Monitor on Psychology - December 2011 - (Page 73)

In fact, research shows that about a third of kids engage in effort in Connecticut involving psychologists is helping to delinquent behavior, then “age out” of it, according to a 2006 dramatically reduce the number of status-offending youth report by the Justice Policy Institute. who end up in court. The system takes a tiered approach that “Where we are now is that in Connecticut, this model individualizes services based on the level of a youth’s risks and works in a general sense, but there’s a lot more work to do offenses — for example, providing comprehensive services to to understand specifically what works for whom and why,” kids who have run away from home multiple times but not to Britner says. those who have skipped school once or twice. Before filing a The good news is that researchers will be able to figure that formal complaint against a youth, families, schools and other out in the coming years, he adds. “We now have the systems and community members are urged first to seek other solutions the psychologically informed measurements in place to start to the young person’s problems, including through existing finding those answers.” n community resources. If that doesn’t work and caretakers deem that a child needs it, the young person is sent to one of four Tori DeAngelis is a writer in Syracuse, N.Y. regional family support centers in the state. After an initial screening and assessment, the family and child craft individual, social and community, school and family goals. Once that plan is in place, center staff initiate a “wraparound” system of services that includes 24/7 crisis intervention and family mediation, educational support and evidence-based treatment programs tailored to the child’s situation. So far, the program has yielded impressive results, finds a 2010 evaluation by Florida’s Justice Research Center. Between 2006 and 2009, the number of status-offense complaints dropped 41 percent, suggesting that the tiered system works to keep such problems from escalating. In addition, status offense cases handled by the courts in that same time frame dropped from 50 percent to 4 percent. Like Davidson’s and Gavazzi’s models, the Connecticut program looks like it will save the system a lot of money, too, says Britner. As a rough estimate, it costs approximately $4,000 for youngsters to undergo the family service center intervention, which takes about three months, versus about $10,000 to detain a young person for the same length of time. But while the results in Connecticut Whether patient, colleague or someone else set adrift by addiction, we can are impressive, they also highlight help you correct their course. Life wants them back. It’s time to right the remaining issues for researchers, Britner ship. To learn more about how Hazelden can help those affected by drug and others say. For instance, research or alcohol addictions, call 877-429-5092 or visit hazelden.org/florida. suggests that many status offenders wouldn’t reoffend anyway — that their ADDICTION aberrant behavior is the result of a STOPS HERE common adolescent tendency to act out © 2011 Hazelden that goes away with age, says Henggeler. Help write a comeback story. DeceMber 2011 • Monitor on psychology 73 http://www.hazelden.org/florida http://www.hazelden.org/florida

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - December 2011

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Willpower Pioneer Wins $100,000 Grawemeyer Prize
Single-Sex Schooling Called Into Question by Prominent Researchers
Maternal Depression Stunts Childhood Growth, Research Suggests
For Boys, Sharing May Seem Like a Waste of Time
Good News for Postdoc Applicants
In Brief
Treatment Guideline Development Now Under Way
Government Relations Update
Psychologist Named Va Mental Health Chief
The Limits of Eyewitness Testimony
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Deconstructing Suicide
Questionnaire
A Focus on Interdisciplinarity
A Time of ‘Enormous Change’
The Science Behind Team Science
Good Science Requires Good Conflict
A New Paradigm of Care
Speaking of Education
Science Directions
New Labels, New Attitudes?
Psychologist Profile
Early Career Psychology
Unintended Consequences
Better Options for Troubled Teens
Saving Lives, One Organ at a Time
New Journal Editors
APA News
Division Spotlight
Guidelines for the Conduct of President-Elect Nominations and Elections
American Psychological Foundation
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011