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A new way to help troubled teens Photo by Bob Pennell Service uses existing resources to form a team By Jonel Aleccia Only 15, the Medford boy already had exhausted most options. Arrested on charges of burglary and harassment, feared by his family, failing at school, he was headed for a long-term psychiatric ward, a juvenile detention center � or worse. Then his mother found Community Alternatives, a new social service program that hooks up at-risk youngsters with a team of friends, relatives, neighbors and professionals for guidance and support. Five months later, the boy is back in school, making C�s and B�s, not F�s. He is learning to control his violent anger; he no longer wants to commit suicide. "Without this, my son would be in long-term care or jail and one of my daughters would have been dead," said the boy�s 38-year-old mother, who added he had threatened family members. Her identity, like his, has been withheld to protect privacy. "I wish I would have had this help a long time ago." Run by SOASTC � the Southern Oregon Adolescent Study and Treatment Center � Community Alternatives is a model example of what professionals call "wrap-around" services. Essentially, they�re services that use a kid�s existing resources � family, friends, church members, school workers � to build a team for support. "We�re not talking about the dysfunctions and the deficits," said Jill Smith, Community Alternatives program manager. "We focus on �What are you doing that you can do more of more often?� " Since the program formed last fall, it has served a half-dozen families whose teens were in trouble with juvenile authorities. Instead of being remanded into detention programs, the young people were offered the choice of meeting regularly with a team � and living by its decisions. In the Medford family�s case, the boy�s team included his mother, his sister, his sister�s boyfriend, a school counselor, a CERVS worker and a mental health professional. Together, they came up with plans both practical and philosophical to improve the boy�s life. One team member offered to take the boy to school and back. Another offered homework assistance. Another helped him figure out what to do when angry urges strike. "He�s not violent anymore," his mother said. "Now he turns on his stereo real loud. That�s when we know to leave him alone." The premise behind the program is to empower families to come up with their own solutions to problems, Smith said. Popularized in mental health circles a decade ago, "wrap-around" services save costs of professional care and retain dignity for clients. "Many of these families have been so involved with different systems: the juvenile system, the child welfare system," she said. "They feel that the quote unquote �professionals� are pointing their fingers at them and saying �What is wrong with YOU?� " Instead, it�s up to the families themselves to make changes within the team�s time frame, usually about three months. Often, the kid who�s been in trouble isn�t the only member who benefits. In the Medford family, the mother has started a job and returned to complete her General Equivalency Diploma. She�s a more consistent parent, which has paid off for her daughters, ages 12 and 17, as well as her son. For his part, the boy said he�s pleased with his progress. "It�s been good," he said. SOASTC, which provides services in Jackson and Josephine counties, hopes to add more families to the Community Alternatives caseload. The group recently received a matching grant from the Oregon Community Foundation that will meet donations at a rate of $1.50 for each dollar earned up to $10,000. "Therefore, if we raise $10,000, we will end up with $25,000," said Bob Lieberman, SOASTC executive director. Staff members already have donated some $2,000 in vacation hours to the project. The campaign runs through May 31. For information, call 476-3302. While it�s no cure for youth crime, Community Alternatives does offer another option to troubled teens, Smith said. "If we had a magic wand to make everything the way we want it, we wouldn�t need it," she said. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA