Community-Based Options

Families need evidence-based community-based safe treatment options to help adolescent behavioral, trauma, and mental health issues in youth.

What does “evidence-based” mean? It means that researchers have conducted studies to determine whether a treatment has:

  • Demonstrated effectiveness in scientific evaluations and randomized control trials.
  • Been assessed in large studies with diverse populations or through multiple replications by independent researchers. Not by the developer of the model (aka someone who gains or profits from it).
  • Resulted in significant and sustained effects for a minimum of 6 months post-treatment.

Below is a list of evidence-based treatment methods and programs to serve a wide array of adolescents and children with a variety of issues. Some programs and treatments will be more effective for certain issues than others so please take the time to read into each program/model to understand where their strengths lie.

Abecedarian Project – This was an early education intervention designed to improve cognitive and educational development among low-income children. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of being enrolled in college and having held skilled employment, a lower likelihood of being a teen parent, and fewer depressive symptoms, compared with the control group.

Academic Mentoring Program for Educational Development (AMPED) – This is a school-based, mentoring program designed to improve academic performance and life satisfaction and reduce absences and behavioral infractions. The program is rated Promising. Participants had a statistically significant decrease in unexcused absences and higher math and English grades, compared with the control group.

Achievement Mentoring Program (AMP) – This is an intervention for urban minority freshmen at risk of dropping out of high school. The goal was to enhance school-related cognition and behaviors. The program is rated Promising.

Across Ages – This is an intergenerational mentoring initiative designed to delay or reduce substance use by increasing the resiliency and protective factors of at-risk middle school youth. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group showed statistically significant improvements in school attendance; reactions to situations involving drug use; and attitudes toward school, the future, and elders, compared with the control group.

Active Parenting of Teens: Families in Action – This is a family-based alcohol prevention program for families with middle school-aged children. The program is rated Promising. Students in the program reported fewer family fights; higher family cohesion, and school attachment; and more negative views on underage alcohol consumption, compared with control group students. Parents in the program reported greater opposition to underage alcohol consumption, compared with control group parents. These differences were statistically significant.

Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) – This is a behavioral intervention for youth, which is designed to reduce drug and alcohol use and promote an abstinent lifestyle. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed a statistically significant reduction in alcohol use, other drug use, and depressive symptoms, and an increase in linkage to continuing care services, adherence to the continuing care model, and social stability.

Adolescent Diversion Project (Michigan State University) – This is a strengths-based, university-led program that diverts arrested youth from formal processing in the juvenile justice system and provides them with community-based services. The program is rated Effective. Participants in the program had statistically significantly lower rates of official delinquency compared with control group youth.

Adults in the Making (AIM) – A family-centered preventive intervention designed to enhance the family protective process and self-regulatory competence to deter the escalation of alcohol use and development of substance use problems. The program is rated Effective. Overall, the preponderance of evidence indicates that the program has a positive impact on deterring the use of alcohol, drugs, and involvement in other risky behaviors among participants.

Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices – This is an early childhood curriculum designed to increase social-emotional competence and coping skills in young children. The program is rated Promising. Children in the intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in social-emotional competence and positive coping skills and fewer problem behaviors, compared with children in the control group.

Alternatives for Families: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – This is a family therapy program designed to reduce the effects of child abuse. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in family conflict, parent-child violence, physical punishment, and child abuse risk, and improvements in discipline, cohesion, and child acceptance. There were also statistically significant reductions in child internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Training: Competent Learners Achieving School Success (BEST in CLASS) – A classroom-based intervention delivered by teachers, designed to prevent emotional and behavioral disorders in high-risk children. The program is rated Effective. Intervention group children showed statistically significant improvement in behaviors, social and behavioral competence, and student-teacher relationships, compared with control group children. Intervention group teachers showed statistically significant improvements in instructional practices compared with control group teachers.

Better Futures – This is a program designed to help young people in foster care and with serious mental health challenges prepare for postsecondary education. The program is rated Effective. Youths who received the intervention had statistically significant improvements on self-determination, mental health empowerment, transition planning, career self-efficacy, hope, barriers to education, postsecondary preparation, and transition planning, but not on quality of life or mental health recovery.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Community-Based Mentoring (CBM) Program – This program offers one-to-one mentoring in a community setting for at-risk youth between the ages of 6 and 18. This program is rated Effective. It was associated with a statistically significant reduction in initiating drug and alcohol use and antisocial behavior among mentored youth, compared with non-mentored youth. Mentored youth also showed statistically significant improvement in relationships with parents and academic performance (i.e., better grades and fewer absences).

Brief Strategic Family Therapy – This is a family-based intervention designed to prevent and treat youth behavior problems. The program is rated Promising. Intervention families showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of being engaged and retained in treatment, and intervention youth showed statistically significantly greater improvement in conduct disorder and socialized aggression.

Check & Connect Plus Truancy Board (C&C+TB) – This is a school-based program that integrates a case-management framework for providing social support to truant youth. The goals of the program are to improve school attendance and renew progress toward graduation. This program is rated Promising.

Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) – This is a brief early intervention and secondary prevention model, designed to prevent the development of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for children aged 7–18 years who have recently experienced a potentially traumatic event. The program is rated Promising. Compared with the comparison group, the intervention group was statistically significantly less likely to have a PTSD diagnosis or receive a partial/full PTSD diagnosis; they also showed a lower severity of PTSD symptoms.

Children with Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) – This is a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) program for children that is designed to eliminate problematic sexual behavior. The program is rated Effective. Children in the CBT treatment group who demonstrated problematic sexual behavior displayed no statistically significant differences, compared with control group children, in sexual and nonsexual offenses at the 10-year follow up, indicating that the treatment was effective at reducing these behaviors.

Children’s Advocacy Center Model – This program is a multidisciplinary, victim-focused approach designed to improve forensic interviewing and the continuity of care for youth who are victims of sexual abuse and assault. The program is rated Effective. The program showed a statistically significant increase in the receipt of physical health examinations and counseling referrals for treatment group youth, compared with youth in the community comparison group.

Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) – A cognitive and behavioral therapy group intervention for reducing children’s symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression caused by exposure to violence. The program is rated Effective. The study found significantly lower scores of self-reported PTSD, depressive symptoms, and psychosocial dysfunction than the comparison group.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anger-Related Problems in Children and Adolescents – Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a problem-focused, therapeutic approach that attempts to help people identify and change dysfunctional beliefs, thoughts, and patterns that contribute to their problem behaviors. This variant of CBT focuses specifically on children and adolescents who have anger-related problems. The practice is rated Effective for reducing aggression and anger expression and improving self-control, problem-solving, and social competencies.

Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disturbances – This cognitive-behavioral mentoring intervention was designed to improve child behavior and family functioning among 8- to 12-year olds with mental health disorders, and their primary caregivers. This program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups on measures of child behavior, parenting stress, perceived social support, and attachment to parents.

Cognitive-Processing Therapy for Female Victims of Sexual Assault – This is a cognitive therapy program intended to assist female victims of sexual assault with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The program is rated Promising. Both PTSD and depression symptoms decreased with cognitive treatment when compared with the control group.

Common Sense Parenting – This is a group-based, parent-training class designed for parents of youth who exhibit behavioral and emotional problems. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group parents reported statistically significantly greater improvements in parental satisfaction, family satisfaction, parental efficacy, and children’s externalizing behaviors, compared with control group parents.

Communities That Care – This is a planning and implementation system that helps community stakeholders come together to address adolescent behavior problems such as violence, delinquency, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school. This program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant lower levels of risk factors and a lower likelihood of initiation of delinquent behavior for intervention communities, compared to control communities, but mixed results in substance use initiation.

Computerized Brief Interventions for Youth Alcohol Use – A computerized brief intervention is any preventive or therapeutic activity delivered through electronic devices with a maximum total time of one hour. The interventions are designed to help youth think differently about their alcohol use and provide them with skills to reduce or eliminate alcohol use. The practice is rated Effective for reducing short-term alcohol use.

Contingency Management Interventions for Substance Use Disorders – This is an intervention strategy designed to reduce substance use disorders by rewarding positive behavior (e.g., negative drug tests) and withholding rewards when undesired behavior is exhibited (e.g., positive drug screens). The overall goal is abstinence from substance use. The practice is rated Effective for reducing alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use.

Cooperative Learning – This is a group-based learning approach that seeks to enhance peer relations by increasing opportunities for positive social integration between adolescents. The program is rated Promising. Students in intervention schools reported they were less willing to use alcohol, had fewer deviant peer affiliations, lower perceived student stress and emotional problems, and had a higher academic engagement, compared with students in control schools. These differences were statistically significant.

Coping Power Program – This is a cognitive-based intervention for aggressive children and for their parents to increase the children’s competence, study skills, social skills, and self-control during the transition to middle school. The program is rated Promising. There were mixed results on self-reported delinquency, but treatment group children showed a statistically significant reduction in substance use and improvement in aggressive behavior, compared with control group children.

Counter-Narratives for the Prevention of Violent Radicalization – This practice involves the use of counter-narratives, which attempt to challenge and deconstruct narratives suggesting extremist ideologies, to prevent the violent radicalization of participants. Types of counter-narratives include counter-stereotypical exemplar, persuasion, and inoculation. The practice is rated Effective for reducing risk factors for violent radicalization in participants, compared with participants in control groups.

Criando con Amor: Promoviendo Armonía y Superación (CAPAS) – This program includes two versions of a culturally adapted parenting intervention for immigrant Latino populations. The program is rated Effective. Both versions of the intervention were found to have a statistically significant impact on improving parenting practices compared with the control group. Only the enhanced intervention had a positive, statistically significant effect on child internalizing behaviors.

Cross-Age Peer Mentoring Program – The program is a school-based peer mentoring program in which high school students provide one-on-one mentoring to late elementary and early middle school students. This program is rated Promising. The mentored children showed statistically significant improvement on measures of spelling achievement and connectedness to school and to parents compared with the control group.

Cyberbullying Prevention and Intervention Programs – This practice comprises intervention and prevention programs that are designed to reduce or prevent negative online behaviors among school-aged children ages 9 to 19. Programs include individual-level, multi-level systemic, and universal or whole-school approaches. This practice is rated Effective for reducing cyberbullying perpetration and victimization.

DARE to be You – This is a multilevel prevention program for high-risk families with children ages 2–5 years, which is designed to lower children’s risk of future substance abuse and other high-risk activities by improving parenting skills. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group parents reported a statistically significant improvement in child development, a reduction in child oppositional behaviors, and an improvement in parental self-efficacy, compared with control group parents.

Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) – DBT was originally developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals and has since been adapted for youth with serious emotional problems. This cognitive-behavioral treatment focuses on four functions, three of them to directly help the youth (enhance behavioral skills to handle difficulties, find the motivation to change dysfunctional behaviors, ensure the use of the skills in daily life) and the fourth to train and consult with counselors to improve their skills in working with the young people. Studies of DBT have shown reductions in suicidality, depression, self-harm, and drug abuse.

Dropout Prevention Programs – School or community-based programs targeting frequently absent students or students at risk of dropping out of school. These programs are aimed at increasing school engagement, school attachment, and the academic performance of students, with the main objective of increasing graduation rates. The practice is rated Effective for reducing rates of school dropouts and rated. Promising for improving test scores/grades, graduation rates, and attendance.

E-mentoring Program for Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities – This program was designed to help high school students with mild learning disabilities improve their ability to identify postsecondary career goals. This program is rated Promising. The program group showed statistically significant improvement in social connectedness, transition competency, and self-determination, compared with the control group.

Early Developmental Prevention Programs for At-Risk Youths – This practice consists of early developmental programs that focus on enhancing child, parent–child, or family well-being to prevent social deviance and criminal justice involvement among at-risk children under age 5. The practice is rated Effective for reducing deviance and criminal justice involvement in youths who participated in early developmental prevention programs, compared with youths in the control group who did not participate.

Early Family/Parent Training Programs – This practice includes programs that seek to provide families and parents with training and skills to help promote their children’s physical, mental, and social skills. The practice is rated Effective for reducing child problem behaviors for children whose families participated in early family/parent training programs, compared with control group children whose families did not participate in programming.

Early Pathways – This is a home-based, parent-and-child therapy program for the treatment of disruptive behaviors (such as physical aggression and oppositional behaviors) in toddlers and preschoolers who are living in poverty. The program is rated Promising. Compared to the control group, there were statistically significant positive effects found for improving children’s prosocial and challenging behaviors, parent and child play, and the discipline and nurturing behavior of caregivers.

Early Self-Control Improvement Programs for Children – This practice consists of programs designed to increase self-control and reduce child behavior problems (e.g., conduct problems, antisocial behavior, and delinquency) with children up to age 10. Program types include social skills development, cognitive coping strategies, training/role-playing, and relaxation training. This practice is rated Effective for improving self-control and reducing delinquency.

Ecologically Based Family Therapy (EBFT) for Substance-Abusing Runaway Adolescents – This is a home-based, family preservation model for families in crisis because youth has run away from home. The model targets 12- to 17-year-olds who are staying in a runaway shelter and dealing with substance abuse issues. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group adolescents reported a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of days they used alcohol or drugs, compared with control group adolescents who received services as usual, at the 15-month follow-up.

Expanded Early Pathways for Young Traumatized Children – This is an at-home parent and child therapy program for young children with behavioral and emotional problems who have experienced trauma and live in poverty. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group children had statistically significant reductions in challenging behaviors and anxious/withdrawn and fearful symptoms of trauma, compared with children on a waitlist. The quality of caregiver-child relationships and caregivers’ abilities to use therapy strategies had statistically significant

Expressive Writing Interventions for Adolescents – This is a brief psychosocial intervention, also called written emotional disclosure. Expressive writing interventions are individually focused and designed to improve emotional expression and processing during adaptation to stressful situations. The goal is to improve psychological and physical health. The practice is rated Effective for improving adolescents’ problem behaviors, internalizing behaviors, and school participation.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for Traumatized Young Women – This is a therapeutic approach designed to treat individuals who are dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic life event. The goal is to help those who have experienced traumatic stress to reprocess and store traumatic memories adaptively. The program is rated Promising. Program participants reported statistically significant improvements in posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, self-concept, avoidance, and intrusive thoughts, compared with control group participants.

Eye to Eye – This is a group-mentoring afterschool program in which elementary and middle school students with the diagnosis of a learning disability (LD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) meet with high school or college student mentors who also have LD/ADHD, to discuss and address their strengths and challenges. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to be associated with statistically significant decreases in depression and increases in self-esteem over the program period.

Familias Unidas – This is a family-based intervention for Hispanic families that seeks to improve family functioning and decrease adolescent substance use. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group families reported a statistically significant reduction in youth substance use, compared with control group families.

Families And Schools Together (FAST) – A multifamily group intervention program designed to build protective factors for children, empower parents to be primary prevention agents, and build supportive parent-to-parent groups. The program is rated Effective. Two studies found participants had fewer problem behaviors than their controls. There were mixed study results on social skills and academic competency. Other study findings were higher academic performance, improved family functioning, and lower special education placement.

Family Centered Treatment – Family Centered Treatment (FCT) is a short-term, family-based intervention intended to reduce out-of-home placements for justice-involved youth. FCT seeks to include the entire family in the intervention process, rather than only the youth, in order to provide them with community resources and wraparound services. FCT is designed to find solutions for families faced with disruption or dissolution of their family.

Family Check-Up (FCU) for Adolescents – A family-centered preventive intervention based on a health maintenance model. It is designed to assist families with high-risk adolescents, ages 11–17 by targeting parental engagement and motivating parents to improve their parenting practices. Moreover, it offers a menu of family-centered interventions that support effective family management practices and promote the well-being and improved behavior of children and adolescents. The goal of FCU is to reduce the growth of adolescents’ problem behaviors and substance abuse, improve parenting skills, and reduce family conflict.

Family Check-Up (FCU) for Children – The program is a preventative, family-based intervention targeting families with young children who possess risk factors for child behavioral misconduct. The program is rated Promising. Evaluation results showed that the children of families who participated in the intervention demonstrated statistically significantly reduced problem and externalizing behaviors, compared with children of families in the control group.

Family Finding – This program is designed to find and engage kin and fictive kin to support the needs of foster care youth. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant greater number of kin and fictive kin found and positive attachment figures identified for the intervention group, compared with the comparison group.

Family Solutions Program (FSP) – This is a multi-family group-based intervention targeting first-time juvenile offenders. The goal is to help youth and their families find solutions to family conflict and poor decision-making that will prevent youth’s recidivism and improve personal and family well-being. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group youth showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of recidivating, compared with youth in the probation comparison group.

Family-based Treatment for Adolescent Delinquency and Problem Behaviors – In general, family-based treatment practices consist of a wide range of interventions that are designed to change dysfunctional family patterns that contribute to the onset and maintenance of adolescent delinquency and other problem behaviors. This practice is rated Effective for reducing recidivism, and Promising for reducing antisocial behavior and substance use, and improving psychological functioning and school performance.

Fast Track – This is a comprehensive, long-term prevention program that seeks to prevent chronic and severe conduct problems in high-risk children in the first through 10th grades. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group children demonstrated a statistically significantly fewer number of conduct problems and improvement in social cognition, compared with control group children.

First Step to Success – An early intervention program designed to identify children with antisocial behavior and introduce adaptive behavioral strategies to prevent antisocial behavior in school. The program is rated Effective. Participants showed improvements in adaptive behavior, less maladaptive behavior and aggression, and more attention to the teacher.

Fostering Healthy Futures Program – This is a preventative intervention designed to improve the well-being of children recently placed in foster care as a result of child maltreatment. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group displayed statistically significant reductions in mental health problems and dissociation symptoms and a lower likelihood of experiencing a new residential treatment center placement, compared with the control group.

Front-End Diversion Initiative – This is a preadjudication diversion program designed to divert juveniles with mental health needs away from the juvenile justice system through specialized supervision and case management. The program is rated Promising. Participants were statistically significantly less likely to face adjudication compared to those who only received traditional supervision while on probation.

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) – This is a family-based prevention and intervention program for dysfunctional youth, ages 11 to 18, who are justice-involved or at risk for delinquency, violence, substance use, or other behavioral problems. The program is rated Effective. Program participants showed a statistically significant reduction in general recidivism and risky behavior compared with control group participants.

GenerationPMTO (Parent Model Training Oregon) – An evidence-based structured intervention to help parents and caregivers manage the behavior of their children. The PMTO method is designed to promote prosocial skills and cooperation and to prevent, reduce and reverse the development and maintenance of mild to moderate to severe conduct problems in children aged 4 – 12. PMTO empowers parents as primary treatment agents to promote and sustain positive change in families.

Great Life Mentoring – This is a one-on-one mentoring program in which youth referred from a community mental health agency receive support from adult volunteers with whom they spend 2 to 3 hours weekly on positive community activities. The program is rated Effective. The intervention was shown to be associated with a statistically significant increase in global functioning and a lower likelihood of an unplanned and client-initiated ending of treatment.

Green Dot Intervention Program – This program is designed to increase active-bystander behaviors and reduce dating and sexual violence in college and high school students. The program is rated Promising. Students who participated in the program had a statistically significantly greater number of observed and self-reported active-bystander behaviors than students who did not participate.

Guiding Good Choices – This is a family-competency training program to promote healthy parent-child interactions and address children’s risk for early substance use. The program is rated Promising. Parent participants had a statistically significant improvement in intervention-targeted parenting behaviors, at 1-year posttest. Child participants had a statistically significant lower likelihood of alcohol-related problems and cigarette use, after 10 years, but there was no effect on being drunk and using illicit drugs.

HOMEBUILDERS – This is an in-home, family preservation service and reunification program for families with children returning from or at risk for out-of-home placement. The program is rated Effective. The treatment group had a statistically significant greater number of reunifications and reduced rates of out-of-home placement, compared with the control group.

I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) – This is a universal school-based prevention program that trains children by offering them a variety of solutions to problems. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students demonstrated statistically significant improvements on measures of problem-solving, understanding consequences, and self-regulation, compared with the improvements made by control group students.

INSIGHTS into Children’s Temperament – A school-based intervention program delivered to urban elementary students, with the participation of parents and teachers, to address disruptive behaviors. The program was rated Effective. In both studies, the authors found that the intervention had a marginal-to-moderate effect on behavior problems exhibited by children.

KEEP SAFE – This was a multicomponent intervention to prevent delinquency and substance misuse for girls in foster care transitioning from elementary school to middle school. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group girls reported statistically significantly reduced tobacco use, marijuana use, and delinquent behavior, compared with control group girls.

LifeSkills Training – This is a classroom-based, drug abuse–prevention program for upper elementary and junior high school students. This program is rated Effective. Students who participated in the program reported a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of cigarette, alcohol, and polydrug use; and slower growth in the initiation of substance use, compared with control students.

Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers (LIFT) – This is a program designed to prevent the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in children in elementary school. The program is rated Effective. Youth who participated in the intervention demonstrated statistically significant reductions in physical aggression; in the initiation of alcohol and tobacco; and use over time of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs; compared with control youth.

Make Parenting A Pleasure – This prevention program seeks to build parenting skills and provide support to parents of young children, to reduce the likelihood of negative lifelong impacts on children’s physical, mental, and emotional health. The program is rated Promising. The program participants showed statistically significant improvements in parenting skills, knowledge of child development and behavior, and reduced parental depression

Master Mind – This was a mindfulness education and substance abuse prevention program for fourth- and fifth-grade students, which was designed to build self-regulatory skills and reduce intentions to use alcohol or tobacco. This program was rated Promising. There were statistically significant increases in measures of executive functioning, social problems, and aggression.

Mentoring – This practice provides at-risk youth with positive and consistent adult or older peer contact to promote healthy development and functioning by reducing risk factors. The practice is rated Effective in reducing delinquency outcomes; and Promising in reducing the use of alcohol and drugs; improving school attendance, grades, academic achievement test scores, social skills, and peer relationships.

Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP) – A school-based comprehensive program intended to promote an anti-drug message throughout communities and prevent substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana) among middle school students. The program is rated Effective. The program significantly reduced cigarette smoking prevalence among treatment youths relative to the control group.

MindUp – This is a classroom-based intervention that facilitates the development of social-emotional competence among students through “mindful attention” training. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed statistically significant increases in social-emotional competence, empathy, and perspective-taking; and decreases in aggressive and oppositional behaviors, fight starting, and rule-breaking, compared with nonparticipants.

Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems (MATCH-ADTC) – The program is a coordinated, component-based approach that allows for real-time adaptation of treatment to address the complex needs of clinically-referred, comorbid youths, whose problems and treatment needs can shift during treatment. The program is rated Promising. In examining MATCH-ADTC to usual care, there were mixed results across three evaluations, but there were statistically significant reductions in internalizing and externalizing problems, functioning, and severity of problems.

Moms’ Empowerment Program – This program provides support for mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). The goal of the program is to assist mothers and ultimately improve their children’s adjustment. The program was rated Promising. Results showed a statistically significant improvement in children’s externalizing behaviors and attitudes about family violence, although there was no effect on children’s internalizing behaviors. Mothers in the program also experienced greater reductions in IPV over time.

Motivational Interviewing for Substance Abuse – Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a brief client-centered, semi-directive psychological treatment approach that concentrates on improving and strengthening individuals’ motivations to change. MI aims to increase an individual’s perspective on the importance of change. When provided to those who abuse substances, the long-term goal is to help them reduce or stop using drugs and alcohol.

Multidimensional Family Therapy – A manualized family-based treatment and substance abuse prevention program developed for adolescents with drug and behavior problems. The program is typically delivered in an outpatient setting, but it can also be used in inpatient settings. The program is rated Effective. The program resulted in the greatest and most consistent improvements in adolescent substance abuse and associated behavior problems.

Multisystemic Therapy – Substance Abuse – This version of multisystemic therapy is for adolescents with substance abuse and dependency issues. This program is rated Effective. Treatment youth showed statistically significant reductions in marijuana use and in aggressive behavior and convictions for aggressive behavior, compared with control group youth.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) – A family and community-based treatment program for adolescent offenders who have exhibited serious antisocial, problem, and delinquent behaviors. The program is rated Effective. The treatment group had fewer rearrests and spent fewer days incarcerated than a comparison group that received usual services. The program had a positive impact on family cohesion and social skills for the intervention group.

Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) – This program addresses family functioning and parental behavior to reduce child abuse, neglect, and external placement. The program is rated Promising. Compared with the control group, treatment parents and children showed statistically significant improvements in functioning, treatment parents showed significant improvements in social support, and treatment children had a lower likelihood of receiving external placement.

Multisystemic Therapy for Youth With Problem Sexual Behaviors (MST-PSB) – Multisystemic Therapy for Youth with Problem Sexual Behaviors (MST–PSB) is an adaptation of MST aimed at adolescents who have committed sexual offenses and demonstrated other problem behaviors. MST–PSB is designed to reduce problem sexual behaviors, antisocial behaviors, and out-of-home placements. The program targets factors underlying problematic juvenile sexual behavior, primarily by addressing a youth’s socialization processes and interpersonal transactions. Program staff provides treatment within the adolescent’s natural environment—that is, where the youth lives. As a result, program staff members also work directly with the youth’s family and directly or indirectly with others in the youth’s community, such as peers, teachers, or probation officers. One goal of this work with the youth’s family is to empower the parents by providing them the skills and resources needed to raise their adolescent.

Multisystemic Therapy-Psychiatric – The overriding goal of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is to keep adolescents who have exhibited serious clinical problems (e.g., drug use, violence, severe criminal behavior) at home, in school, and out of trouble. Multisystemic Therapy–Psychiatric (MST–P) adapts the principles of MST by treating youths with psychiatric problems within their home environment and intervening in the systems, family, and caregiving environment. Treatment aims to reduce the risk of self-harm (including suicide), depression, and anxiety as well as externalizing symptoms such as drug use and criminal behavior among youths at risk of out-of-home placement due to serious behavioral problems with co-occurring mental health symptoms.

Multisystemic Therapy–Family Integrated Transitions (MST-FIT) – The program provides integrated individual and family services to juvenile offenders who have co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency disorders during their transition from incarceration back into the community. The program is rated Promising. Results showed the intervention had a significant effect on felony recidivism at 36 months post-release.

Neighborhood Enrichment with Vision Involving Services, Treatment, and Supervision (NEW VISTAS) – This program consisted of a comprehensive, neighborhood-based, family-focused service delivery model that employed wraparound services and case management for justice-involved families with identified substance abuse problems. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth had a statistically significant decrease in noninstitutional and institutional out-of-home placements, compared with comparison group youth.

Nontargeted Brief Alcohol Interventions for Substance Use for Juveniles – The practice is aimed at reducing substance use (alcohol and other hard drugs) by providing motivations and/or skills to promote behavior change in a relatively brief time, typically between one to five sessions. The target population are juveniles and young adults ages 11 to 30. This practice is rated Effective for reducing illicit substance use, marijuana use, and alcohol use. The practice is rated Promising for reducing the use of other hard substances.

Nurse-Family Partnership  – This is a home visitation program for low-income, first-time mothers designed to improve family functioning. The program is rated Effective. Treatment families reported statistically significant decreases in child abuse/neglect and domestic violence and improvements in home learning environments, compared with control families. Treatment children reported statistically significant decreases in substance use, compared with control children

Operation New Hope – This is a curriculum-based aftercare program designed to assist chronic, high-risk juvenile offenders in their reintegration to the community after they are released from secure confinement. The program is rated Promising. Participants in the treatment group had a statistically significant lower number of rearrests and revocations and lower likelihood of substance use and associations with negative peers, compared with participants in the control group.

Örebro Prevention Program – This is a prevention program designed to decrease adolescents’ underage drinking and delinquency by increasing parents’ restrictive and prohibitory attitudes toward these behaviors. The program is rated Promising. Adolescents whose parents participated in the program had a statistically significant lower likelihood of having been drunk in the past month, lower alcohol use overall, and lower delinquency levels, compared with adolescents whose parents did not participate in the program.

Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) – The program teaches parents new interaction and discipline skills to reduce child problem behaviors and child abuse by improving relationships and responses to difficult behavior. The program is rated Effective. Program children were more compliant with fewer behavior problems than the waitlist group. The treatment group parents gave more praise and fewer criticisms and improved negative aspects of their parenting. There were fewer re-reports of physical abuse.

Parenting with Love and Limits – This is a program that combines group therapy and family therapy to treat youth, ages 10–18, who have a primary diagnosis of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder. This program is rated Promising. Findings were mixed. Intervention youth showed statistically significant decreases in rates of recidivism and improvements in behavior, compared with control group youth.

Peers Making Peace – This is a peer-mediation program designed to handle conflicts both in and out of school and to help maintain drug-free schools. The program is rated Promising. The treatment group had statistically significantly fewer assaults, expulsions, discipline referrals, absences, a greater improvement in self-efficacy, and statistically significantly improved academic performance, compared with the control group.

Positive Action – The program uses a curriculum-based approach to improve youth academics, behavior, and character. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group students reported less substance use, sexual activity, violent behavior, serious violence-related behavior, and bullying behavior than did the control group students.

Positive Family Support (PFS) – This is a family-centered intervention, which addresses family dynamics to prevent substance use and problem behaviors in adolescents. The program is rated Effective. Students in the treatment group were found to report less substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana; and demonstrate less antisocial behavior, compared with students in the control group. These differences were all statistically significant.

Positive Parenting Program (Triple P System) – The Positive Parenting Program is a comprehensive system of parenting and family support for families with children. The program consists of five levels of intervention, which increase with intensity, and progressively narrow the reach at each increasing level. The program incorporates a media and communication strategy, which pronounces the challenges of parenting and encourages parents to break down parenting isolation barriers and seek out help and support. Ultimately, the program is designed to prevent poor parenting practices, and reduce family risk factors as they related to maltreatment and behavioral and emotional problems.

Prevention Program for Externalizing Problem Behavior (PEP) – The program is a preventative, group-based training intervention for parents and kindergarten teachers of young children with externalizing problem behaviors. The program seeks to reduce problem behaviors and ultimately prevent delinquency later in life. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group mothers and teachers reported statistically significantly fewer child problem behaviors, compared with the control group.

Preventive Child Maltreatment Programs – Preventive child maltreatment programs are designed to prevent physical child abuse or neglect by educating expectant and new parents in parenting skills, coping with stressors, and stimulating child development. This practice is rated Effective for preventing child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment.

Preventive Treatment Program – This is a prevention program for disruptive kindergarten boys and their parents, designed to reduce short- and long-term antisocial behavior. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group boys had a statistically significant greater likelihood of graduating from high school and having lower rates of property violence, compared with comparison group boys, at the 19-year follow up.

Project BUILD – This program comprises a violence prevention curriculum, which is designed to assist youth in detention to overcome obstacles such as gangs, violence, crime, and substance abuse. The program is rated Effective.

Project Learn – This is an out-of-school program designed to improve educational performance in adolescents. This program is rated Promising. The program showed a statistically significant positive effect on participants’ attainment of higher grades in math, reading, spelling, history, science, and social studies, and a higher attendance rate, compared with students who did not participate.

Project Support – This program is designed to provide support to battered mothers and reduce conduct problems in their children. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant effects in favor of the treatment group on measures of children’s conduct problems, happiness, and mothers’ aggression toward children.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy – A cognitive-behavioral treatment program for individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. The program is rated Effective. The program reduced the severity of PTSD and depression; anxiety; trauma-related guilt; and improved social functioning.

Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS®) – This prevention program promotes emotional and social competencies and reduces aggression and behavior problems in children. The program is rated Effective. Statistically significant findings included lower peer ratings for aggressive, hyperactive, or disruptive behavior for intervention children, compared with control children. Further, intervention classrooms showed higher-quality climate, levels of interest and enthusiasm, and ability to stay focused, compared with control classrooms.

Raising Healthy Children – This is a school-based intervention designed to promote positive youth development and reduce substance use. This program is rated Promising. Intervention students showed statistically significant improvements in teacher ratings of antisocial behavior and social competency and reported a statistically significant decline in the frequency of alcohol and marijuana use, compared with control students.

Resilience, Opportunity, Safety, Education, Strength (ROSES) – This is a community-based, trauma-informed, gender-responsive advocacy intervention for girls 11 to 17 years old who are at risk for or already involved in the juvenile justice system. The program is rated Promising. Intervention group girls were less likely to engage in physical fights and minor status offending behavior (i.e., missing fewer days of school), compared with control group girls. These differences were statistically significant.

Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RIPP) – This program for middle school students is designed to provide conflict-resolution strategies and skills to reduce aggressive behavior and prevent violence. The program is rated Promising. Overall, the findings were mixed. Results indicated a statistically significant reduction in violent disciplinary code violations and favorable attitudes toward violence for participants, compared with the control group.

Safe Dates – This is a prevention program for middle and high school students, which is designed to stop or prevent dating violence perpetration and victimization. This program is rated Effective. The intervention group showed statistically significant reductions in psychological, physical, and sexual abuse perpetration, and physical abuse victimization, compared with the control group at the 4-year follow up

SAM (Solution, Action, Mentorship) Program for Adolescent Girls – This is a school-based, substance-use-prevention program for adolescent girls, which uses solution-focused brief therapy and community and peer mentorship. The program is rated Promising. Program participation was shown to have a statistically significant effect on lowering drug use, improving social competence, increasing knowledge surrounding drug use, and increasing negative attitudes toward drug use.

School-Based Bullying Prevention Programs – The practice includes programs that aim to reduce bullying and victimization (being bullied) in school settings. Some interventions aim to increase positive involvement in the bullying situation from bystanders or witnesses. The practice is rated Effective for reducing bullying, bullying victimization, and for increasing the likelihood of a bystander to intervene.

School-Based Interventions to Reduce Exclusion – School exclusion (more commonly known as suspension and expulsion) is broadly defined as a disciplinary measure imposed in reaction to students’ misbehavior. This practice comprises school-based programs that seek to decrease the prevalence of exclusion and thereby reduce the detrimental effects that suspensions or expulsion from schools may have on students’ learning outcomes and future training or employment opportunities.

School-Based Mentoring Program for At-Risk Middle School Youth – This program offered one-to-one mentoring to at-risk students in 7th to 9th grades in an urban middle school setting to reduce their discipline referrals and school absences and to improve their school connectedness. This program is rated Promising. The program was associated with a statistically significant decline in the number of office disciplinary referrals and a statistically significant increase in school connectedness.

School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs – Designed to foster the development of five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies, in order to provide a foundation for better adjustment and academic performance in students, which can result in more positive social behaviors, fewer conduct problems, and less emotional distress. The practice was rated Effective in reducing students’ conduct problems and emotional stress.

School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) – A universal, school-wide prevention strategy aimed at reducing behavior problems that lead to office discipline referrals and suspensions, and change perceptions of school safety. The program is rated Effective. Students in the SWPBIS schools received significantly fewer school suspensions than students in schools that did not receive SWPBIS training. Perceptions of safety improved in the schools that implemented SWPBIS, but declined in the schools that did not implement SWPBIS.

Sexual Abuse: Family Education and Treatment Program (SAFE-T) – This is a community-based program that provides sexual abuse–specific assessment, treatment, consultation, and long-term support to adolescents who were perpetrators of sexual abuse and to their families. This program is rated Promising. Intervention participants showed a statistically significant lower likelihood of being charged with a sexual reoffense, nonsexual violent reoffense, nonviolent reoffense, or any reoffense, compared with control participants, at the 20-year follow-up.

Shifting Boundaries – This dual intervention aims to reduce peer violence and sexual harassment in middle schoolers by emphasizing consequences and increasing surveillance of unsafe areas. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group had statistically significant reductions in sexual victimization and in violence victimization and perpetration compared with those in the control group.

SMART Leaders – This is a curriculum-based program for adolescents that aims to change attitudes toward and reduce substance use. The program is rated Promising. Participants demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in alcohol, marijuana, cigarette, and overall drug use; an increase in negative attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana; and an increase in knowledge of drug use and health consequences

SNAP Under 12 Outreach Project – This is a multisystemic intervention for boys younger than 12 who display aggression and antisocial behavior problems. This program is rated Effective. Boys who participated in the program showed a statistically significant decrease in delinquency and aggression scores and in behaviors such as rule-breaking, aggression, and conduct problems, compared with control group boys.

SNAP® Girls – Formerly known as SNAP® Girls Connection, the program includes concurrent child and parent groups, as part of a multi-component intervention for girls with disruptive behaviors and their families. The program focuses on self-control and emotion regulation to improve pro-social skills and reduce disruptive behavior. The program is rated Promising. The girls in the treatment group displayed statistically significantly lower levels of behavior problems than the girls in the comparison group.

Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program – This is a prevention program targeted at middle school students, which is designed to reduce stressors by teaching coping and decision-making skills. The program is rated Promising. Students who participated in the intervention demonstrated a statistically significant greater level of coping skills to reduce stressors, compared with students who did not receive any intervention.

Social Skills Training for Preventing Antisocial Behavior of Youth – This practice involves the promotion of social and social-cognitive competencies to prevent future antisocial behavior. The practice is rated Effective for preventing overall antisocial behavior, aggression, delinquency, oppositional and disruptive behaviors, and general antisocial behavior.

Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) – A strengths-based approach to working with children and families. It emphasizes positive attributes and behaviors and how these can be applied to overcome difficulties. SFBT focuses on “life without the problem” rather than a detailed analysis of the problem itself.

Sources of Strength – This is a school-based, suicide prevention program designed to build socioecological-protective influences across a full student population, using youth opinion leaders from diverse social cliques to develop and deliver messaging aimed at changing the norms and behaviors of their peers. This program is rated Promising. Peer leaders in the intervention schools showed statistically significant improvements in perceptions and behaviors pertaining to suicide and on social connectedness.

Staying Connected with Your Teen – This program seeks to reduce substance abuse and problem behavior in adolescents. The program is rated Promising. The intervention group had a statistically significant decrease in favorable attitudes toward substance use at the 24-month follow-up and in drug use frequency at the 72-month follow-up, compared with the comparison group.

STEP (School Transitional Environment Program) – This is a school-based program designed to improve the ease of students’ transition from elementary to middle or junior high school and address problem behavior. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students demonstrated a statistically significant lower level of school transition stress, behavior problems, and psychological distress, and higher grade point averages, academic expectations, and improved classroom behaviors, compared with control group students.

Steps to Respect – A school-based antibullying program that teaches social and emotional management skills to elementary school students. The goal is to help improve relationships and buffer the detrimental effects of bullying. The program is rated Effective. There were lower levels of bullying outcomes in the intervention group relative to the control group (e.g., observed bullying behavior, nonbullying aggression, destructive bystander behavior, and students involved in malicious gossip).

Strengthening Families Program – The program is a multicomponent family skills training program that targets substance-abusing families. The program is rated Promising. There were overall mixed results across three studies. One study found no significant effects on measures of child problem behavior, risk/protective factors, and family factors. However, one study found significant impacts on children’s problem behavior, and another study found significant impacts on time to reunification for child welfare-involved families.

Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 – This adaptation of the Strengthening Families Program is designed to reduce substance use and behavior problems among youth ages 10–14. The program is rated Effective. Intervention students showed a statistically significant improvement in youth intervention-targeted behaviors, and delays in substance use initiation and growth rates, compared with control students. Intervention parents showed statistically significant improvements in parenting competencies, compared with control parents.

Strong African American Families (SAAF) – This is a parental training and family therapy program targeted at rural African American families designed to reduce youths’ substance use and sexual activity. The program is rated Effective. SAAF group youth showed a statistically significantly less increase of alcohol use and lower levels of alcohol initiation compared with the control group youth. SAAF group parents experienced a statistically significantly greater change in parenting behaviors targeted by the intervention.

Success for All (SFA) – This is a schoolwide, intensive educational intervention to detect and resolve literacy problems for school children in preschool through sixth grade who are mostly in high-poverty schools. The program is rated Effective. Letter-Word recognition, Word Attack scores, and oral reading results were statistically significant for grades across the five program schools with positive effects for the lowest-achieving students.

Success for Kids – This was an afterschool program intended to build children’s resilience and positive connections. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group children demonstrated greater adaptive skills and lower rates of behavioral problems, school problems, attention problems, and externalizing problems, compared with children in the control group. These differences were all statistically significant.

Success in Stages® Program – This was an antibullying program for all students involved: victims, passive bystanders, and bullies. The program is rated Promising. Elementary, middle, and high school treatment groups experienced statistically significant greater proportions of students reporting no participation in bullying-related roles at the posttests. The elementary student treatment group saw statistically significant reductions in bullying and victimization

Targeted School-Based Social Information-Processing Interventions for Aggression – This practice examines targeted prevention efforts for particular students that attempt to improve one or more aspects of the students’ social information processing, aiming to prevent and/or reduce aggressive or violent behavior in school-aged children. The practice is rated Effective for reducing aggressive behavior in school-aged children.

Targeted Truancy Interventions – These interventions are designed to increase attendance for elementary and secondary school students with chronic attendance problems. The practice is rated Effective for improving attendance.

Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers – This is a school-based, conflict resolution program designed to teach students how to manage conflicts constructively. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of using constructive strategies, such as negotiating, and lower likelihood of using detrimental strategies, compared with the control group.

The Blues Program – A school-based prevention program for adolescents with depressive symptoms or adolescents who are at risk of the onset of major depression. The program is delivered by 1 or 2 Facilitators who are familiar with cognitive-behavioral methods of prevention and treating depression. The program is delivered to groups of 4-8 adolescents, in one-hour sessions over 6 weeks with home practice assignments included.

The Incredible Years BASIC–Parent Training Program – This parent-training program seeks to improve parenting competencies of families with children (ages 3–8) at risk of a disruptive conduct behavior/disorder. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group parents showed a statistically significant increase in use of appropriate discipline practices and reported fewer child conduct behavior problems, compared with comparison group parents

The Incredible Years–Child Training Program – This is a program that aims to reduce behavior problems in children and increase their social and problem-solving skills. The program is rated Effective. Treatment group children demonstrated statistically significant improvements in conduct problems, social competence, and problem-solving skills, compared with control group children, at the post-test.

The Leadership Program’s Violence Prevention Project – This is a school-based prevention program for students between the ages of 12 and 16, which is designed to increase peer support, improve conflict-resolution skills, and decrease acceptance attitudes toward aggression and violence. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students reported a statistically significantly lower likelihood of using negative conflict-resolution skills (e.g., verbal or physical aggression), compared with comparison group students, at the posttest.

The Peacemakers Program – This is a school-based intervention designed to reduce violence and improve interpersonal behavior in youth. The program is rated Promising. Participants showed a statistically significant positive effect knowledge of psychosocial skills and fewer self-reported and teacher-reported behavior problems, disciplinary incidents, conflict mediation referrals, and suspensions, compared with the control group.

Therapeutic Approaches for Sexually Abused Children and Adolescents – Interventions designed to reduce the negative effects of child sexual abuse, which can include PTSD, internalizing behaviors, and externalizing behaviors. The practice is rated Effective for reducing PTSD symptoms, internalizing behaviors, and externalizing behaviors.

Too Good for Violence – This is a school-based violence prevention and character education program designed to improve student behavior and minimize aggression. The program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant positive effects on risk and protective factors related to student violence for students in grade 3. There were also statistically significant positive effects on factors related to alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and violence for students in grades 9 through 12.

Too Good for Violence – This is a school-based violence prevention and character education program designed to improve student behavior and minimize aggression. The program is rated Promising. The program had statistically significant positive effects on risk and protective factors related to student violence for students in grade 3. There were also statistically significant positive effects on factors related to alcohol, tobacco, drug use, and violence for students in grades 9 through 12.

Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy (TARGET) – This is a trauma-focused psychotherapy program for those suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The program is rated Effective. Treated adults showed statistically significantly lower PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety than comparison group adults. Treated youth showed statistically significant higher levels of hope and lower levels of the PTSD criterion of intrusive re-experiencing than comparison group youth, but there were no impacts in other mental health outcomes.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) – A treatment intervention designed to help children and their parents overcome the negative effects of traumatic life events such as child sexual or physical abuse. The program is rated Effective. The treatment group had fewer PTSD symptoms, scored lower on the internalizing behavior and total behavior profile, sexualized behavior, and problem behaviors. Treatment group parents scored lower in depression, emotional response and higher on parenting practices and support.

Triple P: Positive Parenting Program – This is a comprehensive parent-training program designed to enhance parental competence and prevent or alter dysfunctional parenting practices. By enhancing parenting practices, the program seeks to reduce family risk factors for child maltreatment and children’s behavioral and emotional problems. The program is rated Effective. There were statistically significant reductions in substantiated child maltreatment cases, out-of-home placements, and child maltreatment injuries.

Universal School-Based Prevention and Intervention Programs for Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior – Universal school-based prevention and intervention programs for aggressive and disruptive behavior target elementary, middle, and high school students in a universal setting, rather than focusing on only a select group of students, with the intention of preventing or reducing violent, aggressive, or disruptive behaviors. The practice is rated Effective in reducing violent, aggressive, and/or disruptive behaviors in students.

Wraparound – Wraparound differs from many service delivery strategies, in that it provides a comprehensive, holistic, youth and family-driven way of responding when children or youth experience serious mental health or behavioral challenges. Wraparound puts the child or youth and family at the center. With support from a team of professionals and natural supports, the family’s ideas and perspectives about what they need and what will be helpful drive all of the work in Wraparound. The young person and their family members work with a Wraparound facilitator to build their Wraparound team, which can include the family’s friends and people from the wider community, as well as providers of services and supports. With the help of the team, the family and young person take the lead in deciding team vision and goals, and in developing creative and individualized services and supports that will help them achieve the goals and vision. Team members work together to put the plan into action, monitor how well it’s working, and change it as needed.

Wyman’s Teen Outreach Program® (TOP®) – This is a school-based youth development program for adolescents ages 12–19 that aims to prevent school failure and suspension through curriculum-guided discussion and community service. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth had lower rates of course failure and school suspension, compared with comparison group youth. These were statistically significant differences.

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) – This is an intervention designed to prevent future criminal activity among system-involved youth through using short-term, high-intensity relationships with paid mentors, referred to as Advocates. The program is rated Promising. Program participants showed statistically significant improvement in educational engagement and reductions in serious dispositions, compared with a comparison group.

Youth Relationships Project – This was a community-based prevention program that targeted youth at risk of becoming involved in abusive relationships. The program was rated Promising. Treatment group youth demonstrated statistically significant reductions in physical abuse perpetration and trauma symptoms and a lower likelihood of emotional abuse and threatening behavior victimization, compared with control group youth.

Youth-Nominated Support Team-Version II (YST-II) – This program was designed to provide adult support to suicidal youth following psychiatric care. The program is rated Promising. Program participants showed statistically significant improvements on mortality, suicide and drug-related deaths, outpatient psychotherapy sessions, medication follow-up sessions, and outpatient drug or alcohol treatment.

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