NCJ Number
121848
Date Published
1990
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This final report presents the results of a 2-year school-based intervention project (September 1984-June 1986) that provided outreach, treatment, and aftercare to runaway and homeless children and their families as well as children at risk for such statuses.
Abstract
The organization operating Adolescents and Families Together, Valley Youth House, is the primary provider of services to runaway and homeless youth in the Bethlehem Area School District (Pennsylvania) through its shelter program, 24-hour hotline, and outclient counseling services. The project's plan was to provide educational and clinical outreach services to youth and their parents, develop referrals of youth either at-risk or actively involved in runaway or homeless behavior and to provide services for these youth and their families as needed, either on an outclient or residential basis. Aftercare services were planned to reduce repeater rates. The program included outreach, emergency needs assessment, intake interviews, individual counseling two times per week, group counseling two times per week, parent counseling, family counseling, physical health evaluation, alternative education programming, evening recreation programs, and ancillary services. This process evaluation determined that outclient counseling services were provided to 202 at-risk youth and families. Of these, approximately 90 percent were maintained in their homes. This was significantly higher than the project 55 percent success rate stated in the grant proposal. An additional 291 youth were housed at the runaway shelter. Outreach was successful in engaging clients who otherwise would not have contacted the program, and the program was flexible in using treatment strategies to serve multiproblem families. Sample intake forms and staff training lesson plans.