Substance Abuse Services for Incarcerated Juveniles

Freedom Path is a public-private partnership between the Yell County Juvenile Detention Center and Arkansas River Valley Area Council's Freedom House Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center to provide educational, intervention and prevention programs addressing substance abuse for youth ages 10-17 housed in the detention center in Danville, Arkansas. Onsite programs include group therapy sessions, educational materials, communications skills development, basic living skills, conflict resolution training, and individual anger management sessions. Clinical interviews and assessment of the clients will lead to the development of recommendations that assist the Juvenile Detention Center's staff in helping families with informational and mental health counseling referrals as needed and in accessing resources for clients once they are released back into the community. Results from the project will provide a client profile that can assist juvenile courts in recognizing problem areas of youth who are released. The overall goals of the project are to provide substance abuse services to juveniles housed at the Yell County Detention Center for a two-year period; address all three types of psycho social consequences of substance use for adolescents; provide information and intervention that promotes the development of characteristics of resilient youth; screen to identify substance-abusing youth as early as possible after they enter the facility, conduct a comprehensive assessment that evaluates the youth's risks, needs, strengths, and motivations; and match the youth's needs by designing client services individually based on clinical assessments. NCA/NCF