The Adolescent Transitions Program (ATP) was developed in Eugene, Oregon by researchers at the Oregon Social Learning Center. The Center has spent the past twenty years diligently researching and developing intervention programs that focus on adolescents and their families. The program was developed to concentrate the focus of intervention on youths between the age of 11-14 years old. Designed to address the transition and pressures of being an adolescent, the program acts as an intervention between teens, parents and schools. The program is a tool for diversion, working with truant teens and their parents. Aimed to help teens understand the changes they are experiencing, the program focuses on teen and parent communication, substance abuse, and peer relationships. The graduates of the 12- session program return as educators and peers for following sessions. The key factor to this program is the unity between the school (providing the setting and referrals), counselors (providing the education based on the center's curriculum) and the students (parents and adolescents). 

Statement of Need

It was through my senior placement at the Butte County Probation Department that I became intrigued by the issues surrounding adolescent problems. My placement in the Juvenile Division exposed me to a variety of adolescents with a wide range of difficulties. Through my research I found various programs that have been established to focus on adolescents already in the juvenile justice system. I found only a few programs that have been conceived for adolescents before they enter the juvenile justice system. Through my internship I was exposed to the relationships between the District Attorney's office, (investigating attendance issues), the schools, and the families. I found that intervention headed by the District Attorney's office toward truant adolescents would be more beneficial with the support of the parents and the school. I found significant support for such a program through my interviews with multileveled school administrators and parent / teen prospective participants.

Description of the Intervention

The Adolescent Transitions Program is an established program that has designed video lessons and study packets for its 12-week sessions. I found that once I received the background research and articles from the Oregon Social Learning Center, I underestimated the time needed to implement the project. It took some time to locate a way to access the information from the center. Once I received their mailing packet, I realized that a project of this size would be difficult to accomplish during a school semester. At that point, I felt it would be best to prepare the information for a selected school to review. Since I plan to remain in the juvenile field, I felt I would be able to follow the program in its entirety at another school. 

Evaluation of the Intervention

Originally I believed this project could be completed within the semester. I discovered that once the participating school purchased the videos and packets, the coordinator and instructors of such a program would need several weeks to review the material and prepare. A list of students and their parents could be compiled based on the Child and Welfare Attendance list of families who are at-risk for prosecution families - prior to the end of the fall semester. The session would then be able to correlate with the beginning of a new term or semester and run until approximately three months in. 

Reflections on the Project

The research I conducted through interviews provided a substantial need for an adolescent intervention program in the surrounding counties. The Adolescent Transitions Program offered an established curriculum of education for parents and adolescents. I encourage any student planning to work with adolescents between the ages of 11-14 to look into this program. The benefits of such a program could be enormous, so long as the curriculum is allowed to run throughout the entire required time period. The demand for such a program is present and the possibilities that it encourages among the participants are tremendous. 

References

Andrews, D., Dishion, T. (1995). The adolescent transitions program for high-risk teens and their parents: toward a school based intervention. Education & Treatment of Children. 18(4), 478-499.

Carpenter, B. (1995). Taking nature’s cure. U.S. News & WorldReport. 118(25), 54-59.

Clark, M. (1998). Strength-based practice: the abc’s of working with adolescents who don’t want to work with you. Federal Probation. 62(1), 46-54.

Davis, S. (1994). How the gateway program helps trouble teens. Educational Leadership. 52(1), 17-20

Minor, K., Elrod, P. (1994). The effect of a probation intervention on juvenile offenders’ self-concepts, loci of control and perceptions of juvenile justice. Youth & Society. 25(4), 490-512.

Orange County Probation Department. (1999). The 8% problem: chronic juvenile offender recidivism. Orange County Probation Department. http://www.netcom.com/~fjobrien/kids.html.

Butte County Probation Department. (1999). Butte county 8% Criteria. Butte County Probation Department. (Memorandum)

Interviews

Administrator in Child Welfare and Attendance, Butte County

High School Counselor, Butte County

High School Attendance Secretary, Butte County

High School Parent (child was pending involvement with probation), B

High School Student (child of interviewed parent)

^top