The proposed Slow and Steady substance abuse treatment program for juvenile offenders includes mentoring, parenting groups, family therapy, and online support. Youth participants will be mentored by former clients and have opportunities to become mentors or counselors. Parents will participate in parenting groups and family therapy to support treatment. Online support groups will help maintain a community for clients and their families during and after the program. The goal is to successfully treat substance abuse and prevent future drug use through mentoring and family involvement.

1. Slow and Steady; a
Substance Abuse Treatment
Program Proposal for
Juvenile Offenders
Golnaz Fortune
Alliant International University

2. THE FACTS
 The state of California has the highest juvenile custody rates
when compared to the rest of the nation
(Davis, Tsukida, Marchionna, & Krisberg, 2008)
 Substance abuse as well as mental health is highly prevalent
among juvenile offenders (Chapman et al., 2006).

3.  The cost of detaining and rehabilitating juvenile offenders is costly
(Baldwin et al., 2012)
 Family plays a large role in substance abuse among youth.
 Many begin using substances due to parental influence and also do so based on
attachment. (Lopez et al., 2009)

4. THE PREDICTORS
 Predictors of substance abuse include (Goldstein et al., 2008):
 Conduct disorder
 Suicide attempts
 Age
 Sexual abuse
 Physical abuse
 PTSD
 Trouble with law enforcement
 Pregnancy/abortion
 Homelessness (Stagman et al., 2011)
 SES (Stagman et al., 2011)
 Gender (Stagman et al., 2011)
 Ethnicity (Stagman et al., 2011)

5. THE PROTECTORS
 Living at home with both parents (Goldstien et al., 2008)
• Recent involvement with prevention programs (Stagman et al., 2011).
• Positive Parental involvement and monitoring of behavior (Stagman et al., 2011).
• Refraining from drug usage, by age 21 will be less likely to become a user
(Stagman et al., 2011).

6. The Slow and Steady
Proposal
Who: Youth who have had a history
with law enforcement
What: Adolescent drug treatment
mentoring program
Why: Mentoring is a major protective
factor in juvenile delinquency and
can be utilized to create an effective
drug treatment program and
prevention program.
How: youth involved with the
program will be part of a mentoring
program. Parental involvement will
be required

7. WHY MENTORING?
 A qualitative study conducted in London, England by Dallos and
Comley-Ross (2005) evaluated the effects of mentoring among at-
risk youth. The researchers questioned the positive effects of
mentoring and explored the participant’s experience of being
mentored.
 The participants:
 Six youth, 50% male and 50% female, between the ages of 13 and 17.
 All had experiences with serious family disruptions and separations and had
been in foster care.
 During the time of the study, four youth had been in care, all had difficulties
with their parents, and had little to no contact with one or both parents.

8.  The Mentoring Program:
 PROMISE provided mentors for a period of 1 to 2 years.
 All mentors were volunteers from a variety of professional
backgrounds, teaching, police officers, or counselors.
 Mentors were required to meet with mentees two hours or more per week and
engaged in activities such as fieldtrips, quality time at home with the
mentor, sports, gardening, and talking casually including disclosure of problems
and feelings.

9.  To obtain the data, the researchers conducted an experimental
qualitative design and implemented Interpretive Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA), a similar theoretical design to Grounded Theory.
 The researchers conducted cross sectional 45-minute individual
interviews with mentees and conducted two group discussions with
mentors and staff.
 All interviews and group discussions were recorded and transcribed.
 All six of the youth participants were interviewed and 40 mentors and staff were
asked to participate in the group discussions.

10. THE RESULTS:
 Researchers identified five themes:
 Good Object (mentor was nice person, warmth, kindness, voluntary, hardworking).
 Good Relationship (confidentiality, on my side, different to professional relationships, different to
family relationships)
 Attachment (care about me, acceptance, availability, reliance on the
mentor, dependence, reciprocity).
 Building Trust (actions speak louder than words, being held in mind, putting themselves out for
me, breaking the rules, going beyond the ‘normal’, having fun).
 Facilitating Change (giving advice, listening to me, talking things through, promoting areas of
change, behavior, lifting mood-anger, changing thinking-better view of self and of others, get on
better with others).
 The themes and clusters suggested that the mentees benefited from their mentoring experience and
perceived it to be beneficial and positive.
 While the participants were provided an incentive, they still suggested to others to find a mentor, and
reported to be surprised by their own positive personal experiences with their mentors.

11. BIG BROTHER BIG SISTER OF
AMERICA
(GROSSMAN, TIERNEY, & RESCH,
2000). Big Sister of America is a non-profit that focuses on
 Big Brother
providing opportunities for adults to collaborate with the youth and
to affect them positively through mentorship.
 Many programs are offered:
 community based mentoring, school based mentoring, African American
mentoring, Hispanic mentoring, Amachi Program, Native American mentoring,
and Mentoring Military children.

12.  Their program has reduced the probability of delinquent behavior
among the youth participants.
 Their findings indicate that among the Little Brothers and Little Sisters (mentees)
46% were less likely than others to use drugs during the period of the study, 27%
were less likely than others to use alcohol, and 52% were less likely to skip school
feeling more confident in their abilities when compared to the controls.
 70% of minority youth were less likely to engage in drug use and were half as likely
to engage in alcohol consumption during the time of the study.
 These findings concerning minority youth are extremely significant and indicate a
decrease in two possibly three (ditching school) major risk factors determining
delinquency, drug and alcohol use.

13. THE PROGRAM:
 Based on the findings it is proposed to have the drug treatment
program with the following components:
 Mentoring/Incentive program
 Parenting Groups
 Integrated Family and Individual Treatment
 Online Support Group for Both Parent and Youth

14. MENTORING/INCENTIVE
PROGRAM
 Based on the findings indicated, mentoring programs are highly successful in
prevention and is a major protective factor in adolescent delinquent behavior
 The mentors will under go a three step process.
 All individuals will need to level up with regards to their progress in their treatment. Once
they have succeeded, they will then be able to mentor. All of those who have leveled up
will be paired with a newly admitted patient. They will be over seen by a counselor and
will not only be provided supervision, but also additional support services if needed.
 Once their mentee has reached their level and provided that the mentors are moving
forward in their treatment, the mentors will then continue on to the prevention program
and will visit schools to spread knowledge on the effects of substance use. They
themselves will create a 6 month curriculum for a 1 hour class each week to be
implemented in a school. All mentors will be supervised and a supervisor will accompany
them to the schools.
 The final step is graduation. Once graduated, if interested the mentors will have the
opportunity to work within the facility and be provided with the opportunity to become a
drug treatment counselor and will be provided with a grant to put towards his or her
college fund.

15. PARENTING GROUPS
 Based on the findings that positive parental involvement is
essential in drug prevention, it is imperative that they become
involved with their teen.
 Here the parents will be provided:
 Group Support
 Individual Family Support if needed
 Parenting Group
 The space to venture off into their own personal family drug history.

16. INTEGRATED FAMILY AND INDIVIDUAL
TREATMENT
 All patients will be required to attend individual therapy. In
addition, family will be required to attend weekly for family
therapy.
 Family therapy will be based on one of the following treatment
strategies (Lopez et al.,2012) :
 Brief Strategic Family Therapy
 Functional Family Therapy
 Multidimensional Family Therapy
 Multisystemic Therapy

17. ONLINE SUPPORT
 The online support will consist of the ability to have a live chat
with others within the program.
 There are three separate groups:
 Chat For Parents
 Chat for Teens
 Chat with a counselor
 These support groups are offered for out patient and for those
who are triggered and need additional support. This also assists
in developing a community and a bond between others who are
undergoing similar experiences.

18. CONCLUSION:
 It is concluded that this proposed program will be successful in
not only treating substance abusers but also in the positive
development of a drug prevention program.
 Youth will experience mentoring in every aspect and will be
provided incentive opportunities to ensure their success.
 Parents will be asked to be involved and will be required to go
through the process with their youth.
 This program will be also successful in developing community
support for those that are undergoing similar experiences.

19. RESOURCES:
 Baldwin, S. A., Christian, S., Berkeljon, A., & Shadish, W. R. (2012). The Effects of Family
Therapies for Adolescent Delinquency and Substance Abuse: A Meta-analysis. [Article].
Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 38(1), 281-304. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-
0606.2011.00248.x
 Bovasso, G.B. (2001). Cannabis abuse as a risk factor for depressive symptoms. The
American Journal of Psychiatry. 158(12), pg. 2033-2037
 Dallos, R., & Comley-Ross, P. (2005). Young people's experience of mentoring: Building
trust and attachments. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 10, 369-383.
doi:10.1177/1359104505053755
 Goldstein, B. I. & Levitt, A. J. (2008).The specific burden of comorbid anxiety disorders
and of substance use disorders in bipolar I disorder. Bipolar Disorders,10(1), pp. 67-78.
 Grossman, J.B., Tierney, J.P., & Resch, N.L (2000). Making a difference: an impact study
of big brothers big sisters. Publication Manual. Retrieved from
http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?search_id=20&publication_id=111&section_id=0
 Lopez, V., Katsulis, Y., & Robillard, A. (2009). Drug use with parents as a relational
strategy for incarcerated female adolescents. Family Relations, 58(2), pp. 135-147.
 Stagman, S., Schwarz, S. W., Powers, D., & National Center for Children in, P. (2011).
Adolescent Substance Use in the U.S.: Facts for Policymakers. Fact Sheet: National
Center for Children in Poverty.