Reconnecting Youth Program

In the midst of disintegrating families, deteriorating communities, overpopulated prisons, and emptying classrooms, it is imperative that we provide effective, comprehensive programming that will address the problems of today's at risk youth and begin "reconnecting youth" to their families, communities and schools. To that end, Santa Fe Adolescent Services has implemented the scientifically based and award winning Reconnecting Youth Program at the Tarrant County Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP). The JJAEP is an innovative collaboration of Tarrant County Juvenile Services, the Fort Worth Independent School District, Lena Pope Home and Santa Fe Adolescent Services to serve those students who have been expelled from the public school system as a result of school policy violations, law violations, or persistent misbehavior.

Program Overview

Reconnecting Youth Program (RY) undertakes the difficult task of increasing resiliency in one of this most elusive and challenging target groups –adolescents at risk of dropping out of school and abusing alcohol and drugs. The Reconnecting Youth Curriculum is aimed at youth in 9th –12th grades and is rooted in a subtle but powerful shift of focus from one of identifying "problem youth" to a focus of "identifying youth potential". As a school based intervention program, it allows a team effort to effectively blend "reading, writing and arithmetic" with a structured "Peer Group Approach to Building Life Skills".

The program is unique in several important ways:

* It has a psycho-educational framework that integrates small-group work and life skills training within a school setting.

* It is delivered by trained facilitators capable of creating a positive and supportive environment.

* It is expressly designed to modify risk factors linked with adolescent risk factors contributing to drug involvement (truancy, poor school performance, depression, aggression, suicidal behaviors, and deviant peer bonding).

* It is expressly designed to enhance personal and social protective factors such as self-esteem and personal control.

Program Goals/Objectives:

The program has three central risk-reduction goals:

1. Decreased school deviance - reflected by decreased truancy and increased GPA.

2. Decreased drug involvement - reflected by decreased frequency of alcohol/drug use and drug use consequences.

3. Decreased emotional distress - reflected by decreased depression, aggression, and suicidal behaviors.

Program Design:

Risk reduction and resiliency enhancements are key objectives used in achieving the goals in Reconnecting Youth (RY). This means focusing strategies on the individual or environmental risk factors linked with the co-occurring problem behaviors of poor school performance, drug involvement, and suicide risk behaviors. The program incorporates social support and life skills training into a daily, semester-long class using a 52 lesson daily curriculum.

Reconnecting Youth integrates four key elements into the school environment:

* The Personal Growth Class (PGC) - As an elective course in the overall curriculum, RY is conducted in daily, hour-long class sessions during regular school hours for a full semester (typically 90 days).

* School Bonding Activities Component - This element focuses on social, recreational, and school activities. Interventions are designed to reconnect students to school activities as an alternative to drug involvement, loneliness, or depression.

* Parent Involvement Component - Parents are important partners in Reconnecting Youth. They are essential for providing support at home for day-to-day life skills learned in Personal Growth Class.

* School Crisis Response - Provides teachers and school personnel with guidelines for recognizing warning signs of suicidal behaviors and suicide prevention approaches.

To speak with someone about Reconnecting Youth, please contact:
Cora Mosley, Project Coordinator
(817) 492-HOPE

Full Program List

Strengthening Families Program
The SFP is a nationally recognized curriculum designed to help families grow, affirm, and support each other. [more]

Cannabis Youth Therapy
The Cannabis Youth Therapy, (CYT) Series was developed to address the needs of the marijuana-using adolescents and their family. Offered to drug court kids. [more]

L.Y.N.C.S.
Linking Youth to Needed Community Services. (LYNCS) is a community based counseling program which utilizes the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach. [more]

Reconnecting Youth
A School Based Intervention Program designed for high school students and is rooted in a subtle but powerful shift of focus. [more]

Community Solutions
Community Solutions of Fort Worth provides “wrap around” services for families referred by Fort Worth ISD schools who are experiencing mental health issues. [more]

Second Step Violence Program
Second Step is a series of lessons, which addresses the issue of violence among adolescents. It is designed to reduce their impulsive and aggressive behavior and increase their ability to get along with others. [more]

Drug Out Reach Services Project
Drug Out Reach Services Project provides community-based intervention and screening services. DORS can be requested by youth, family member, as well as any other agencies providing assistance to youth and their families. [more]