AG 1999 05 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PROGRAM SUMMARY Statement of the Problem: In concise terminology, describe the juvenile justice problem the program intends to address. The Cabarrus Health Alliance intends to address increased risk taking behaviors beginning in the middle school years (grades 6, 7, and 8). Adolescents will spend approximately 3500 hours in middle school. The seeds of dropping out of school, of teenage pregnancy, and of alcohol and drug abuse are frequently sown during early adolescence. Many of these identified youth problems are demonstrated by adolescents in middle schools as: discipline problems, poor problem solving skills, Iow to no respect for teachers, parents and other authority figures, and behavior patterns of resulting from negative by peer pressure. Coupled with these concerns are often an array of family problems such as substance abuse in the home, pressures related to single parent, abuse and/or neglect, and lack of follow-through with treatment for self physical and/or emotional problems. Program Goal: State the effect that the program is designed to have on solving the problem described above. To provide each middle school (5) in Cabarrus County with a school nurse for each campus. Studies have demonstrated that the middle school years represent society's last best chance to reclaim millions of youth. The school nurse currently is on one campus a minimum one half to one day per week. Increasing coverage to five days/week will enable the nurse to collaborate with school staff and other resources to target adolescents who have complex health concerns (alcohol, drug abuse, pregnancy, emotional/behavioral problems, etc.) and provide one-to-one help to reduce risk behaviors and foster positive outcomes. Target Population: Describe the target population and the steps that the program has taken to insure that the target population is served. Middle school population, including high-risk students referred to the school nurse by school personnel, community agencies (i.e., mental health, DSS, Health Alliance, physicians, court system, campus resource officers and others). Currently there are 5,200 students in Cabarrus County Middle Schools. Enrollment increases at the rate of approximately 800-900 students to the school systems each year. Measurable Objective(s): State in meaxurab[e terms the intended effect of the program on specific undisciplined and/or delinquent behaviors. At a minimum, state anticipated reductions in court referrals, runaway behavior, and school suspensionx and expulsions. · Reduction of in and out of school suspension and expulsions by 5% · Reduce school drop-out rate by 5% · To work with 100% of identified pregnant teens and 100% of mothering teens to reduce the second pregnancy rate and reduce by 10% the dropout rate of pregnant or mothering teens. · To work as a team member with 100% of emotional/mentally compromised student to reduce the recidivism rate of teens already in the juvenile court system. Information Maintained for Effectiveness Measurement: List the data elements and records the program will maintain to document its effectiveness. · Will utilize schools "SIMS" system (Students Information/Maintenance System). · Tracking system of student absenteeism/check-in/check-out records. · Tracking system of student suspension and expulsion. · Tracking of teen pregnancies and teen mothers. · Utilization of the juvenile court records of teen enrolled in each middle school campus. -3-