Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Drug abuse, treatment, research, and laws.

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survivorsofcps
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Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:51 pm

Plz does anyone know of a link/story whatever on the successes of mentorship programs for drug abusers. I want to know what the success/failure rate was. It was aired on the John Walsh show. this is for my book

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Eljay
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Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby Eljay » Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:59 pm

Advice & opinions provided are no substitute for genuine legal assistance. Laws & rules vary by state/jurisdiction so do your homework and get
an education in CPS laws, rules & practices so that you can FIGHT for your children's rights. I am not a lawyer. Your mileage may vary.

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survivorsofcps
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Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:58 pm

sorry but I was looking for the program where the kids lived with them in a mentor home while they did rehab

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Eljay
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Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby Eljay » Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:49 pm

This?

http://familyrights.us/specials/walsh_4 ... 20Show.htm

and the links:

http://www.familiesfirstinc.org/Programs/index.htm
Families First – Community Based Services: Shared Family Care Program – John Reid, Chief Operating Officer

http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~aiarc ... ts/sfc.htm
Shared Family Care Program Information

http://ehsd.org/child/child019.html
Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services: Shared Family Care

For more information on Tashima Dukes’ organization, Foster Children in Focus, Inc., or her self-published book, Truth Be Told…A Foster Child’s Recollection, you can contact her at: Foster Children in Focus, Inc., P.O. Box 30171, Elkins Park, PA, 19027, or you can send an e-mail to the following address: [email protected].

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/living ... 490185.htm
Philadelphia Inquirer: “Childhood of abuse led her to life of caring”

http://www.congress.org/
Congress.org – Write your elected officials
*Contact your elected officials and tell them you want the Shared Family Care program to be made available in your state.

www.house.gov/writerep
Write Your Representative - Contact your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives
*Contact your elected officials and tell them you want the Shared Family Care program to be made available in your state.

www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm
U.S. Senate: Senators by State
*Contact your elected officials and tell them you want the Shared Family Care program to be made available in your state.

http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/pub ... stersp.htm
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Administration for Children & Families – State Foster Care Specialists
*Agencies by State
Advice & opinions provided are no substitute for genuine legal assistance. Laws & rules vary by state/jurisdiction so do your homework and get
an education in CPS laws, rules & practices so that you can FIGHT for your children's rights. I am not a lawyer. Your mileage may vary.

----<>----<>----<>---- BREED WITH CAUTION ----<>----<>----<>----

survivorsofcps
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:50 pm

Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Mon Oct 15, 2012 2:25 pm

Yes that's it. i watched a clip of it and i thought the program was brilliant. A real testament to what compassion and adequate help can do for the true drug abuser. Especially for the kids involved. This program went above and beyond. It truly made a difference for everybody.

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Eljay
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Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby Eljay » Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:14 pm

Sad... all the links are dead. Are you tracking down current programs?
Advice & opinions provided are no substitute for genuine legal assistance. Laws & rules vary by state/jurisdiction so do your homework and get
an education in CPS laws, rules & practices so that you can FIGHT for your children's rights. I am not a lawyer. Your mileage may vary.

----<>----<>----<>---- BREED WITH CAUTION ----<>----<>----<>----

survivorsofcps
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:50 pm

Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:12 pm

just trying to see if any state still has this program and if they do what is the success rate. i wish to promote it in every state.

survivorsofcps
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:50 pm

Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:21 pm

I found a more recent article same program

http://www.talkifuwant.com/page37.html

survivorsofcps
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:50 pm

Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:25 pm

well some of the information is misleading but look at the statistics on success of that program 85-99%

survivorsofcps
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Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Mon Oct 15, 2012 4:59 pm

Shared Family Care

Shared family care (SFC) is a relatively new approach in the United States, for dealing with children who are at risk of being separated from their parents. The program "helps families become self-sufficient. Both parents and children are placed in the homes of people in the community who mentor them, and help provide the skills and discipline they need to become responsible citizens" (Mikkelson, 2002). The troubled family simply lives with, and is guided by a host family. An advantage to having both the parent and the child live in one home is that in essence, both people in the troubled family simultaneously receive the benefit of assistance.
One of the goals of SFC is to keep birth families together while a foster parent teaches birth parents how to keep a home clean, how to be a good parent, how to find childcare, and how to keep a job. In Milwaukee, where a pilot program was started in 2002, shared family care is just taking shape. But in other states, such as California, where SFC is in its fifth year, Mikkeslon (2002) reported that it is showing favorable results; desired outcomes of the program are 1) shortened length of stay (compared to a traditional foster care placement), 2) reduced recidivism (fewer children coming back to foster care once they leave), and 3) cost neutrality (equal expenses related to traditional foster care costs).
But there are similar programs in other states that are much older. One program, the Texas Baptist Children's Home (TBCH), started in 1979 working in a pre-SFC approach using a group home setting where three or four single parents live together with their children and one staff family. As a group the families work at learning good parenting skills, discipline techniques, meal preparation, obtaining employment, and continuing education. In a six-year period TBCH served 185 families. In 1996, 99% of the families remained intact after graduation from the program; 92% found employment (Barth & Price 1999, p. 93). Other states have SFC programs as well. Illinois started a SFC program for teen mothers in 1989 and in 1984 New Jersey started a similar program. The New Jersey program helped 96 families over the course of a seven-year period and the program reports a near 85% success rate in keeping mother and child together (Barth & Price, 1999, p. 95).
Probably the biggest issue with shared family care programs is the cost. SFC tops the foster care daily rate, but remains cheaper than the more restrictive residential group home placement rates. For some SFC programs the monthly cost per family, can be as much as four and a half times higher than traditional foster care rates (Barth & Price, 1999, p. 102); and even when the rates are figured out based upon the average length of stay (5 months for SFC compared to 14 months for traditional foster care) there is still a higher cost for shared family care. Additionally, while the median length of stay for SFC services is reported by Barth and Price (1999) to be only five months, one program lasts up to 18 months, while another lasts up to 24 months, and a third program can run the course of three years. If one family stayed in SFC for 36 months, compared to one child in foster care for 14 months, the cost difference would be more than $50,000. But quite possibly, when one considers treatment costs of a family compared to the treatment costs of one child, there may in fact be a savings, even while initially the costs are comparatively higher with SFC. It would make sense that treating a family in SFC, costs more than treating one child in foster care.
Other more recent studies however, actually reveal that SFC is more cost effective than foster care. There is an evaluation process underway by the School of Social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley that began in 1996 to help establish and evaluate seven SFC programs. The goal, according to Barth and Price (1999), is "to determine if shared family foster care can…become a viable alternative to traditional family foster care in the 21st century" (p. 99). The outcomes of the Berkeley studies culminate in annual reports from the years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. The evaluation process, that began in 1997, shows that SFC is proving to be more cost effective than traditional foster care, and substantially more affordable than treatment foster care, when looking at actual placement costs per child (Clovis, Price, & Wichterman, 2002).
Other cost savings and positive outcomes of SFC, compared to traditional foster care, being realized by Clovis, Price, and Wichterman (2002) include: 1) SFC families are less dependent on the system, 2) they have better employment rates, 3) they have higher income, and 4) there are fewer children who re-enter foster care (p. 52). "Therefore, although SFC involves many additional costs (e.g., for start-up, mentor recruitment and support, and intensive services), it may be worth the up-front investment" (Clovis et al, 2002, p. iii).
One problem with SFC is that the program does not work for families who are not still together or reunified. That means that many children in foster care cannot take advantage of SFC services, simply because they no longer live with their natural parents. And the research is showing that even for intact families, SFC is not for everyone. Parental motivation, family size, and active drug use prevents some families from participating in SFC (Simmel & Price, 2000, p. 6).
Another issue facing the shared family care movement is that very limited research exists to show how effective the program is. Some of the research that has been reported here is either for programs that are similar to SFC, but not the same (TBCH), or the research only evaluates a few SFC programs (Berkeley). And while Illinois and New Jersey (and the Berkeley studies) can tout a high level of success, the results only reflect the accomplishments of a few programs making generalizations nearly impossible. It would be very difficult to ascertain the programs' likely outcomes, and in the case of Milwaukee, program infancy makes research results virtually impossible to obtain.

survivorsofcps
Posts: 182
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:50 pm

Re: Success of mentorship programs for actual drug abusers

Postby survivorsofcps » Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:03 pm

Obviously this article is biased and i believe the real help comes from the financial stability of not being poor not that the foster parents actually teach them how to be good parents. Still this is the best option social services has come up with and should be offered to any family that is poor not just the ones on drugs.


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