ALLIANCE FOR YOUTH works to advance positive youth development through linking and strengthening community resources. A summary of 2008 events, initiatives and programs follows. The Alliance for Youth is a community collaboration formed April 4, 1990 by merging two existing coalitions, the Community Core Team, Inc. and the “Making the Grade” Task Force. The Community Core Team was formed in 1982 to provide a network of community officials, organizations, agencies, and other concerned citizens involved in areas related to alcohol and other drug use. The organization has grown and facilitates collaboration and development, implementation and evaluation of community prevention, intervention and treatment-enforcement initiatives around youth violence, school drop out, pregnancy, crime and substance abuse. The mission of the Alliance for Youth, Inc. is to energize and link community strengths to develop tomorrow’s leaders. As an organization, we believe that a community working together can do more than any individual group, that by providing our youth with appropriate resources and skills they will be better able to choose healthy lifestyles and that youth need the assistance of their community to choose appropriate and legal activities.

Teen Day. Teen Day is an annual event through which the Alliance for Youth along with other community partners such as Gateway Community Service, Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the DUI Task Force make sure youth (teens) in our community feel valued. Research on positive youth development clearly demonstrates that youth who feel their community respects and values them thrive. Research also shows that alcohol and drug free social opportunities within the community increase the likelihood of healthy youth development. Alliance for Youth has spearheaded the Teen Day collaborative project for over then years, reserving a day every year to celebrate and honor teens. On March 16, 2008 well over 200 hundred youth came to the Paris Gibson Education Center and were treated to free pizza and refreshments. They were able to 1) participate in a dodge ball tournament; 2) challenge their climbing skills with the National Guard’s Rock Wall; 3) take part in human bowling (i.e., strap your best friend into a steel encased bowling ball and send them down the alley toward giant size pins); and 4) learn about alcohol impaired driving through a simulated remote control car obstacle course. The fun did not end there…because of donations from the Alliance for Youth, DUI Task Force, McDonalds, Burger King, Coke, and LV Jackson Agency each teen went home with a prize or gift and a smile on their face. Teen Day was a very rewarding and fun event for the staff here at Alliance for Youth to head up. We enjoyed every minute of it and came away feeling refreshed and jazzed up about what we do. Thanks for all the community support!

Adult Drug Treatment Court. The Eighth Judicial District’s Adult Drug Treatment Court Program, administered and coordinated by the Alliance for Youth, seeks to improve the quality of life in our community by establishing a comprehensive program of incentives and sanctions aimed at breaking non-violent, felony adult offender’s drug addictions. Over the course of the 24+ month Program, a variety of social services, consistent judicial and community supervision and immediate accountability have been provided to almost 70 participants to support and help them maintain drug and crime free lives. The goals of the Adult Treatment Court Program are to improve public safety, family and social function, cost efficiency and chemical dependency and co-occurring mental health disorders. The program has been operational for three years and exceeds national standards in percent of participants who do not use drugs and/or alcohol while in the program and 18 months following successful program completion. The Program also exceeds national standards for commission of criminal offenses by current program participants and by program graduates. The majority of Program graduates have attained employment and/or improved their career status upon successful program completion. Many participants have re-established contact with their children or have given birth to drug free babies because of their participation in the program. A “cost-to-taxpayer” approach was used to complete a taxpayer cost avoidance analysis of the Adult Drug Treatment Court. The in-depth analysis revealed that the Program avoids an estimated $11,070 per participant. The cost avoidance is due primarily to positive Treatment Court participant outcomes including fewer re-arrests, fewer court cases, less probation time, less jail time, and less prison time relative to the other similar offenders. The Adult Drug Treatment Court Program, under the direction of Judge Thomas McKittrick, is a tremendous community asset.

Red Ribbon Week. In 1985, DEA undercover agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was brutally murdered by members of a major drug cartel in Guadalajara, Mexico. In honor of Camarena’s memory and his passionate battle against illegal substances, citizens in his home town began wearing red ribbons. The message spread quickly and in 1988, Congress proclaimed the last week in October to be Red Ribbon Week. Americans unite annually to participate in this week, striving to deliver a strong, simple message that everyone can make a difference by refusing to tolerate the horrendous effects that drugs have on our society.

Montana National Guard, Drug Demand Reduction Program. The Montana National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Program (DDR) provides support to schools, community coalitions, law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations in an effort to reduce the use and abuse of illicit drugs. Prevention resources, drug education and leadership training are strategies employed by the Guard’s Drug Demand Reduction Program. Presence of The Montana National Guard’s Drug Demand Reduction Program is felt in Cascade County and statewide. Helicopter fly-ins and drug demand reduction education has taken place in Great Falls, Belt, Polson, Havre, Rudyard, Gilford, Choteau, and Fort Shaw. The DDR also provides leadership and support to the Healthy Youth Coalition’s Families Committee. A Family Resource Guide is published and sent out county wide on a quarterly basis. The Guide provides critical information for families and youth on local resources, activities and events.

Parenting Wisely. Parenting Wisely is an integrated CD-ROM based and interactive program designed for families at-risk with children from early elementary to high school age. This Program, through one-on-one sessions with families and collaboration with other service providers, seeks to help families enhance relationships and decrease conflict through behavior management and support. It enhances child adjustment and potentially reduces substance abuse and involvement with the juvenile justice system. In addition, PW builds parental confidence in parenting skills. It seeks to improve communication, problem solving and parent-school communication while improving school attendance and grades and reducing disciplinary infractions. Parenting Wisely families demonstrate short and long-term improvements in the family environment and in parenting skills. Children of parents who successfully complete Parenting Wisely are remarkably impacted by the positive family environment. Parenting Wisely children consistently have demonstrated both in the short and the long term, improvements in alcohol and other drug use; mental or emotional health, especially depression and thoughts of suicidal; and physical health. The Program’s impact is far reaching as over 300 families have participated in Parenting Wisely since 2001. For information regarding Parenting Wisely please contact Patty Jaraczeski at 454-6930.

Social Responsibility Training. Social Responsibility Training is a school and community-based prevention program designed to teach high-risk students, parents and families about decision and life skills in systematic class processes that enhance responsibility and behavioral growth in a progressive fashion. Classes are open ended so students, parents or families can enter at any time. Students are referred to SRT for any of the following: poor grades, truancy, behavioral problems, substance use, family problems or criminal justice system involvement. SRT® participants support and help each other regardless of the reason for referral. This program offers leadership capability and mentor training for youth and parents that have completed the program. SRT® encourages community coordination and bringing systems together to support youth and family success. Social Responsibility Training is currently serving 20 high risk seventh and eighth grade students at North Middle School. Students enrolled in the program demonstrate an average of only ten (10) of a total 40 Developmental Assets. The more assets a youth has present in their lives the more likely they are to avoid school drop out, substance abuse, violent behavior, teen pregnancy and criminal activity. SRT has also been effective at improving students’ grade point averages, school absences and school behavioral problems. This project is a collaborative effort of the Alliance for Youth, Great Falls Public School District and the United Way. Please contact Kathy Little at North Middle School for information.

Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program. The Eighth Judicial District’s Adult Drug Treatment Court Program, administered and coordinated by the Alliance for Youth, seeks to improve the quality of life in our community by establishing a comprehensive program of incentives and sanctions aimed at breaking non-violent, felony adult offender’s drug addictions. Over the course of the 24+ month Program, a variety of social services, consistent judicial and community supervision and immediate accountability have been provided to almost 70 participants. The mission of the Juvenile Drug Court Program is to improve the health and pro-social function of youth and families through application of therapeutic jurisprudence. The program is a comprehensive 18-24 month, four-phase, individualized treatment program. Close judicial supervision and a multi-disciplinary team ensure appropriate and swift accountability. The team meets weekly to apprise the Judge of each youth’s progress or lack thereof. Critical program components such as drug and alcohol testing, curfew, academic performance and behaviors, substance abuse and/or mental health treatment, probation requirements, Moral Reconation Therapy and parenting are reviewed and discussed, enabling the Judge to apply incentives or sanctions to each youth based on the behaviors they exhibited that week. The Eighth Judicial District Juvenile Drug Court has proven very successful in its’ third year of operation. The majority of participants have demonstrated 1) improved school performance (academic, attendance and behavior); 2) decreased substance abuse and dependency; 3) reduced criminal activity; and improved family relationships.

Disproportionate Minority Contact. Alliance for Youth and a number of community partners have collaborated to form a local Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Task Force. DMC addresses the overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system at key decision points within the justice system. A statistical measure developed by the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention was utilized to identify where at what points in the juvenile justice system minority youth are over or under-represented. Locally, American Indian Youth are significantly over-represented at the key decision points of arrest and secure detention. Cascade County’s

DMC Task Force, facilitated by Alliance for Youth, will identify and implement research-based programs that will reduce Disproportionate Minority Contact in our community. In order to best target scarce resources, information about American Indian youth represented in Cascade County’s juvenile justice system has been compiled. The highest concentration of offenses within the American Indian youth was theft, disorderly conduct, and runaways. The average age of offense was 11 years of age for females and 10 years of age for males. Risk factors that may have contributed to these offenses for both male and female were association with delinquent peers, single parent household, and low academic achievement/aspirations. Local stakeholders will utilize this information to identify and implement effective interventions to reduce the disproportionate representation of American Indian youth in Cascade County’s justice system. If you would like to participate in this initiative or if you would like additional information please contact Kristy Pontet-Stroop at the Alliance for Youth, kristy_pontet-stroop@gfps.k12.mt.us or 268-6780.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives. Alliance for Youth, in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Montana Board of Crime Control, is coordinating a Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) in Cascade County. The main purposes of utilizing secure confinement are to ensure individual and public safety and eliminate flight risk. Based upon a thorough review of multiple levels of juvenile detention data, JDAI promotes changes in local policies, practices, and programs to reduce the juvenile justice system’s reliance on secure confinement. JDAI has been implemented in almost 100 communities across the nation and has consistently improved public safety, advanced positive youth development, reduced racial disparities, saved taxpayer dollars, and stimulated overall juvenile justice system improvements. To learn more about the Juvenile Alternatives to Detention Initiative please visit www.aecf.org