CASASTART: A Community-Based, School-Centered Intervention for High-Risk Youth

Abstract

During the past decade, increasing numbers of drug- and alcohol-related delinquency cases have entered the juvenile justice system. The majority of these young people face multiple challenges and risks, yet have few resources to mitigate these risks. This article suggests that the skills, competencies and supports, and protective factors needed to help young people grow into healthy adulthood are not readily available to high-risk youth. We offer lessons from the development, implementation, and institutionalization of one promising model of an evidence-based, community-, and school-centered program for high-risk youth (CASASTART). The experience with this program thus far suggests that program models that encompass a youth development, strength-based, and community-focused approach can intervene successfully with many high-risk youth and their families, reduce use of drugs and alcohol, reduce violent crime, and achieve funding and programmatic stability.

Keywords:

• substance use
• delinquency
• youth development
• case management

Notes

^aDrug-related violations include the possession, sale, use, growing, and manufacturing of illegal drugs. Alcohol-related arrests include driving under the influence, drunkenness, and liquor law violations.

^b“Alcohol involvement” was defined as reporting being under the influence of alcohol at the time of their crime or needing treatment for alcohol or having tried to cut down their alcohol use or having ever or are now received treatment for alcohol use or having ever felt dependent on alcohol.

^c“Drug-involved” was defined as testing positive for any illegal drug, or self-reporting on the ADAM interview that they were under the influence of drugs at the time of their crime, or needed drugs at the time of their crime, or used marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroin, pcp, amphetamines, barbiturates, quaaludes, crystal meth, LSD, or inhalants in the past 72 hours, or tried to cut down on use of one of the above drugs, or ever felt “dependent” on one of the above drugs, or are now or have ever received or could receive treatment for one of the above drugs.

^dADHD is characterized by poor cognitive and academic functioning, oppositional behavior, and early and accelerated development of aggressive behavior (Molina, Smith, and Pelham, 1999).

The manual can be ordered from CASA (www.casacolumbia.org).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lawrence F. Murray

THE AUTHORSLawrence Murray has been a human service professional since 1972, working on issues that relate to children, families, community safety, and comprehensive service integration. During his career, Mr. Murray has developed several award winning program models and has served in executive management positions at the community, municipal, and state levels. Mr. Murray is a Fellow at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. In this position he manages the development of CASASTARTsm (Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding Tomorrows), a substance abuse and violence prevention program. Prior to joining CASA, Mr. Murray served as Urban Hub Director at the Washington Business Group On Health, where he was responsible for consulting with and overseeing the delivery of training and technical assistance programs in seven cities that are developing comprehensive community-based systems of care for children with serious emotional and behavioral problems.Mr. Murray also has served as Assistant Commissioner for Community Based Services at the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, as Associate Commissioner for the New York State Office of Mental Health, as Director of Post Institutional/Runaway and Homeless Youth Services at the Nassau County Youth Board, and as Assistant Director at Big Brothers/Sisters of Nassau County.Mr. Murray currently serves as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Pubic Service at New York University, and spent seven years as an Adjunct Instructor of social work at Archbishop Molloy College. Mr. Murray is a Fellow in the Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Family Fellowship Program, has served as the chair of the Fellows Network, an alumni arm of the Fellowship, and is listed in Who's Who. Mr. Murray holds a Bachelors Degree in Sociology from Queens College and a Masters of Social Work from Hunter College.

Steven Belenko

Steven Belenko, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he spent five years as a CASA Fellow at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. His primary research interests have included the impact of drug misuse on the adult and juvenile justice systems, improving access to drug treatment for adult and juvenile offenders, treatment and HIV services access, and drug courts. Dr. Belenko has served as a consultant and advisor to a number of agencies and organizations, and served on numerous task forces and advisory committees. More recently, Dr. Belenko has been focusing on substance abuse patterns and treatment needs among juvenile offenders. He recently completed a study of the impact of substance abuse on the nation's juvenile justice system. Recent publications include a review of the treatment needs of clients in juvenile drug courts, and a review of the development and implementation of juvenile drug courts that presents a new conceptual model for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of such programs that is based on assessing youth, their families, and communities for salient risk and protective factors, and implementing services that address risk factors and build up protective factors. Dr. Belenko has lectured widely on evaluation and policy issues regarding juvenile justice substance abuse and treatment research, and recently served on the Juvenile Drug Court Standards Committee that recently developed a set of recommendations for best practices in juvenile drug courts, published by the U.S. Department of Justice. He is a member of the National Advisory Board for the Family Justice Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Initiative (funded by the U.S. Department of Justice), and a primary consultant for the CSAT-funded National Family Drug Treatment Court Evaluation. Dr. Belenko received his bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Columbia University. His 1993 book Crack and the Evolution of Anti-Drug Policy received an Outstanding Academic Book Award from the American Library Association's Choice Magazine. His most recent book was Drugs and Drug Policy in America: A Documentary History, published by Greenwood Press.