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Florida's Redirection Project
The project's success is based on two empirically grounded and well-documented, community-based intervention programs for at-risk juveniles. Together, Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multisystemic Therapy (MST) represent more than 45 years of research and real-world implementation with high rates of effectiveness for a variety of cultural and ethnic groups. FFT and MST are both recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the U.S. Surgeon General as being model programs with positive results. "Using evidence-based family therapies allows us to build protective factors into the youth’s home environment without shouldering the costs of residential placement," states Darryl Olson, Assistant Secretary for Probation and Community Intervention, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. "Redirection is one of our effective intervention and treatment services that help turn around the lives of troubled youth." As of December 2007, more than 1,800 youth have entered into the Redirection project, 84 percent of the youth in treatment have not had a new law violation while in the program, and 70 percent of the youth completed treatment—figures that meet or exceed the project's three-year goals. In addition, enrolling a youth in Redirection costs taxpayers one-fourth of the cost of residential placement—thus by redirecting 793 youth away from residential placement (while improving outcomes), the Redirection project has helped the state avoid millions of dollars in residential placement costs.* Many programs available today promise to redirect at-risk teens and adolescents heading along an antisocial, violent course. The Redirection project is one that has proven itself effective in turning around young lives. *If these youth would have otherwise been served by residential commitment with adequate mental health services. |
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© 2008 Evidence-Based Associates