NCJ Number
94889
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Runaway programs face three dilemmas in their provision of long-term services: deciding which services they will provide themselves and which ones they will seek from other agencies; choosing to continue the nontraditional approach or hiring professional staff whose orientation may move the program toward a medical model; and in communities where few long-term services exist, determining whether to create these services themselves or focus on advocacy to push for public funding of nontraditional mental health services for young people and their families.
Abstract
The largest reported disparity between needed and received aftercase services among runaway programs is in family counseling. Consequently, some programs have developed the capacity to provide long-term individual and family counseling. Most communities lack adequate alternative living resources for runaway young people. Some runaway programs bring clients into the juvenile justice system to obtain placement and services away from home. Other runaway programs tried to resolve this problem by developing their own foster care, group homes, or supervised apartment living. Some runaway programs have developed their own methods of handling school problems, including creating or cooperating with alternative schools which use student input and are comfortable environments in which young people can learn. In response to the long-term needs of youth, runaway programs have successfully developed referral networks. Runaway programs universally use case advocacy to ensure that their clients receive services.