FFT is a family-based therapy approach that provides treatment for youth offenders (and their families) between the ages of 10 and 18 and are primarily demonstrating disruptive externalizing behaviors (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, etc.) that lead to delinquency, violence, drug abuse, and other negative manifestations.

Each family is assigned to a Therapist who is trained and clinically supervised by FFT Inc. On average, a youth/family will receive FFT for 12 weeks. Over the course of this period, the Therapist will work with the family in nine to 14 one-hour sessions. The exact frequency of the sessions will vary on a case-by-case basis over the course of the treatment; sessions could occur daily to weekly as needed. Services will occur in the family’s home or community and at times that are convenient for the family members. Each Therapist serves between 10 and 15 families at a time depending on geographical distance.

In New Castle and Kent counties, this model is used as a prevention service to avoid further penetration into the juvenile justice system. In Sussex County, it is used as both prevention and for re-entry back to the community from residential placement.

ART is a cognitive behavioral intervention program to help children and adolescents improve social skill competence and moral reasoning, better manage anger, and reduce aggressive behavior. The program specifically targets chronically aggressive children and adolescents. ART sessions are divided into three components—social skills training, anger-control training, and training in moral reasoning. Social Skills Training uses modeling, role-playing, and performance feedback. During anger-control training, youth share stories of recent times of anger, and throughout the sessions, youth learn skills to control their angry impulses. Moral reasoning teaches youth to more accurately identify justice in the world and to enhance their sense of fairness. Staff and youth discuss different problems while taking perspectives other than their own. The goal is to help youth identify errors in their thinking, and help them learn how to think differently and see situations differently so they can respond more appropriately in the future.

The program consists of 10 weeks (30 sessions) of intervention training. Youth attend a one-hour session in each of these components each week. Adaptations of this model are available for youth with time constraints or for make-up reasons. All groups are facilitated by 2 staff members. These groups are “closed,” requiring that the same group must start and finish together.

A cognitive behavioral approach emphasizes the important role of thinking in how one feels and what one does. It is based on the idea that thoughts cause feelings and behaviors, not external things, like people, situations, and events. The benefit of this fact is that youth can change the way they think to feel/act better even if the situation does not change. It is briefer and time limited due to its highly instructive nature and the fact that it makes use of homework assignments. The educational emphasis of the model has an additional benefit—it leads to long term results. When people understand how and why they are doing well, they know what to do to continue doing well.

VQ utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Self-Counseling Skills in a psycho-educational group and individual setting. VQ staff members are trained and supervised by the president of the National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists to ensure adherence to the model. These groups are “open,” which does not require that the same group starts and finishes together. Services can also be provided on an individual basis.

Meaningful and gratifying community service opportunities are provided throughout the year. Projects may include: Habitat for Humanity, Graffiti removal, Meals on Wheels, Serving in a homeless shelter, Food banks, Working with the Salvation Army, National Cancer Society, Community Clean-Up, Cemetery clean-up, Township/borough community projects, Beautification projects (planting gardens, working in parks, cleaning up street blocks), Shoveling and landscaping for the elderly, and Mural Projects. Through these community service projects, youth learn the importance of giving back to and becoming active in their local community.

The Delaware RAD programs provide residential alternatives to incarceration for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 17 who have been arrested (but not convicted of an offense) and cannot go home.

Alternatives to secure detention are critical, allowing low- to moderate-risk young offenders to attend their school, spend time with their families, receive counseling and services, and remain connected to their communities — a link that can be broken if they are placed in a secure detention facility.

We want the young people we serve to continue to go to their own schools, remain on their sports teams, and participate in leisure activities at community locations such as the Police Athletic League Center and the Boys and Girls Clubs.

The center provides structured activities and supervision 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Residents receive supportive counseling, primary medical and behavioral health services, educational services, recreation, drug and/or alcohol treatment, and family interventions, including family-oriented recreation and family therapy.

The program also provides life skills training and transportation to court, school, and other required appointments. Residents who are not able to attend their home school because of past problems receive home-based instruction at the center. None of the children housed at the center have been charged with a violent crime.

Family Meetings are appropriate for families who need basic family work to address minor family issues. For more intensive support and structured therapy, please refer youth and families to Functional Family Therapy.

To work with entire families, staff will use the evidence-informed Sanctuary curriculum Teaching Families about Sanctuary for 6 sessions. Throughout the sessions, families will work to identify how various traumas in their lives have affected their families. They will learn tools and techniques that will help them address family issues. Staff will work with each family to identify goals regarding family functioning and will provide support and follow-up to help families achieve those goals.

The Casey Life Skills Assessment is a strengths-based tool that is designed to help develop a life skills teaching curriculum and individual learning plans. The goal of this tool is to better prepare young people for living on their own. The areas identified in the Casey Life Skills Assessment tool are Career Planning, Daily Living, Home Life, Housing and Money Management, Self-Care, Social Relationships and Communication, Work and Study Skills, and Work Life.

An assessment is completed during the first week a youth is in the proposed program to determine how competent the youth is in these skills. An individualized Life Skills Plan is then developed that identifies the activities, trainings, and exercises that can be used to teach the youth the appropriate life skills that prepares them for independent living.

Youth have the opportunity to participate in activities that are designed to create interest and replace negative group recreation. The expectation is that they can learn to do these activities and continue upon discharge. Activities may include: playing basketball, baseball, ultimate Frisbee, disc golf, touch football, or doing yoga at a local park; playing chess; running races; attending library events; participating in Wilmington’s Art Loop; attending local theater performances (high school or professional, as available); attending local sporting events, movies, and bowling.

Gender specific self esteem programming is provided through group and individual sessions for girls. The curriculum focuses on four main areas: trauma/drama, healthy relationships, sexuality, and mind-body connection. The goal of this curriculum is to empower young women and create positive self-esteem.

The Sanctuary Model teaches with the goal of helping youth recover from the effects of trauma and chronic stress. The curriculum teaches children why what happened to them effects the way they act in everyday life and emphasizes education as well as the processing of feelings. It is believed that if children are to make progress in treatment, they must shift their understanding of what has happened to them and the role they must play in their own recovery. The primary task of reeducation involves a change in the person’s self perception. Increasing awareness, emphasizing safety,
and teaching skills to manage feelings are crucial steps to take in creating an environment that can handle the crucial work of processing feelings, past trauma, grief and loss.

All children need to learn the skills that will help them to succeed in the world—the ability to care for themselves and others, the ability to manage their emotions, the ability to envision a positive future and the ability to cope with adversity and loss. VQ offers this service for youth in a group or individual setting. The groups are “open,” which does not require that the same group starts and finishes together.

Street Smart focuses on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and infections, teen pregnancy; reduces substance use; and works to encourage the development of healthy relationships. Street Smart consists of eight group sessions, an individual counseling session, and a visit to a community resource, such as Planned Parenthood. Each session addresses one or more of the following topics: personal risk for STDs; HIV/AIDS and STDs transmission and prevention; discussion, observation, and practice of proper use of condoms; the relationship between drug use and HIV; impact of drug use on sexual behavior; personal triggers and urges; risky sexual situations; observation and role play of coping and problem solving skills; examination of personal sexual values; practice of positive “self-talk;” observation and practice of assertiveness skills to deal with peer pressure; and risk reduction techniques. The Street Smart curriculum includes eight group sessions and one individualized counseling session for each youth, which will underscore the importance of lessons learned and help each youth understand the particular implications of prevention as they pertain to his/her particular circumstances. The counseling session helps him/her identify goals regarding safer sex, discuss personal triggers and barriers, and develops a personal risk reduction plan. Each group also visits a community resource as part of the curriculum. These groups are closed,” requiring that the same group must start and finish together.

For pre-trial youth, a Case Manager provides services to monitor and help youth before they go to trial. Basic services include:
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» Close enforcement of the conditions of bail dispositions: VisionQuest Case Manager will report a minimum of once per week to DYRS.
» A minimum of one weekly face-to-face contact (either at school or at home)
» Daily curfew calls
» Random curfew checks
» School attendance monitoring
» Contact with the parent/guardian on a weekly basis
» Intervention support availability.
» VisionQuest’s Case Manager will be present in court with youth to make recommendations for sentencing in consultation with a DYRS representative.