

         provide a social bridge through the sport of tennis;

         provide social skills training and expect appropriate behavior to demonstrate this
          training;

         help students develop a positive and realistic self-concept;

         increase student awareness of career opportunities;

         expand student aspirations and instill a belief that these aspirations are achievable;

         strengthen parent involvement in the educational process;

         develop an awareness of individual responsibility in the community;

         achieve 12-month academic progress during a 240 day school year based upon the
          Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) test scores;

         develop a minimum word processing literacy of 25 words per minute by the fifth
          grade;

         ensure that all fifth grade students read at the fifth grade reading level as indicated
          by IOWA and DRP scores; and

         offer positive alternatives to street culture which harbors crime, drugs, and violence.Program Components

An Achievable Dream Magnet School is a traditional elementary school with a major emphasis
on academics, character development, and discipline.  Emphasis is on reading, reading
comprehension, mathematics, and computer skills.

An Achievable Dream Magnet School imparts academics aggressively through an elementary
school day which is 35% longer than the Newport News Public Schools standard in core
subjects.  This extended day allows teachers to provide lessons in much greater depth. 
Teaching is done at an accelerated level with tutoring provided for those children who are not
on grade level.  The school requires not only a longer school day, but a year-round school
program with a calendar from September through June and a required 8-week summer
semester.  An Achievable Dream Magnet School is in session 45 weeks out of 52 weeks in the
calendar year.

There is a teacher and an assistant in each class, which represents a 12 to one student to
teacher ratio.  Teachers are recruited with a year-to-year commitment.  The program attempts
to select young teachers with good stamina, high energy, and diversity in race and gender. 
Teachers are dared to dream up the most exciting ways to teach and are given the freedom to
be creative.

An Achievable Dream Magnet School enhances the academic enrichment experience with
frequent field trips.  Weekly trips during the summer reinforce thematic curriculum, and
monthly trips during the school year provide not only educational support but cultural and
socially broadening experiences as well.

Along with academic ability, An Achievable Dream Magnet School stresses the essential
ingredients of character and citizenship to a person's success.  The virtues for success which
are concentrated on daily as part of the school and classroom culture are:  self discipline,
honesty, integrity, acceptance of responsibility, respect for adults, respect for property,
punctuality, lawfulness, decision making, and peaceful conflict resolution.  To stress the strong
association between education, character building, and success, role models are brought in each
Friday for a presentation which includes their backgrounds, education, and what they believe
it takes to succeed.  The children have an opportunity to ask questions of people whom they
can learn from and emulate.

The children have daily character development sessions conducted by a volunteer group from
the military with an emphasis on moral and personal responsibility.  Discipline is administered
so that children understand that they have to be responsible for their own actions.  There is a
demerit system to monitor the expectations for uniform presentation and behavior.

Tennis is an important part of the program, and every child must participate in it year-round. 
Playing tennis develops sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline, social skills, proper dress, and
appropriate behavior which are necessary in the development of a good citizen.

An Achievable Dream Magnet School furnishes uniforms which must be worn every day and
must be maintained and replaced by the family as needed.  The program starts in the third
grade and continues through the twelfth grade.  Children in the program who maintain a C+
grade average, are drug and major crime free, do not become pregnant or father a child, and
meet the necessary entrance requirements will be given their choice to attend a State college
or trade school with tuition paid by the State through the Virginia Guaranteed Assistance
Program.

Students in the Achievable Dream Magnet School Program are expected to grow academically,
socially, and emotionally.  Study and organizational skills are expected to improve.  Students
are given many opportunities to interact with peers and adults in an attempt to improve social
skills.  For those students needing additional support, academic tutoring is available.  If
counseling or family services support is needed, the guidance department and home/school
coordinators work with children and their families to provide requested support.

Parental involvement is a big part of the program.  Both parents and students are required to
sign a contract that ensures participation, attendance, regular homework, and good behavior. 
A home-school coordinator is on site full-time to help teachers involve parents and support
students.  Families are expected to give 16 hours of involvement time every nine weeks.  When
children get their report cards every nine weeks, parents also get report cards, highlighting
adherence to parent contract obligations and giving suggestions for continued family
involvement.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

Performance is measured in several ways by gathering both hard and soft data.  Academic
success is measured with the DRP (Degrees of Reading Power) Test, ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic
Skills), and teacher-directed informal Reading Inventory and Math Testing.  Growth in
citizenship and work-study habits is measured by the staff and indicated every nine weeks on
both the academic and citizenship report cards.

Implementation Problems and Successes

The Achievable Dream Program represents a complex amalgam of educators, business partners,
and municipal government.  The implementation of this complex program has been challenging
due to the colliding paradigms of involved entities.  As the school system strives to work with
the business community and city government to insure adequate implementation of the
components of the Achievable Dream Program, all entities have had to stretch and shift their
paradigms about what works in the education arena.The length of the school day, transportation from one end of the city to another (approximately
21 miles), parental involvement, attendance, uniform maintenance, and technology integration
are some of the many challenges that the Achievable Dream Program has had to face this
school year.

Successes and Accomplishments

Students are actively engaged in the academic experiences offered to them each day.  They
enjoy wearing uniforms to school and being associated with the program.  The teachers and
assistants are dedicated and make sure that students are successful.

In the 1992-93 school year, the majority of the Achievable Dream Magnet School students
made percentile growth in academic achievement:  42% on the DRP; 41% on the ITBS
Reading; 69% on the ITBS Math; 83% in at least one of the academic areas tested; and 17%
in all areas.  An Achievable Dream Magnet School students made quartile growth on the
standardized measures (DRP and ITBS Reading and Math):  22% on the DRP; 17% on the
ITBS Reading; 40% on the ITBS Math; 54% in at least one of the three tested areas; and 7%
in all three areas.  Thirty-three percent of an Achievable Dream Magnet School students made
more than one year's gain in reading, and 68% made more than one year's gain in math.

In the 1993-94 school year in the fourth grade, the average scores in math were maintained or
increased, and more new fourth graders are scoring above the national average in math (52%). 
The fifth grade groups showed quartile growth in reading from 10% the first year to 49% the
second year on the ITBS - Reading and from 22% to 40% on the DRP.  After their first year
in the program, 37% of the new fifth grade students made quartile gains on the DRP; 53%
made quartile gains on the ITBS - Reading; and 42% made quartile gains on the ITBS - Math. 
Most fifth graders are scoring above the national average on standardized test measures.  Most
fifth graders are achieving more than one year's growth in reading or in math.

Prospects for Replication

Many other localities have inquired about what would be necessary to replicate the Achievable
Dream Magnet School Program.  Achievable Dream, Inc. is very willing to share information
and staff to assist in the process of replication.  Richmond, Virginia and Hampton, Virginia
have actively investigated the possibility of beginning programs like this one.Contact Information

Jacob M. Wilson, III
Principal
An Achievable Dream Magnet School
Dunbar-Erwin Elementary School
726 16th Street
Newport News, VA  23607
(804) 928-6825
(804) 247-1720 faxWashington

Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention Program

Statement of the Problem

Incidents of youth violence in Washington State have been rising steadily for more than a
decade, with arrests of juveniles for violent crimes increasing at a rate more than twice the
national average.  In 1992, Washington's Department of Community, Trade and Economic
Development launched a counter offensive to this exponential growth of violence with an
innovative pilot program which mobilized communities to develop solutions to their unique sets
of problems related to youth violence.

The roots of violence are an intricate web of compounding factors that include poverty, racism,
drug abuse, child abuse, easy access to guns, and media glamorization of violence.  While
virtually all communities across Washington have experienced heightened levels of youth
violence, the circumstances that lead to violent behavior often differ significantly from town
to town and neighborhood to neighborhood.  The Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention
Program was created in recognition of this, with the belief that each community is the best
expert on its own problems and in the best position to develop its own solutions.

With this philosophy in mind, the Department invited communities to develop strategies for
community-based solutions to youth violence.  They were directed to use a developmental
framework which begins with assessment and prioritization of community needs, followed by
formation of strategies.  The final stage of this development model involves identification and
measurement of outcomes to assure strategies are working successfully.  Fourteen custom-
designed approaches, known universally as the Youth Violence Prevention and Intervention
Program (YVPIP), have now been developed across the State, creating a laboratory in which
individual categories of services and a variety of service combinations are being studied for
effectiveness.

Goals and Objectives

The universal goal of the YVPIP is to reduce those factors which place individuals and
communities at risk of experiencing violence and enhance those factors which protect against
violence.  Individual, community-level goals encompass these general areas:
       
         provide educational, employment, and health care services to youths living in areas
          with disproportionately low incomes and high rates of violence;
         reduce rates of recidivism for youthful offenders;
         reduce school failure and dropout rates;
         create safe and empowering schools for students and staff;
         reduce rates of crime, violence, and unemployment in areas heavily impacted by
          violence and crime; and
         assist students to prevent or escape gang involvement and succeed in school.
          
The objective of the YVPIP is to provide opportunities for young people to experience
recognition and respect and forge bonds to their communities within the context of their
schools, families, and neighborhoods.  YVPIP activities and services are designed to develop
in young people a sense of identity and purpose leading to positive contributions to their
communities.  Specific objectives at the local level include:
          
         individualized case management of youths in the development of educational goals,
          job training and placement, and special assistance and support in accessing needed
          resources;
         incarcerated youths develop skills in communication, anger management, victim
          empathy, and conflict resolution with aftercare support provided in job and
          educational placement and accessing needed services and supports;
         mentoring programs pair high-risk students with caring teachers and police to
          provide educational and social support;
         school district-wide training provided to students and staff in anger management,
          conflict resolution, and violence prevention skills;
         comprehensive case management of high-risk students by multidisciplinary team; 
         drop-in recreational programs provide safe environments, educational assistance, job
          training and placement, and access to health and social services;
         school-based violence prevention and peer counselor training;
         interdisciplinary team uses outreach and case management to develop social and
          health service plans to improve family functioning;
         after-school homework assistance and life skills training for students impacted by
          poverty, family problems, and special educational needs;
         high school re-entry classes provide opportunities for students to make up high
          school credits, with reinforcement in areas such as self-esteem, gang prevention,
          career awareness, teen pregnancy, goal setting, life skills, HIV education, and
          seeking a vision; and
         street outreach and skill-building opportunities in the areas of life skills, education,
          leadership, and recreation for gang involved youths.

Program Components

While the specific activities and services provided by each YVPIP differ according to
individual communities' needs, each program is required to develop services using the
following development model:

         assess community needs through identification of risk and protective factors;
         prioritize risk factors to be addressed;
         identify means for enhancing factors which protect against community risks;
         design strategy for minimizing risks and maximizing protective factors;
         identify indicators for measuring outcomes;
         devise means for measuring outcomes;
         implement outcome measurement; and
         participate in statewide evaluation.

The YVPIPs use a community mobilization model at each site.  This model allows each site
to bring together a consortium of service providers, educators, parents, business and community
leaders, law enforcement, and young people.  This group designs and implements solutions to
community problems.  This broad-based inclusion of youths, service providers, parents, and
educators makes for more comprehensive and reliable planning.

By using a risk and protective factor based model, each community designs services to meet
their needs, but within a format that assures accountability and maximizes success.  Activities
conducted by the 14 projects cover a broad spectrum of services, from prevention to
intervention and treatment, including:

         educational assistance including school re-entry services, tutoring, educational
          placement, and alternative schools;
         job training and placement;
         drop-in activity programs;
         counseling and support groups;
         skill building in communications, anger management, conflict resolution, victim
          awareness and empathy, and life choices;
         transition services for paroled youths; and
         assistance in accessing social and health resources including drug treatment, housing,
          health care, and other basic needs.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

These indicators may be individual or community-based, depending on the services provided. 
In a drop-in, recreationally-based program, where individual case management is not
appropriate or possible, community trends such as drops in crime rates for the areas where
drop-in sites are located are measured.  In a program where specific individuals are being
managed, tracking those individuals' successes is possible, and the indicators used by this kind
of a program might include raised grade point average, completion of drug treatment, or job
placement.

While the individual nature of the 14 pilot projects which make up the YVPIP presents an
evaluation challenge, the flexibility which allows each community to custom-design services
to meet their individual needs is expected to be more successful than prescribed program
services.  The risk and protective factor-based model provides the basis for evaluation, allowing
for each program to be evaluated on its own merits, based upon the goals and measurements
they themselves have identified.

An independent evaluator, Dr. Claus Tjaden, has been contracted to conduct an evaluation of
the program.  A process evaluation was completed in January 1995.  The first stage of the
program evaluation will be completed in July 1995.

Implementation Problems and Successes

Community-designed and implemented services hold great promise for success, but such a
design can also pose particular challenges because there is no single replication model.  Most
programs have struggled to some extent with the challenge of tailoring services to be
community-appropriate.

Training in risk and protective factors has been provided to the YVPIP contractors to help them
make most effective use of this development model.  This allows program strategies and
services to be more effective when designed to mitigate specific situations.  At the same time,
by basing services on known risks and protective factors, the means for measuring and
evaluating program effectiveness is created.  The initial findings in the process evaluation
confirm that services address important individual and community needs.  In most instances,
programs are well integrated into, and receive support from, the local communities.  A wide
range of community types and populations are served through these community-based models.

Funding is a challenge for virtually all the projects, as YVPIP funding is minimal, from a low
of $36,450 to a high of $74,300.  The programs are required to access a minimum 25% local
match in cash, in-kind, or a combination of the two.  As described above, most programs are
attempting significant community change requiring substantially greater resources than those
provided through their YVPIP grant alone.  Most programs are leveraging local funds far
beyond the 25% match required.

Successes and Accomplishments

A total of 11,846 clients including 1,632 parents were provided services over fiscal year 1994. 
Demographically, those served were African American (15.8%), Asian American (13.4%),
Caucasian (47.5%), Hispanic (15.6%), Native American (2.9%), and other ethnicities (1.6%). 
Clients ranged in age from eight to twenty-one years.  Seventy-four percent of clients were 8-
15 years old; 21.8% were 16-18 years old; and 4.2% were 19-21 years old.

In the Center for Career Alternatives YVPIP, 72% of youths who were provided job training
were employed in un-subsidized jobs.  Ninety day follow-ups indicated 100% job retention. 
One hundred percent (100%) of the youths targeted for reentry into school are still attending
or have graduated.

The Yakima Police Department has reported an 83% reduction in violent crime rates in
neighborhoods where Kid's Place and Night Action programs exist as part of the Yakima
YVPIP.  There has been a 75% reduction of reported on-campus violence since conflict
resolution training has been provided through the Puget Sound Educational Service District
YVPIP.  The suspension rate for students of color has been reduced by 50% since
implementation of school-wide conflict resolution training, and weapons violations decreased
from ten in 1992-93 to three in 1991-94 in the Kennewick YVPIP area.  Tacoma Police report
a sharp decline in gang activity during hours when the Late-Night YMCA program is in
operation as part of the Safe Streets YVPIP.  Finally, 72% of the youths who initially indicated
they intended to continue drug use after release from Echo Glen juvenile rehabilitation
institution went into drug treatment after participating in counseling and youth support groups
as part of the Echo Glen YVPIP.

Prospects for Replication

The development model can and has been successfully replicated.  The model used by the
YVPIPs is based largely upon a model developed by the University of Washington's Social
Development Research Group, known as "Communities that Care."  The assessment of
community risk and protective factors form the basis for strategies and services and the
development of means for measurement.  What occurs in between the assessment and the
outcome is completely individualized, although actual services provided generally can be
categorized by type.  It is the tailoring of these services to meet specific community needs and
the particular combination of these services that makes each program unique.  The other unique
factor found in the projects is the mobilization of the community to assess needs and design
strategies.

The advantages to this community-based approach are compounded across the State through
the exchange of ideas that take place among the YVPIPs, as they meet to discuss and provide
updated information on their respective programs and communities.  Representatives share what
has and has not worked for each organization, trouble-shoot problems, and exchange solutions
and models directly from their respective experiences.Contact Information

Sherman Wilkins
Gang/Youth Violence Intervention
  Prevention Specialist
Echo Glen Children's Center
33010 Southeast 99th Street
Snoqualmie, WA  98065
(206) 831-1262
(206) 831-1320 faxWyoming

Wind River Indian Reservation Youth and Family At-Risk
  Project

Statement of the Problem

The 2.3 million-acre Wind River Indian Reservation in west central Wyoming is one of the
largest Indian reservations in the United States.  Seventy-five percent of the families on the
Reservation are classified as low-income or living in poverty.  The average family income for
Arapaho families is $5,520; Shoshone, $4,326; and non-Indian, $13,951.  Sixty-one percent
(61%) of so-called "low-income" Indian families on the Reservation have no income at all.

By virtue of living in such a rural, isolated and poverty-stricken area, young people face
considerable risks and obstacles.  Problems facing these at-risk youth and families include
unemployment, alcohol and substance abuse, and high levels of domestic and interpersonal
violence.  In addition, the high rates of school drop-outs, suicide and teen pregnancies  all
higher than the State average  contribute to low self-esteem and poor academic achievement. 
Multifamily households are common.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goals of Wind River Youth and Family at Risk Project are to elevate the quality
of life on the Reservation, and to provide a forum through which various groups can interact
with one another and work together.

Specific objectives include:

         Establish a Database to Measure Project Outcomes  Data generated from the
          Teen Assessment Project (TAP) will be disseminated to provide information about
          community adolescent perceptions of mental health concerns, perceptions of the
          community, school and family; to provide self-reports of various positive and
          problematic behaviors; and to expand the TAP process into a third school district.

         Increase Community Support for Original and Expanded Audiences  To
          accomplish community support and outreach, the program maintains coalition
          participation, communication and sustainability by providing a periodic newsletter,
          "Support Line", and conducts monthly meetings; reviews and updates coalition
          membership, resources, services, goals, outreach and activities; implements goals to
          increase participation in community youth, parent and educational projects
          promoting effective problem solving and educational efforts; and works to increase
          the volunteer base.

         Expand Activities to Develop Youth Competencies  The At-Risk Project provides
          training to volunteers and agency staff; continues outreach to schools, agencies and
          community events by organizing active 4-H groups, projects, afterschool programs,
          summer activities and summer camps; and increases student competencies in
          technical areas with 4-H educational programs.  The expected results of these
          activities are to increase youth participation in 4-H and community projects; and to
          expand youth leadership, employability, and academic skills. 

         Expand Activities to Develop Family Strengths  The project provides outreach to
          schools, agencies, parent groups, community events and to isolated communities on
          the Reservation through training and consultation to volunteer and agency staff;
          facilitates community sponsorship of educational programs and recreational activities
          for parents and families; promotes the delivery of educational programs by agencies;
          increases volunteerism by introducing the opportunity for community volunteers to
          receive community training; and provides family enrichment activities.  These
          activities are designed to improve parental self-worth and effective parenting skills;
          increase community support for individuals, families and children; empower
          community members with leadership skills; and enhance families' and children's
          creative opportunities.

         Develop Innovative Educational and Awareness Programs Addressing Youth
          and Families  The Wind River project provides training for educators/teachers and
          parents to help cope with at-risk children; addresses community at-risk issues as
          identified by TAP data through identification and implementation of programs that
          supplement existing education and at-risk programs; and provides resources for
          Coalition for Families and Youth to prioritize issues.  These educational programs
          increase teacher, parent and community awareness of at-risk issues facing Indian
          children; and increase cooperation through the development of partnerships among
          agencies, schools, and communities to explore solutions.

         Use Volunteers Wherever Possible  Volunteer goals at the start of the program
          were the following:  ten adults will contribute 240 hours of volunteer time toward
          family camp; 120 adults each contribute eight hours participating in developing
          parenting skills with 160 youth; six adults will contribute 120 hours of volunteer
          time working with 25 4-H youth at camp; twelve adults will volunteer a total of 60
          hours of time improving leadership skills for community and self-awareness; twenty
          adults will contribute 1,200 hours of volunteer time developing and implementing
          TAP in schools to reach 150 youth; twelve adults will contribute 200 hours of
          service providing 80 youth day camp enrichment activities.

Program Components

The Wind River Indian Reservation Youth and Family At-Risk Project is a collaborative effort
among a wide array of organizations and groups who are trying to combat the serious and
pervasive problems of the Reservation.  Because of the unique history of these two tribes 
they were enemies until the U.S. Government placed them side by side on Wind River
Reservation  the problems have become entrenched.  The At-Risk Project recognizes this
history, and seeks to involve the many different organizations which already provide services,
albeit fragmented, to the Indians.  The project's efforts have involved the following program
components.

The Wind River Indian Reservation Youth and Family At-Risk Project includes programs,
projects, and approaches in trying to combat youth delinquency, teen pregnancy, family health,
youth unemployment, addiction problems and extensive family violence.  Because the problems
are great, and many organizations recognizing this have become involved with the Reservation
in the past, the list of collaborators and the programs they bring to Wind River is extensive. 
For instance, there is a 4-H SERIES using several different 4-H programs, some of which are
based on the California Community Center for Action, including a 4-H CARES (Chemical
Abuse Resistance Education Series) and 4-H PACT (Parents and Adolescents Can Talk)
programs.

Other programs include Building Common Ground, an educational, problem solving, skills-
enhancing program regarding the land and environment; Wildlife Habitat Evaluation, which
teaches youth fundamentals of wildlife management and the importance of habitat; PEER-
PLUS II, an explanation of relationships for teens; Project Adventure (Rope Course); Self-
Esteem:  Your Children and You, an Extension Parenting Education Model; Youth Quake, an
Extension Court Mandated Parenting Training; Supportive Connections:  Rural Communities
and Single Parent Families, an Extension Parenting Program; SPACES, a program designed
for early adolescents (children aged nine to fifteen) and the adults who work with them.  The
primary goals of SPACES is to help prepare adults to work with youth in three areas:  outer
space (science and technology), inner space (personal coping skills) and shared spaces
(environmental and cultural awareness).  Another collaborative program is Raising Responsible
Teens, a series developed for parents of early adolescents aged 11 to 14 and other adults who
work with or are concerned about youth.  Raising Responsible Teens provides parents with
information to better understand the developmental needs of teenagers and specific parenting
strategies for dealing with tough issues such as teenage sexuality, alcohol and drug abuse and
communication.

By attending meetings of the Wind River Youth and Family Coalition, the schools and health
and human resources agencies have expressed the need for a continued collaborative effort. 
They have agreed to work together for the good of at-risk youth and their families, and have
demonstrated their commitment to this project through in-kind resources.  The project is now
communicating with the USDA Networks.  Two associate professors in Human Development
and Family Studies are included in the grant as consultants and evaluators as well.

The following organizations have made additional commitments to the coalition and to this
project:  the Business Councils and Tribal Social Services, as well as several schools, which
provide facilities for Coalition meetings and conferences at no cost, and provide staff to help
facilitate workshops and conferences.  Tribal Social Services provides resource materials as
needed.  Indian Health Services conducts in-service classes, provides information and resource
materials, and refers youth and families.  The Shoshone/Arapaho Head Start Program helps
identify children and families for the program.  The Wind River Health Promotion Program
provides programs and serves as liaison with Wind River Reservation Youth Council to help
identify youth and families.  The Shoshone/Arapaho Tribal Court explore the possibility of
court-mandated youth programs such as Youth Quake and assist in providing parenting classes
with other agencies.  Bureau of Indian Affairs Social Services work cooperatively on the
project and serve as a resource providing information as needed, as well as identifying at-risk
youth.  Wyoming Council on Indian Affairs provides resource information for possible funding
of youth educational programs from the Wyoming State Government.  Wind River Reservation
Youth Council works cooperatively to obtain a grant from the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes
and the Wyoming State Division of Community Services to provide employment for youth;
serve as volunteers; identify youth; and assist with the self-esteem conference.  The
Shoshone/Arapaho Youth Shelter provides training for staff development for educators/teachers
of at-risk students; implements program development; and provides technical assistance.  The
Wind River Extension 4-H Educator establishes 4-H clubs; trains volunteer leaders and works
with families and youth on self-esteem; implements and expands CARES, SERIES, SPACES,
and 4-H Kids Stuff.  The Wind River Extension Family Living Educator serves as a resource
and consultant; conducts in-service training; establishes support groups; and expands CARES,
PACT and FCL.  The Wind River Extension Agricultural Educator continues agro/ecology
training with an emphasis on family decision-making, self-esteem building and improved skills;
and works on increased employment opportunities through agriculture education programs and
scientific research.  The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) holds
nutrition/food safety classes for youth and families.

The Coalition for Families and Youth programs is delivered through a variety of methods
including newspaper articles, club meetings, coalition meetings, conferences, workshops,
camps, after-school programs and training programs.

Results and Impact

Performance Measures

The greatest obstacle in measuring the efficacy of programs is the history of extensive testing
already conducted on Native Americans.  The last thing they want is take another evaluative
or diagnostic test.  Staff have to be sensitive to this reality in trying to balance the need to
measure and improve programs.  The project intends to rely heavily on the Teen Assessment
Project (TAP) to give an indication of which direction the project needs to take, what issues
need to be addressed, and what programs might be effective in addressing the issues. 
Accountability progress is based on staff evaluation forms related to specific objectives,
including measurement of contact hours and numbers of families and youth involved. 
Measurement of the number of agencies attending coalition meetings is an indicator of success,
as well as support and participation in Wind River events, training and projects.  Numbers of
4-H leaders and members are also monitored.

Specific programs have been evaluated with a simple evaluation instrument in order to
determine impact and to improve programming.  The TAP instrument has been used in two
separate schools.  Staff consulted with teens themselves to develop the questions.  Thus far,
massive data sets have been collected.  These data sets help to identify risk factors and
protective factors.  The aim is to conduct this survey again in five years to determine whether
problems have been addressed successfully.

Implementation Problems and Successes

The Wind River delegation to the National Youth At-Risk Conference in Washington, DC
identified two areas of particular need:  the need to build a volunteer base and the need to
introduce more science into the 4-H and youth programming.  This will include encouraging
training in telecommunications whenever possible.

Volunteer numbers have been completely unrealistic in the past given the short history of the
program.  This next year it is essential for the project staff to conduct massive volunteer
training in order to "revolutionize" the volunteer mentality.  Volunteerism as known in
mainstream society does not exist on the Wind River Reservation, primarily because of the
culture of poverty on the Reservation.  People have had to work several jobs in order to
survive, and many cannot even afford gas money to drive to the volunteer sites.  Nevertheless,
pooling resources and fostering a sense of community responsibility to solve problems is a
necessary part of combatting the serious problems the Indian Reservations.

Successes and Accomplishments

The primary success of the program has been to find the wall of silence and cross it  to
foster the process of collaboration between different agencies which had already been working
on the Reservation.  It has taken four years to achieve this.  Four years of projects have helped
to reach the stage where there is a comfort level to discuss critical issues such as family
dysfunction.  For instance, an annual 4-H day has become popular.  To illustrate the extent of
the problems, one judge who presides over domestic violence cases killed his wife.  This judge
is not sympathetic to victims of domestic violence.  Community collaboration has been the
project's approach to try to temper the judge's power.  The courtroom has been filled with
supporters of the women who have had to appear before him. 

Indian Reservations present particularly entrenched problems of violence, teenage pernancy,
substance abuse, hopelessness, and despair.  Solutions can only result from multiagency
comprehensive prevention and intervention programs.

Contact Information

D. Duncan Perrote
Director/Family Living Educator
Wind River Extension Program
P.O. Box 248
Fort Washakie, WY  82514
(307) 332-2681
(307) 332-2683 fax