Helping At Risk Youth

In the child welfare system some youth do well in their lives, but far too many do not experience positive outcomes by the time they are leaving government services. The youth often feel marginalized and that they were not involved in decisions about their own lives, leaving them with a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. This book focuses on high-risk youth - whose struggles include neglect and abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, the risk of being exploited, mental health issues, and the inability to self-regulate and trust - a population of youth that government child welfare services and community agencies struggle to serve adequately. The focus has traditionally been on punishment-consequence interventions and demanding compliance, but experience and research shows they can be better served through relationship-based practice incorporating harm reduction principles, resiliency and strength-based approaches, community collaboration, and an understanding that these youth typically come from experiences of early trauma impacting their brain development and their ability to form attachments. This book provides an overview of the Get Connected practice framework and philosophy, and provides strategies for engaging and working with the most disconnected, challenging, and troubled youth in society.

States the need for community-based, integrated services to meet the many needs of at-risk youth and their families. Discusses services integration, case management, parental involvement, tutoring, mentoring, fund-raising, and monitoring program outcomes.

This text provides the conceptual and practical information on key issues and problems that students need to prepare effectively for work with at-risk youth. The authors describe and discuss the latest prevention and intervention techniques that will help future and current professionals perform their jobs successfully and improve the lives of young people at risk. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

This resource offers counseling strategies to promote adolescents' overlooked strengths and create healthy alternatives to problem behaviors such as bullying, drug use, violence, and promiscuity.

By focusing attention on what is right with youth rather than what is wrong with them, the strengths-based approach to intervening with youth avoids negative outcomes commonly associated with deficit- or problem-based interventions. This book provides an accessible outline of the strengths-based approach and details 41 interventions across several strengths domains.Practitioners in school, clinical, and community settings will find the book's numerous case examples, practical suggestions, and reproducible forms and handouts invaluable in the provision of day-to-day youth services.

Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs provides a detailed description of techniques and rich stories of how social workers, psychologists, counselors, and child and youth care workers can help young people become more resilient. With ample case studies and fascinating explanations of research, Dr. Ungar shows why we need to work just as hard changing the environments that surround children as we do changing children themselves. Building on lessons learned from clinical, community and residential settings, Dr. Ungar discusses 20 skills that can enhance the effectiveness of frontline mental health services. Along with descriptions of the skills necessary to talk with clients about the factors that put their mental health at risk, Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs also presents systemic practices clinicians can use in their everyday work. Engaging with children’s extended family, addressing issues of community violence, racism and homophobia, and helping parents and teachers understand children’s maladaptive coping strategies as sometimes necessary are among the many practical strategies that are discussed which clinicians can use to enhance and sustain the therapeutic value of their work.

Empower your alienated students to cultivate a deep sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. This fully updated edition of Reclaiming Youth at Risk by Larry K. Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg, and Steve Van Bockern merges Native American knowledge and Western science to create a unique alternative for reaching disconnected or troubled youth. Rely on the book's new neuroscience research, insights, and examples to help you establish positive relationships, foster social learning and emotional development, and inspire every young person to thrive and overcome. Drive positive youth development with the updated Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Study the four hazards that dominate the lives of youth at risk: relational trauma, failure as futility, powerlessness, and loss of purpose. Learn how cultivating the Circle of Courage values of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity can combat the four hazards. Explore a unique strength-based approach for reclaiming discouraged or alienated youth. Understand how to create a safe, brain-friendly learning environment and break the conflict cycle. Read personal accounts of individuals who have transformed student trauma into student resilience in schools through trauma-informed practice. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Enduring Truths Chapter 2: The Circle of Courage Chapter 3: Seeds of Discouragement Chapter 4: Bonds of Trust Chapter 5: Strength for Learning Chapter 6: Pathways to Responsibility Chapter 7: Lives With Purpose Chapter 8: From Surviving to Thriving References and Resources