RYAN LOVIE

When I was researching about Community Services in Week 1 I came across this.

Its an Interesting article about Youth Drug Abuse programs failing. The article states that the Youth Drug Abuse programs ‘…were most lacking was the initial assessment of each teenager’s particular treatment needs.’ It also says despite the fact that the programs that they surveyed were designed for youth audience and are well regarded by exsperts in substance abuse treatment.

Only 28 of the 144 programs in the study scored well in the area of assessment and treatment matching. A particular part that the programs were lacking in was the ability to “engage” and retain teens, and their “gender and cultural competence.” For example, just 35 percent of the programs had different services for boys and girls, and only one-quarter had services designed for minority teens.

In addition, more than 90 percent of the programs had never been subject to any “scientifically rigorous” research to see whether they work, according to the report.